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New Cadillac Presidential Limousine: Green enough for Obama?
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President-elect Barack Obama’s new presidential limousine may cost him favor among the green crowd, writes Boston Herald’s Dave Wedge. The new custom-built “Cadillac” said to be under construction for the next president appears to be built on a GMC 2500-series truck frame, writes professional car (as limos, hearses and ambulances are known) expert Gregg Merksamer, and will be more fortress on wheels than automobile.
According to armored vehicle experts, President Bush’s limo has window glass five inches thick, and the rest of the presidential limo that went into service in 2005 is similarly armored. And all that stuff gets heavy. The current limo probably goes through fuel like a 100-car fully loaded coal train—as rare as those will become according to the vice-president elect. The new limo will be heavier yet.
A “spy photographer” who routinely catches pre-production cars in testing—a sort of automotive paparazzi—was able to make some observations:
“…the limousine was being tested with a pair of GMC Topkick medium-duty trucks. The limousine seemed to be riding on the same 19.5-inch Goodyear Regional RHS tires as the trucks, indicating that it is far heavier than a civilian Cadillac. Indeed, it is believed that the limo is based on GM's 2500 line of trucks, which includes an extra-heavy-duty version of the Suburban.”
Of course, neither General Motors nor the Secret Service, which provides security for the president, would share any details. Armored vehicle converters are understandably reticent about giving exact specifications, but Utah-based International Armoring Corporation’s website shows some general techniques. Merksamer says “a half-inch of transparent armor is enough to stop a .44 Magnum round at point-blank range; at a thickness of 1.25 inches to 1.5 inches, the same material can withstand bullets fired from military assault rifles.” The presidential limo will have transparent armor (window “glass”) more than three times as thick.
A presidential limo must be able to withstand everything from RPG (rocket propelled grenade) attacks to bombs underneath the vehicle, so the resulting “Cadillac” will be at least as safe as one of the new MRAP (mine-resistant ambush protected) vehicles now saving soldiers’ lives in Iraq. We’ll wager that the new limo has a concealed V-shaped hull as well.
Cadillac grille and taillights? Sure. Otherwise the only Cadillac about it will be the “built by General Motors” sticker.
But about saving fuel, there will be at least two more identical units built for and traveling with the limo carrying the president as decoys. At least one of these as well as up-armored Secret Service vehicles travel in a military cargo jet accompanying Air Force One.
So I wouldn’t sweat the extra gas, Dave. If they exist—and surely they must—the new limos were under planning and construction well before not only the election but even before the campaign started five minutes after the last election. It’s not all “do as I say, not as I do.” On the other hand, if General Motors could work that new 2-Mode Hybrid system in there somehow…
Illustration courtesy General Motors Corp.
If you liked this, you might be interested in:
- 2009 Cadillac Escalade 2 Mode Hybrid car review
- 2009 Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid car review
- 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid car review
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