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The history behind the Obama-Mobile

Like a monarch's limousine, the automobile used by the president of the United States has a special meaning. An aura seems to surround it. Originally a simple mode of transport, the automobile quickly became a ceremonial vehicle.

  • Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) was nicknamed "Cautious Cal" because he never drove faster than 25 km/h! He also had a soft spot for the Pierce-Arrows. In fact, during his term he signed an agreement with the manufacturer in order to lease five new cars instead of buying them. The photo shows him in the middle Pierce-Arrow during a parade on March 4, 1925.
  • The "Sunshine Special" was the first White House car to be considerably modified for safety reasons. This 1939 Lincoln Special K was often used by Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) before World War II. Before being rebodied and serving the president of the United States, this was Al Capone's personal car!
  • A young Ronald Reagan poses beside a 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan back when he was just a popular Hollywood actor. Little did he know what life would have in store for him.
  • Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) has a seat in a 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible during his term as president.
  • This 1950 four-door Lincoln Cosmopolitan was manufactured for the White House and used by four American presidents, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. It was retired from the White House fleet in 1967. In 1954, Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) asked that a Plexiglas roof be fitted so that his fellow Americans could see him even when the weather was bad. From then on it was known as "Bubbletop."
  • Instead of using the official White House car, the 1950 four-door Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible, Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) chose a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado for the parade following his presidential inauguration ceremony. It was one of 532 units of the new model produced that year.
  • The 1961 Lincoln Continental in which president John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) was shot during a parade in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The car is now part of the collection of the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
  • This is one of two four-door Lincoln Continental convertibles delivered to the United States Secret Service in 1968. The vehicle, used by president Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), was equipped with split rear doors to allow Secret Service agents to climb into the moving car by way of very wide step plates.
  • 1972 Lincoln Continental This limousine is where Ronald Reagan took refuge on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley fired in his direction. The car, which went into service during Richard Nixon's term (1969-1974), also served president Gerald Ford (1974-1977), who was the target of an assassination attempt on board as well.
  • This 1983 Cadillac limousine was bodied by Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring, a division of O'Gara International, and served president Ronald Reagan (1981-1989). The firm modified and armoured the chassis according to the specifications of the Secret Service. A second, identical car was also built.
  • This is the Lincoln Continental in which president George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) was transported during his inaugural parade in January 1989. It had been delivered a few months before, when Reagan was still in power, but had not yet served officially.
  • This 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham limousine, bodied by Hess & Eisenhardt and of which three units were produced, was delivered to the Secret Service around the same time the Clinton family (1993-2001) entered the White House.
  • The presidential Cadillac in which George W. Bush rode in following his inauguration in January 2001, had a different look from the "glass palace" used since 1993. The limousine was built on the platform of a front-wheel-drive DeVille and sported a markedly higher roof and streamlined windows.
  • 2006 George W. Bush / Cadillac DTS Limousine On January 20, 2005, president George W. Bush rode in this 2005 Cadillac DTS limousine down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, during his second inaugural parade.

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The history behind the Obama-Mobile

Like a monarch's limousine, the automobile used by the president of the United States has a special meaning. An aura seems to surround it. Originally a simple mode of transport, the automobile quickly became a ceremonial vehicle.