President Barack Obama Limo

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#669966" TEXT="#080000" background="5c801573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>HotV8 Sports Car Buyers Guide</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HotV8 Sports Car Buyers Guide">home</A>                                            <B>back to</B>  <A HREF="other_cars.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other CARS">Other CARS</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="sports_car_index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sports Car Index">Sports Car Index</A>   |   <A HREF="editorial.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Editorial">Editorial</A>   |   <A HREF="auto_racing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Auto Racing">Auto Racing</A>   |   <A HREF="boat_racing.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Boat Racing">Boat Racing</A>   |   <A HREF="about_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us">About Us</A></div> <div> <I><B>President Barack Obama Limo</B></I></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="4a0d2013.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="ford_flex.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ford Flex">Ford Flex</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mercedes_benz_ml.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MercedesBenz ML">Mercedes-Benz ML</A></div> <div> <B>President Barack Obama Limo</B></div> <div> <A HREF="focus.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Focus">Focus</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mazda.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mazda">Mazda</A></div> <div> <A HREF="abbrh.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AbbrH">AbbrH</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chrysler_sebring.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chrysler Sebring">Chrysler Sebring</A></div> <div> <A HREF="kit_cars.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="kit Cars">kit Cars</A></div> <div> <A HREF="avanti_motors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Avanti Motors">Avanti Motors</A></div> <div> <A HREF="stoddard_dayton.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stoddard Dayton">Stoddard Dayton</A></div> <div> <A HREF="after_market_add_ons.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="After Market add ons">After Market add ons</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Secret Service unveils Obama's new limo</div> <div> Posted by Greg Gordon Posted By Greg Gordon – Wed Jan 14</div> <div> You might call it Limo One. </div> <div> The Secret Service today formally unveiled the new limo that will carry newly sworn President Barack Obama in next Tuesday’s inaugural parade, U.S. and presidential flags waving from the hood. </div> <div> It’s another shiny, slightly stretched black Cadillac, this one appearing to have thicker steel and glass than ever. Not much else is being revealed.</div> <bR> <div> “Although many of the vehicle's security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” said Nicholas Trotta, assistant Secret Service director for the Office of Protective Operations.</div> <bR> <div> The announcement comes as no surprise, because industry spy photos of the unpainted car were posted on the web in recent weeks.</div> <bR> <div> For embattled General Motors, which has produced most of the recent presidential limousines, it’s a win for a change amid sinking sales and a sea of red ink that has forced the auto giant to seek billions of federal bailout dollars. </div> <div> GM spokeswoman Joanne Krell said the company is ``awfully honored'' to have been selected as the limo maker again. Producing a new presidential limo is a ritual that is repeated every four years as the Secret Service strives for the perfect shield against terrorists, nut cases or other would-be assassins.</div> <bR> <div> ``It’s entirely fitting that an American president is in a great American brand," Krell said. "I am really prohibited from actually talking about the safety features of the car. It’s built to precise and special specifications. It undergoes extreme testing and development.’’</div> <bR> <div> She said the car ``incorporates some of the top aspects of Cadillac’s production cars, including signature design and hand cut and sewn interiors, but is not like any single model. </div> <div> To have a glimpse of the new ride, click here and scroll to the bottom of the press release</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="61e5f400.jpg" border=0 width="607" height="320" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>New wheels</B></div> <div> He’s getting a new presidential limo. It’s a tradition. The new president gets a new car.</div> <bR> <div> The First Limo - the 2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine - will replace President Bush’s 2006 model. As you can imagine, it is completely custom built - not something you can buy in your local showroom (if it hasn’t closed down yet).</div> <bR> <div> “The presidential vehicle is built to precise and special specifications, undergoes extreme testing and development, and also incorporates many of the top aspects of Cadillac’s ‘regular’ cars — such as signature design, hand-cut-and-sewn interiors, etc.,” GM spokesman Joanne Krell told CNN.</div> <bR> <div> <B>New design</B></div> <div> EngineeringNews has the inside on some of the features.</div> <bR> <div> For largely functional reasons, such as optimal outward visibility, the car is slightly more upright than its predecessor. However, it occupies roughly the same overall footprint on the road as the previous model, with a similar size and proportion.</div> <bR> <div> The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features. Major aspects of the cabin are cut and sewn by hand. An embroidered presidential seal is positioned in the center of the rear seat back panel, as well as on each rear door trim panel.</div> <bR> <div> But what about the cool stuff? Tom Clancy evasive action gear? Sidewinders? Chobham armor?</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Beast</B></div> <div> Understandably, this is where the details are scarce.</div> <bR> <div> It’s like a tank. Secret Service agents are calling it “The Beast.” Reportedly the armor surrounding the car is at least five inches thick making it, as some news outlets have put it, “rocket-resistant.” Others have joked it could withstand a collision with an asteroid.</div> <bR> <div> Tangling with a Hummer or almost other macho vehicle on the road, the Beast would win.</div> <bR> <div> The San Francisco Chronicle puts it in perspective noting, “a half-inch of transparent armor is enough to stop a .44 Magnum round at point-blank range; at a thickness of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, the same material can withstand higher-velocity bullets fired from military assault rifles.”</div> <bR> <div> The windows, of course, are bulletproof. The tires reportedly can’t get a flat or if they do, it makes no difference, the car keeps rolling. And the interior is like a cocoon - a really safe cocoon reportedly impervious to chemical attacks.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Yuck</B></div> <div> Auto buffs aren’t liking the looks of it though.</div> <bR> <div> “Whoever came up with the exterior styling for this monstrosity should be barred permanently from ever working in the auto industry again,” laments Rex from RexWorld.com.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Hang on there…</B></div> <div> Cadillac told Edmunds that the hysteria surrounding the looks of the car were due to unauthorized spy photos of the vehicle that circulated around the Internet.</div> <bR> <div> The final product is much more attractive, they say.</div> <bR> <div> Eh, give it to Joe</div> <bR> <div> So what happens to the old limo, anyway?</div> <bR> <div> Well, you can’t just offer it up on Craig’sList. And Joe Biden needs a car.</div> <div> So they’re giving it to him.</div> <bR> <div> Even when a presidential limo is decommissioned from service, you won’t find it in a used car lot or museum.</div> <div> According to a State Department document entitled ‘Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s February 2004 Armored Vehicle Program’, armoured vehicles are often destroyed by methods including burial at sea, explosive demolition, burning, crushing, or burial on land controlled by the federal government.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="61f00000.jpg" border=0 width="1024" height="768" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>