<![CDATA[Jalopnik: presidential limo]]> http://tags.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: presidential limo]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/presidentiallimo http://jalopnik.com/tag/presidentiallimo <![CDATA[Chicago's Olympic Light Goes Out, But Cadillac One Keeps Shining In Copenhagen]]> We didn't know it was the Secret Service's job to clean Cadillac One, but an agent's shining this older limo for the same reason the Yankees always win; the other team can't stop looking at the pinstripes. Yeah, didn't work.

Photo Credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

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<![CDATA[Obama's New Presidential Limo: The Features]]> President Obama's new Presidential limo's been nicknamed "The Beast" by the Secret Service. We call it "Cadillac One." Either way, here's the low-down on the features inside this armored Cadillac-badged beast of burden. [via Telegraph]

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<![CDATA[Obama's New Presidential Limousine: First Video!]]> Here's the first video of President-elect Barack Obama and his Cadillac-emblemed, truck-platformed, GM-built new Presidential limousine from this morning. That circular depression on the door? Later today, the Presidential seal will be affixed there.

And yes, in at least one of the Chevy Suburbans following "Cadillac One" has a Gatling gun. Don't get in the way of that bowtied SUV.

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<![CDATA[Presidential Gatling Gun-Equipped Suburban Badder Than New Cadillac Limo]]> Barack Obama's getting a Cadillac-styled new Presidential Limo tomorrow. While nice, we're more interested in the Gatling gun-equipped Suburban that follows Cadillac One. Here's video of the bullet-spraying Chevy in action.

Is your job tough? Like, leader of the free world tough? Do you have people constantly throwing shoes at you? It's time you replied with a measured, appropriate response — and that response is a Dillon Aero machine gun turret mounted on top of a Chevy Suburban — just like the one the President's got! (Hat tip to Larry!)

We've already shown you Obama's new Presidential limo, below, now here's the big gun watching its back.
UPDATE: First video of the new Cadillac One on the way to President-Elect Obama's swearing-in.

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<![CDATA[Obama's New Cadillac Limo Officially Unveiled]]> President-Elect Barack Obama's getting a new Cadillac Limousine in time for his inauguration on January 20th. Here are the first official photos. The new limo’s a rolling symbol of the President’s power and GM’s marketing.


While the new Cadillac One may look like a stretched Cadillac DTS, it’s in fact based on the gigantic GMC Topkick truck platform. Security tech likely includes five-inch thick bulletproof glass, ultra high strength ceramic armor and cellphone jammers, but the Secret Service is putting the kibosh on official details for security reasons. One tech item they are talking about are the LED spotlights that’ll illuminate the fender-mounted flags at night.

The press release follows:

An American Tradition Continues: New Presidential Era Begins With a New Cadillac Presidential Limousine

WASHINGTON – As Americans celebrate the inauguration of a new president of the United States next week, another new Cadillac will grace Pennsylvania Avenue to lead the proceedings. President Barack Obama will ride in an all-new Cadillac Presidential Limousine, continuing a long tradition of Cadillac limousines that have served many U.S. presidents.

“Cadillac is honored to again provide a new Presidential Limousine,” said Mark McNabb, North America vice president, Cadillac/Premium Channel. “This is a great American tradition that we’re delighted to renew with an all-new car featuring the best of Cadillac’s dramatic design and technology.”

The image of an American president greeting crowds from a Cadillac limousine dates to President Woodrow Wilson and the early days of the automobile, and continues into a historic new era. The latest Cadillac Presidential Limousine is a completely new design, succeeding the DTS Presidential Limousine that debuted in 2004. The new car incorporates many of the dramatic design and technology features of new and highly acclaimed Cadillac vehicles in a purpose-built format tailored to specific and exacting specifications befitting presidential transport.

Inside and out, the Cadillac Presidential Limousine includes many of the brand’s signature design elements. Assertive, modern and elegant, the front of the car includes the intricate, dual-textured grille made famous by Cadillac’s most popular current models, the CTS sport sedan and Escalade. Vertical design elements, such as the car’s front and rear lighting, mirror those used on production models.

For largely functional reasons, such as optimal outward visibility, the car is slightly more upright than its predecessor. However, this new Cadillac Presidential Limousine occupies roughly the same overall footprint on the road as the previous model, with a similar size and proportion.

The side and rear profiles of the new Presidential Limousine are classic, elegant forms, evocative of Cadillac’s STS and DTS luxury sedans. Inside the cabin, the car includes the finest examples of Cadillac’s recent renaissance in design, technology and craftsmanship. The cabin blends modern design and technology with old-world craftsmanship. Major aspects of the cabin are cut and sewn by hand, the same process used in popular Cadillac models such as the CTS sport sedan.

Naturally, many purpose-built aspects of the car are specially designed and prepared for presidential use. The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features.

