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'THE PRESIDENT'S NEW WHEELS'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:28 am    Post subject: 'THE PRESIDENT'S NEW WHEELS' Reply with quote

A New President, and a New Limousine

By GREGG D. MERKSAMER
January 25th. 2009 The New York Times.

The president rode with his family in the new Cadillac limousine during Tuesday’s inaugural parade. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)

A new Cadillac presidential limousine officially broke cover just before 11 a.m. Tuesday morning when President-elect Barack Obama and President Bush shared its back seat for the traditional ride from the White House to the Capitol for the noon swearing-in ceremony.

I wrote about this car for The Times in November after the first spy shots of the primer-covered prototype were leaked to the press. Having been fascinated with presidential limos since I was a 10-year-old watching Richard Nixon’s motorcade pass through Mamaroneck, N.Y., in 1972, I have never seen as much public attention devoted to a presidential limo as to President Obama’s. The only car that comes remotely close is the navy blue Lincoln in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.


The new limousine.

I could tell from watching video of the inaugural parade that President Obama’s new limousine appears to have plenty in common with the 2006-style Cadillacs that accompanied it down Pennsylvania Avenue, including details like the unusually wide windshield pillars that define its fortress-like roofline. The massive extra-load tires that looked to be from a General Motors medium-duty truck seemed to dwarf the Secret Service agents walking alongside. And the two agents sitting in the front seat were almost shoulder-to-shoulder, a good clue that it can be a bit cramped inside because of the car’s heavily armored body and 5-inch- to 6-inch-deep windows.


The doors of presidential cars are much thicker than a conventional Cadillac’s, as seen in this image from last week. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)When the president and his wife, Michelle, stepped out of the car to walk during the parade, I had a tantalizing look at the huge inner overlaps that are installed to keep bullets from entering through the door gaps. It is no wonder that the Secret Service’s nickname for this car and its immediate predecessor is “The Beast.”

Where President Obama’s Cadillac truly breaks fresh ground is in its crisply tailored sheet metal. Where the look of the Mr. Bush’s limousines were inspired by the 2000 De Ville and 2006 DTS, President Obama’s car derives its styling from the CTS and Escalade. The chiseled wheel arches look like those on a CTS, as does the cross-hatch background on the grille. The side mirrors appear to come from the Escalade. The new Cadillac is also the first presidential limo in at least six decades to have the contemporary look of black-wall tires instead of white walls.

Even if the wide pillars flanking the deep armored glass are basically carried over from the 2000-2008 White House vehicles, the roofline looks sleeker because of the subtly rising beltline and the full-length molding connecting the window tops. Only the switch from styled wheels to chrome-plated wheel covers seems a step backward.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY


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