One of the most sought after „shows“ on American city streets or on International Streets, is the passing of an American Presidential motorcade. Today, the simple act of the President going from place to place in a car has become a spectacle in itself, a type of parade if you like – some call it the Power Parade.

I am looking after this car parades for many years. Last time I have seen in person an US president driving along, was George H.W. Bush on Commonwealth Avenue in Canberra, Australia. Always I was interested what’s behind this special Presidents car. Now I took the chance and searched through the internet for information. It’s not easy, because they make a secret out of these cars. Anyway, I like to share with you what I found out.

  First presidents car, around 1900, a Stanley Steamer. As one can see, the airflow-openings on the side, the gasburner is under the seat. Nice – sitting on a bomb.

A brief history.

The saga began with the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. He was the first to ride in an automobile, namely a Stanley (a.k.a. Stanley Steamer), this being about the only contribution he brought to the creation of the Presidential limo myth.
The first government owned vehicle, a white Stanley, came under the term of Theodore D. Roosevelt.

     President Taft’s White. He and his wife sitting in the rear of this car.

As the name suggests (the name of the car, not of the President), it was a steam powered vehicle, with steam being generated in a vertical fire-tube spoiler, mounted beneath the seat. The energy required to generate steam was by means of a gasoline burner. The boiler was held in place by piano wire and had safety valves in place to prevent failure. If the safety valves themselves failed, the boiler was designed in such a way that one of its joints would rupture. The resulting rupture would also put out the burner.

   The armored 1928 Cadillac seized from Al Capone

In 1909, what we now call the White House Transportation Agency (WHTA) was set up. It was then called the White House Garage and was not, at first, a militarized agency.
Roosevelt’s successor, William Taft became the first president to purchase a vehicle with the explicit goal of using it as an official car. He actually bought two 40 horsepower, 7-seater Stanley, Model M, Steamer vehicles, built by White Motor Company. Taft also added two Pierce-Arrow vehicles to the Presidential garage.

  Pres. Calvin Coolidge in front of a 1926 Pierce Arrow.

The first President-attack-deterrent limo came in December 1941. Following the „date which will live in infamy“, for the first time, an armored car was used to transport a US President. At that time, federal law prohibited the purchase by the US government of any vehicle which cost more than $750 and, as you might guess, an armored one would have cost more than that. Besides, events unfolded so fast that when news of the Pearl Harbor attack came, the White House had no armored vehicles in its garage.

  President Franklin D. Roosevelt self driving, with his wife next to him. This car was converted to hand handling because of his polio desease.

The break came when someone remembered that following the incarceration of Al Capone in 1931, his armored 1928 Cadillac 341 A Town Sedan was seized by the U.S. Treasury Department. The green car with black fenders and 3,000 pounds of bullet proof armor was used to transport the President to Capitol to deliver his famous „infamy“ speech.

  What a beautiful car, 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible.

The car was kept in Roosevelt’s service until Ford Motor was able to armor and deliver the first ever purpose built Presidential vehicle, the 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible, called „Sunshine Special“. The Lincoln joined the two GM Queens in the garage and was used by both Roosevelt and Truman, for $500 a year, until the 1950s.

      The „Sunshine Special“ served well presidents  Roosevelt and Truman. The next one, Eisenhower, didn’t like it „open“. After this one followed the Lincoln Continental limo of President Kennedy. See further down.

Today, the limo of choice for President Obama is the Cadillac Presidential Limousine, nicknamed „The Beast“. It’s unknown why and how this name appeared. GM says it is the first car not to have a specific model name. The car is a combination between a Cadillac and GMC truck.  As you may have guessed, many of the car’s features are secret.

President Obama’s dream of a new presidents car. The „Beast“ as an „Obama Edition“ as one can read on the radiator grill. I don’t know if this one is ordered or not. Successor Trump will decide now.

Some „Beast“ facts.

It’s called „The Beast,“ but it might surprise you to learn that President Barack Obama’s massive Cadillac isn’t really a Cadillac. And there’s not one, but a dozen, in the highly classified motor pool, each costing nearly US$1,5 million. The cars travel with their own mechanic, an armed federal agent who carries a vast arsenal of electronic diagnostic devices and tools – and they travel in their own jumbo jet.

  What an expenditure if a US president is travelling.

We’ve come a long way since JFK’s open-top Lincoln. Until only recently, the Secret Service bought the presidential limousines off the lot, then modified them with super-secret aftermarket products and systems. All that changed when George W. Bush became president. The reason? The stock presidential limos kept breaking down. All the extras the agency added to each vehicle created excess stress and weight beyond the real operational limits of the original cars. As a result, the transmissions often failed, “and the brakes would last about two trips,” said one veteran agent. “The cars were just too heavy, and they were a terror to drive, and even harder to stop.”

