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Obama's limo to carry tax-protest license plate [w/video]

Jeffrey N. Ross — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:30:00 EST

The United States of America was created in part behind the belief that we should not have taxation without representation, so it is rather ironic that Washington, D.C. must deal with this same problem that helped spark the American Revolution.

For years, residents of Washington, D.C. have had license plates with "Taxation Without Representation" written on them to protest the fact that they have to pay taxes but have no voting power in Congress. Starting this weekend, President Barack Obama will join in the protest by adding the plates to all presidential vehicles including the Presidential state car - a Cadillac known simply as "The Beast."

Since it is not a state, voters in the District of Columbia are able to elect delegates to the US House of Representatives, but said delegates do not have the ability to vote on the House floor. A similar state of affairs exists for voters in the US Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. This won't be the first time a president has used the plates to support those living in the District of Columbia. President Clinton had the "Taxation Without Representation" plates on his veihcles, but his successor, President George W. Bush, did not.

Continue reading Obama's limo to carry tax-protest license plate [w/video]

Obama's limo to carry tax-protest license plate [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Obama's limo gets banged up in Ireland UPDATE

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Videos, Cadillac, Police/Emergency, Celebrities, Humor, Specialty

Presidential limo gets stuck in Ireland - Click above to watch the video after the break

This is no ordinary limousine. Rumored to be built on a heavy-duty truck chassis, this stretched Cadillac boasts armor plating all around, window glass thick enough to stop bullets and enough high-tech communications equipment to run the entire United States from the comfort of its leather-lined back seat. You'd think it would take a nuclear bomb to halt the progress of President Obama's black Cadillac.

Apparently, all it really takes is one particularly nasty speed bump.

Just below the break you'll find a video shot by a casual passer-by that shows the Presidential Limousine (also known as "The Beast") getting high-centered on the apparently oversize down-ramp that exits the parking lot of the American Embassy (in other words, on U.S. soil) in Dublin, Ireland.

Nobody can say for absolutely sure (except for the Secret Service, and they ain't talkin') whether POTUS was actually in this limo or not. Some are suggesting that this may have been a decoy, and, due to the quick response from the Commander in Chief's safety crew, we can't really say for sure how this fiasco ended up for President Obama or the First Lady, or if they were even in the car.

In any case, you should definitely check out the video after the break... if only to see - and more importantly hear - The Beast getting stuck entering Ireland. Thanks for the tip, Jay!

*UPDATE: New, much clearer and closer second video added after the jump.

Continue reading Obama's limo gets banged up in Ireland *UPDATE*

Obama's limo gets banged up in Ireland *UPDATE* originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: President Obama denied hybrid limo by Secret Service

Zach Bowman — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Cadillac, Military

Cadillac Presidential Limousine - Click above for high-res image gallery

You can't always get what you want. President Barack Obama said today that he originally wanted his presidential limo to boast a hybrid drivetrain. So what keeps the ruler of the free world from getting what he asks for? In this case, it was the Secret Service. Obama's body guards said that a hybrid engine couldn't produce the kind of power necessary to scoot the massive Cadillac down the road in an emergency situation. That's saying something, considering the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid boasts a V8 with enough power to have a 7,700-pound towing capacity. Part of us thinks it might also be a security concern to have a vehicle that may be more susceptible to electronic interference from nefarious sources, but that's just a guess.

No one's exactly sure what the Commander-in-Chief's car has under the hood, but it's a good bet that it has eight cylinders and enough torque to move a mountain of armor plating. We hear it's a diesel and we're guessing it probably nets fuel economy on par with most RVs.

Obama's pining for a hybrid limo came to light during a speech about the government's recent purchase of 5,000 of hybrid cars and trucks for federal use. No word on whether or not the executive branch got the General Motors employee discount.

Gallery: 2009 Presidential Limousine

[Source: ABC News]

Report: President Obama denied hybrid limo by Secret Service originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trio of bulletproof presidential Hyundai Equus limos are first-ever armored stretches built in Korea

Noah Joseph — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Hyundai, Police/Emergency, Specialty, Luxury

Hyundai Equus LV500 Limousine - Cick above for high-res image gallery

By now, vehicles like the Genesis and Equus have convinced most of how far Hyundai's come from bring the purveyors of punchline hatchbacks. But in case that wasn't enough, Hyundai has dropped the bigger-than-the-average-bear Equus VL500 limousine on the home market. Still not enough? How about presidential-grade armored versions, then?

That's precisely what Hyundai has built for Cheong Wa Dae, the seat of the South Korean president. Three of them were built and handed over to the Korean Presidential Security Service, and they'll be used at the upcoming G20 summit scheduled to be held in South Korea next year. Few details have been released, but the trio of armored Hyundais are said to be capable of withstanding the blast of 15 kilograms of TNT, putting it around the sixth or seventh level of the police certification which Mercedes-Benz and BMW use for their armored vehicles. The armored Equus stretches may not measure up to President Obama's Cadillac, but they are certainly a long way from the Getz, and they are apparently the nation's first-ever homebuilt armored limos.

Gallery: Hyundai Equus Limo

[Source: The Chosun Ilbo]

Trio of bulletproof presidential Hyundai Equus limos are first-ever armored stretches built in Korea originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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President Obama takes inaugural ride in Presidential Limousine

John Neff — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:55:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Cadillac, GM, Military, Celebrities

Click above for high-res image gallery of Obama's inaugural ride in Presidential Limousine

Inauguration Day for President Obama has come and gone, and while our freshly minted Commander in Chief was probably most interested in making his title official, we like to believe the high point of his day was taking the inaugural ride in his new Presidential Limousine. Secrete Service agents have reportedly begun calling Obama's new whip the "Beast" for reasons that are readily apparent. General Motors released images of the new Cadillac-based limo last week, but were of course not permitted to reveal the car's specifications. We're still in the dark on most everything about the new Presidential Limo, but new images from yesterday's inauguration reveal its true scale and capabilities.

First of all, notice the roof height compared to a Secret Service agent walking next to the car. Though it has the basic proportions of a very long-wheelbase sedan, this thing is nearly as tall as a Tahoe. The sidewalls of the tires are enormous, kind of like the front tires on a semi-truck, which suggests a level of puncture resistance far beyond your average run flat. The increased ground clearance and large fender flares also suggest this car can go off-roading when the need arises, like if an ICBM takes out the road ahead. Lastly, this image of an agent holding the car door open for Obama while he enters the vehicle shows the true thickness of its doors. Based on that, we imagine the new Presidential Limo would score 50 stars if crash tested by the NHTSA. Check out more pics below of the Obama family taking their first ride in the Presidential Limousine.

Gallery: President Obama Inauguration Limo Ride

[Photos: Getty Images]

President Obama takes inaugural ride in Presidential Limousine originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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