Most people just have a spare tire or a can of fix-a-flat and an auto club card when they hit the road. But as we all know, they do things bigger in Texas, so when some guy from Texas goes for a drive around Rome, he brings along a spare stretch armored limo!
As President George Bush and his entourage approached the US Embassy in Rome this weekend, his custom Cadillac DTS limo decided to pack it in. .After attempting to restart, Bush ultimately got out and walked through the embassy gates, later using the backup limo for the rest of his appointments.
The video after the jump shows the crowd's reaction to Bush's limo breaking down, which was comprised mostly of laughter when the driver attempted to restart the car without success. Nevertheless, the President was cheered when he ultimately exited his stage coach and began to hoof it.
[Source: Reuters via OmniAuto.it]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
James @ Jun 11th 2007 12:46PM
Good old GM quality !!! He needs a Toyota or Honda limo..
Matt @ Jun 13th 2007 12:51PM
Well, he couldn't get a Honda, that's for sure. She wouldn't have enough torque... and the second a hill were involved, BOOM.
rob @ Jun 11th 2007 1:01PM
matt-
my acura has plenty of torque. yes, that company that's part of honda. remember?
and that cobalt...so hot! i bet it has plenty of torque. yummy. i wonder why prezzy doesn't have a cobalt limo?
VL @ Jun 11th 2007 1:17PM
I'd like to see executive armor options for an Acura.
Matt @ Jun 11th 2007 2:57PM
Civic = 128 ft-lbs
Cobalt = 155 ft-lbs
Oops. :(
Also, I don't believe James at all mentioned Acura, it was Honda. Not sure where a Cobalt would come into play, but if you find out let me know. :)
rob @ Jun 11th 2007 4:54PM
matt-
in a few years that pos rental darling you call a cobalt is going to be worth $1000 (if its still working) while the civic will still be worth three, four times as much. you're still the loser. sorry.
Jenny @ Jun 12th 2007 8:54AM
Toyota is better and reliable.
Jenny
http://www.spaml.com
Jhon @ Jun 12th 2007 9:00AM
see http://photo2text.com/
Dave T. @ Jun 11th 2007 12:52PM
How'd I know there'd be a GM quality joke in there. I was surprised they flew his limos over there for the trip. Do they do this every time? Wow.
And another shock, cheers for Bush in a European country. Double wow.
Sam Abuelsamid @ Jun 11th 2007 1:07PM
They generally take the limos everywhere domestic and international. When a US president travels, it usually requires several aircraft and lot of logistical planning. Bmoredlj is right these things are custom built and share almost nothing with a stock Cadillac
Alex Nunez @ Jun 11th 2007 4:47PM
Sam's right. The motorcade is flown wherever the President goes in a C-17 (possibly two of them, I can't recall). When he was in New Haven for his daughter's graduation a couple of years ago, you could see the planes at Tweed airport: C-17, AF1 -- actually the 757 that normally acts as AF2, since Tweed can't accommodate a 747 -- and another passenger plane (add'l media/staffers perhaps?).
Aprime1 @ Jun 11th 2007 12:54PM
It's Italy, Europe and Italy are totally different. :V
dragonhead08 @ Jun 12th 2007 3:07AM
EUROPE=CONTINENT
ITALY=COUNTRY
ITALY IS IN EUROPE
Aprime1 @ Jun 11th 2007 7:42PM
You sir are certainly unfamiliar with the meaning of the ":V" emoticon.
bmoredlj @ Jun 11th 2007 12:57PM
The limo custom-built by a non-GM shop and is powered by a marine engine. Only the few body panels it shares with the DTS are GM stock, so you can hardly blame GM for the breakdown.
I'll admit though, his limo is very rediculous, considering the glass is so thick no light enters the cabin and it has to be lit artificially. It may look like a limo, but it's stronger than a tank.
G-Dub usually takes little publicity hiccups like this in stride, embracing his image as an aw-shucks cowboy, despite his New England silver-spoon roots.
Guenther @ Jun 11th 2007 5:02PM
I'm curious as to what they use for a chassis. The Wiki article says it's a GM tuck chassis, but nothing they have is low enough to fit under that car-shaped body.
Seems like a fully armored Escalade would work well. Or just a plain ol' white King Ranch SD, like you allways see in the background on the ranch in Texas.
MuthaTrucker @ Jun 11th 2007 1:04PM
I read on another site it was because of bad gas, can you imagine that, Haliburten must not have gotten their pay offs.
John @ Jun 11th 2007 1:31PM
Great GM quality on display here.
Viv @ Jun 11th 2007 1:39PM
Why do people like you insist on posting without reading anything on top? Didn't people tell you it's not built by GM or has a GM engine in it. Didn't they also tell you it's because of BAD GAS. Trying reading and learning once in a while.
bernie @ Jun 11th 2007 1:45PM
They giggled and pointed at American workmanship. They quietly cursed at the worst U.S. preseident in more than a century.... the damage he's done to my country's reputation is not even funny.