The president of the US, for one.
Probably the first one used by a president would be the armored Cadillac used by Roosevelt. Apparently he needed a safe ride to make his speech. It was to be made soon after the bombing on Pearl harbor, so the secret service was naturally worried about the presidents safety.
A budget of $750.00(or approximately $11,000 now)
-It is funny to imagine such things now, but back then they had serious budget constraints in place which greatly limited their ability to purchase or have made a special armored vehicle for the president.
Check the impound lot!
-Yep, that is where they wrangled up the armored Cadillac for Roosevelt to use, and is where many of the super fast police sports cars come from today. It was probably the start of a new tradition.
Thank You, Mr. Capone…
The Caddy had been impounded due to tax evasion charges and incarceration of it’s former owner, Al Capone. Mr. Capone it set up nicely(to look like a Chicago cop car) with 3000 lbs of armor along with windows that were made of inch thick glass. Capone also had flashing lights that were hiding behind the grille, which is a feature that is still used today.
The first car actually designed to protect and service the president was called the Sunshine Special. It was a 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible and when it came off the lot, Roosevelt gave up Capone’s old car.
“The Beast”
While the current presidential limo does not actually have a name, it is known as “The Beast”
-Created for President Obama it is the only car ever made by GM that does not have a name.
-“The Beast” is said to be a combo of two GM vehicles, the Cadillac and the GMC truck.
Details about “The Beast”?
-Forget about it.
– Whatever cool features this car has are top secret. They will probably continue to be top secret for a very long time since after 2009 there will be no more presidential vehicles put on display. All decommissioned presidential limo’s after 2009 are being utilized by the secret service for super secret stuff, they call it testing purposes…It makes you wonder.