The car was designed, developed and tested by specialists who adhered to an extensive set of specifications. It was subjected to an extreme testing regimen to ensure performance that achieves precise functional requirements. In doing so, security provisions were undertaken at all times during development to ensure the car’s functional capabilities are preserved and confidential.

An embroidered presidential seal is positioned in the center of the rear seat back panel, as well as on each rear door trim panel. Presidential seals are also affixed to the exterior rear doors. The U.S. flag is placed on the right front fender, and the presidential standard is located on the left front fender when the president travels in the vehicle. High-tech LED spotlights illuminate the flags at night.

History – Cadillac and the U.S. Presidency
Cadillac has built limousines and special vehicles for U.S. presidents, diplomats, ambassadors and foreign dignitaries since the early 20th century, an iconic aspect of the brand that continues today.

Cadillac’s central role began during World War I, when many Cadillac engines and cars were transferred to military and government service because of their superior durability and power. One of the first chief executives to use a Cadillac was President Wilson, who rode through the streets of Boston during a World War I victory parade in 1919. A lavish 1928 Cadillac town car was used in the Calvin Coolidge administration.

In 1938, two Cadillac convertibles, dubbed the "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth," were delivered to the U.S. government. Named after the great ocean liners of the time, the vehicles were 21.5 feet long, weighed 7,660 pounds and were equipped with a full ammunition arsenal, two-way radios and heavy-duty generators. Durable and reliable, the two "Queens" served Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

President Eisenhower, known as a car buff, rode in one of the first Cadillac Eldorado models ever produced during his 1953 inaugural parade. The Eldorado represented a high point in automobile design history, as it had the first wraparound windshield, a feature quickly adopted on other new production models.

In 1956, the Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II convertibles replaced the original series. The vehicles were slightly smaller, but like their predecessors, were fully armored and featured state-of-the art communications. Moreover, the vehicles were fitted with narrow rims inside the tire in case the tires were shot out. The Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II served not only President Eisenhower, but also Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Both vehicles were retired in 1968.

The Ronald W. Reagan administration was delivered a 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine and a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham – Presidential Series was delivered to the William J. Clinton administration in 1993. Unlike previous models that typically were Cadillac cars adapted and modified by independent limousine companies, the 1993 Presidential Brougham was designed, developed and manufactured totally within General Motors and Cadillac. This included an extensive set of security measures to maintain confidentiality, a process that continues today.

Currently, the 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine resides at the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., while the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham is at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark.

Cadillac has produced two presidential limousines this decade that remain in service. The first was a Deville Presidential model delivered to President George W. Bush in 2001. In 2004, President Bush debuted a new DTS Presidential model. It was the first application of a new design that launched later that year for the production DTS full-size sedan.

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<![CDATA[Obama To Get New, Giant Truck-Based Cadillac Presidential Limo]]> UPDATE: Obama's New Cadillac Limo Officially Unveiled!
With a new president set to take the office, GM is working on a new version of "Cadillac One" for President-Elect Barack Obama — and it's a monster. According to our sources, the new President's state car may look like a stretched Cadillac DTS but is actually based on the GMC Topkick medium-duty truck platform underpinning Ironhide from Transformers. But instead of turning into an alien fighting machine, the Cadillac transforms into a portable bunker likely equipped with five-inch thick glass, cellphone-jamming equipment and blast-proof ceramics. Of course, this is all speculation as the Secret Service won't let anyone know the details of the system.

It's about time the Secret Service stepped up their game seeing as the current limo had a little bit of a break-down in Rome. Though Obama may want a million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015, the likelihood is this über-heavy Caddy probably downs more fuel than a dozen Prius hybrids combined. What? Did you expect him to drive around in a K-Car? Drive slow, homey.

[Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images, Source: Boston Globe]

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<![CDATA[What Would Be Your Ideal Presidential Limo?]]> If you're like us, you're working on President's Day (what would Taft think?). While there is much of the presidential life that interests us, we're most consumed with the thought of the massive transportation fleet at your disposal: planes, boats, helicopters and cars... oh so many cars. Presidential limousines have ranged from the sublime (Kennedy's drop-top Continental) to the benign (Nixon's K-Car limo), with all manner of extended rides in between. It has us wondering what we'd feel comfortable driving down Pennsylvania Avenue.

On one hand, nothing speaks to the opulence of a world superpower like a Maybach 62 Landaulet. But that's a German car and the open top makes us a bit nervous. Though Japanese, nothing would signal our commitment to the environment more than a Prius Limo. And how do you top a 6-wheeled Olds Toronado Limowagon?

Since the boss is probably making you work or your professor making you go to class on President's Day, this holiest of American holidays, feel free to take some time to share the details of your ideal fleet. We won't tell.

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