So the Secret Service decided to design and then build the car from the ground up. “The car may say Cadillac,” explained one agent, “but very little in that car is Cadillac.” Indeed, it is built by an R&D arm of General Motors in Detroit. But “even the Cadillac emblems on the hood and trunk are supersized. The car is really a truck that looks like a limo. And it drives like one, too.”

— The fuel tank is armor-plated and encased in special foam to protect it from rupture in case of collision-or small-arms fire. And, perhaps not surprisingly, there’s an onboard Halon fire-suppression system.
— What’s in the trunk? Extra weapons, a separate oxygen supply under the president’s seat and emergency medical equipment, including bottles of the president’s blood type in case the ambulance (one always travels in the motorcade) gets cut off.

— The Beast is heavy: The armor plating (on five newer models) is so thick and the doors so heavy that it’s nearly physically impossible for the president to open them from inside.
— The interior is cut off from the outside world and sealed (in case of chemical attack). There’s an encrypted satellite phone inside and a special interactive video system so the president can conduct secure video conferencing with officials in the Situation Room, embassies abroad or the Pentagon.

— The car features military-grade armor (steel, aluminum, titanium and ceramic), surrounded by removable fiberglass sheets on the doors and fenders.
— The Beast has special locking mechanisms, and communications and fire-suppression systems. It rides on special Kevlar-reinforced Goodyear run-flats.
— The Secret Service has been experimenting with special night-vision cameras and monitors (the camera is mounted inside the grill) to be used in a doomsday scenario if, say, the windshield was somehow compromised or views were obstructed.

Any Secret Service agent assigned to drive the president has to take an intense week long defensive-driving course on a special track at the Secret Service academy in Beltsville, Md. They practice evasive maneuvers, high-speed cornering and precision driving. „It actually handles quite well, considering how much it weighs,“ one agent said. For additional training, the agency uses Chargers, Camaros and Mustangs.

What doesn’t it have? Sorry, 007 fans, but there are no rocket launchers, grenades or built-in weapons of any kind. No escape pod or ejection seat. Oh, and here’s a myth-buster: The Beast is not diesel, but a gasoline V8. „Surprisingly,“ said one agent, „it has pretty good 0-60 speed pickup.“

Average miles to the gallon, 3.7, for an 8-liter engine.
Number of actual Beasts in service is 12.
Each Beast costs around 1,5 million US$.
How long the Beast is, 18 feet (c. 5,5 meters).
Thickness of the doors 8 inches (c. 20 cm) armor plating.
Thickness of the windows 5 inches ( c. 13 cm) bulletproof, of course.
Best guess on how much the Beast weighs, 15.000 pounds ( c. 7.500 kg or 7,5 metric tons).
The exact number is classified.

  Have a good look at all the pics before.

2017 – a new era.

The Beast gets an upgrade: Leaked pictures of top-secret testing reveal Donald Trump’s presidential armored car is almost ready.

  The first glimpse of the „New Beast“.

General Motors has been testing a new State Car, nicknamed The Beast, ready for when Trump takes office. It seams, Trump already got a „new one“ !!??
Appears to have the same headlight and grille design as new Cadillac models but with an elongated body.
It was pictured undergoing tests, but details of the new security measures are a closely guarded secret, as usually.
Previous model was described as a ‚Caddy on a tank frame‘ and included eight inches of armor, tear gas canisters, and even two pints of the President’s blood.
President Trump’s will likely include similar features plus the latest safety technologies.

  Could this be the new one ?

Additional information.

If one is interested. The movie „White House Down“ shows the Beast in action.

Sources I used for this article and some pictures: Mail Online, Daily Mail, Autoweek, Wikipedia, Autoevolution and some more, unknown sources.

  In a normal presidential motorcade one will see at least 2 Beast’s. First, that the president can hide and no one knows in which car he would be. Second to have a spare, if one has a breakdown.

  In president Trump’s motorcade on inauguration day, we even have seen 4 Beast’s. Spare, yes – but also security for the whole family who went with him on that day.

Finally.

   22nd of November 1963 – John F. Kennedy lies dead in the back of the Lincoln as Jacqueline Kennedy leans over him. A Secret Service agent stands on the bumper.

Perhaps the most infamous presidential limo is this 1961 Lincoln X-100 Continental, in which John Kennedy was shot and killed. After his assassination, the $200,000 Lincoln was promptly altered with a fixed roof reinforced with several layers of bullet-resistant poly-carbonate glass.

  Same car as above, but called now the Kennedy-2.

The original price of the car in 1961 was $7347.00. It cost $200,000 to have it especially equipped for the president. It was owned by the Ford Company and was leased to the president for $500.00 a year. After the assassination the car was impounded as evidence and later modified and back in use by 1964. Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter would on occasion use the car during their presidency. The car was retired in 1977.

     The „Kennedy“ Lincoln Continental on display.

This is the last presidential limousine that will be preserved. All presidential cars are now destroyed by the Secret Service for security reasons. Hope you enjoyed this post.