President-elect Barack Obama’s new ride has arrived – and it’s a beast.
A new model of a presidential limousine made by General Motors Corp. has been delivered to the Secret Service and will make its debut on Inauguration Day.
The vehicle, referred to by the Secret Service as “the beast,” will reportedly feature heavy armor that is at least 5 inches thick and comes complete with run-flat tires, bulletproof glass and a completely sealed interior to ward off a chemical attack, among many other high-tech security features.
One news agency, noting its 8-inch-thick doors, said the limo can withstand a “direct hit from an asteroid.” But GM spokeswoman Joanne K. Krell laughed off the comments.
The new limousine also includes larger windows and better visibility for the president, a spokesman for the automaker told the paper.
Cadillac has previously disclosed that the limo’s interior is made of hand-stitched leather and includes a 10-disc CD player.
“The president is not riding in a medium-duty truck, nor he is riding in a sedan,” a GM representative told the Detroit News, it is a “unique” vehicle.
The armored 2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine will make its debut at Obama’s Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington.
The Secret Service and GM say they’ll reveal more about the custom vehicle’s specifications next week after training with the new limousine at a facility near Washington.
Older-model presidential limos will remain in use for the vice president and traveling world leaders. The previous model, a modified Cadillac DTS, was introduced at President George W. Bush’s second inauguration in 2005.
(Source: Fox News)
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16 Responses
Should help GM. A famous celebrity driving a caddy! That’s how they made the escalades popular, let’s hope they can do it again.
Considering GM is now for all purpose a government owned company, why not GM?
Since the President rarely travels any great distance in a car (they usually use a helicopter for short trips, even within the metropolitan area), they don’t have to worry about mileage.
What, no restroom? 🙂
I wonder if we, the bachurim, can borrow it for collecting on Purim?
No surprise that he chose a Caddy :^)
I wonder about the “environmental footprint” the car will leave. How much MPG does it offer? Does it pass CAFE standards? 🙂
And it’s purple.
surprised he didnt mistakenly choose a PONTIAC
I hope they got a good deal on it after the Bailout…
Are the rims 24kt gold….
Rumor has it that the driver of this vehicle will be Hillary Clinton!
flatbush27 – he didn’t have to think about it for himself, so he got a real one.
I guess that they didn’t let him choose hot pink, so purple had to be good enough.
Good thing he doesen’t have any teenage kids.
He talks out of both sides of his mouth! This is a gaz guzzler. If he REALLY cared, he would have chosen a sub-compact that was “green eco-friendly” too!
“said the limo can withstand a ‘direct hit from an asteroid'”
That’s pretty funny. Wasn’t the Titanic advertised as the ship G-d himself couldn’t sink? Do not stand near the vehicle during astroid showers.