...and other presidential wheels

Not everyone in this troubled economy is having a hard time putting new wheels in their driveway. If you watched any of the recent presidential inauguration, you probably saw the new 2009 Cadillac limousine make its Washington debut. The car succeeds a 2004 Cadillac DTS limousine originally commissioned for President George W. Bush.

But just what model Caddy is the new limo? It’s neither a new DTS, STS, or CTS, and it’s definitely not an Escalade, but rather a mongrel version of a new Cadillac, combining styling cues of Cadillac’s entire line in a heavily reworked, reinforced body which provides the utmost in comfort and safety one expects for a head of state. Security reasons preclude making public any specifics about body armor or other reinforcements, but suffice to say the new limo is one tough (but ugly) son-of-a-pup. It’s more upright than your everyday run-of-the-mill Caddy to provide ample room for the president and his passengers to do business. And there’s plenty of glass area for us to see in and him to see out.

Cadillac has a long history of providing presidential wheels going back to Woodrow Wilson. Yet probably the most memorable presidential limousine is the 1961 Lincoln Continental which carried John F. Kennedy through Dallas on November 22, 1963. Images of Secret Service Agent Clint Hill jumping onto the trunk of the Lincoln towards First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s outstretched arm are forever burned into the memories of any of us who were glued to the television on that fateful weekend. (Some of us with a memory for such things also remember the police cars were mostly 1963 Fords, and President Kennedy’s body was met at the airport in Washington by a 1963 Pontiac ambulance. Yet I can’t remember what I had for lunch today.)

Wilson’s Cadillac was driven through the streets of Boston in a 1919 World War I victory parade. Calvin Coolidge used a 1928 Cadillac Town Car. And in 1938, General Motors delivered two Cadillac convertibles to the White House. They were named the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth. Weighing in at almost four tons apiece and 21.5 feet long, naming them after ocean liners wasn’t so far-fetched. The two behemoths soldiered on through the Eisenhower years. President Franklin D. Roosevelt also was driven around in a 1939 Lincoln convertible dubbed the Sunshine Special. And President Truman’s White House was presented with a 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible. Eisenhower rode in his inauguration parade in a brand new 1953 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and four years later GM replaced the Queens Mary and Elizabeth with updated, 1956 Cadillacs which were kept in service through the Johnson administration. So you can see, there never has really been “one” presidential car, but, as befitting anyone that high in the pecking order, there’s always been a fleet of cars at the president’s disposal.

Going back to the JFK car, you’d think it would have been retired after that day, but it went back to the manufacturer, where it was refurbished and put back into service sometime in 1964. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like riding in that car, but it hung around a few more years before being replaced. Although not a presidential limousine, there was another car personally driven by President Johnson around his extensive ranch in Texas. Seems he owned an Amphicar, and delighted in driving unsuspecting victims around the ranch, over the hill towards the lake, and exclaiming as they careened down the hill “The brakes don’t work! We’re going in! We’re going under!” Of course, Amphicars were built to drive into the water where they became boat-like. No word on whether Johnson also pulled his passengers up by their ears.

For more photos of presidential vehicles, visit AV Daily.