One of Obama’s presidential perks: a new car

NORFOLK After Barack Obama takes the oath of office Tuesday, he'll ride to the White House in a new custom-built Cadillac limousine that, other than larger windows, isn't dramatically different from the presidential limo built for President George W. Bush in 2005.

But that doesn't mean the car isn't unique.

The specifications and construction of presidential cars are overseen by a small government group that has run the program for years.

GM declined to say much about the specifications for Obama's car or how many of the models are being built.

Meanwhile, Bush's limousine will remain in use in the White House fleet.

Cadillac isn't the only brand that provided presidential transportation.

One hundred years ago, Congress first approved money for a White House automobile fleet for President William Howard Taft. The first presidential garage included a steam-powered, 40-horsepower White Model M seven-passenger touring car and a Baker Electric.

Taft's successor, Woodrow Wilson, first rode in his 1919 Pierce-Arrow Vestibule Suburban Limousine after signing the armistice agreement that ended World War I. After leaving office, he bought the car for $3,000. It can be seen at Wilson's presidential library in Staunton.

After an assassination attempt was made on President Franklin Roosevelt while he rode in a convertible in Miami in 1933, the feds had FDR use Al Capone's 1928 armored Cadillac, which the government acquired after Capone's indictment on tax-evasion charges.

But FDR preferred open cars and was frequently seen in a Packard Twelve.

Lincoln supplied FDR with a 1939 model, nicknamed the Sunshine Special. The V12-powered car transported Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman in various places all over the world, including Yalta, Casablanca, Tehran and Malta.

After the Sunshine Special was retired in 1950, the government obtained a fleet of Lincoln Cosmopolitan Limousines. President Dwight Eisenhower had a plastic bubbletop fitted on his limo after being rained on during an appearance in Richmond.

Perhaps the most famous presidential Lincoln is the 1961 Continental built for President John F. Kennedy. It was the car Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

Despite its infamous history, the car was modified for security purposes and used by President Lyndon Johnson.

Cadillac rejoined the presidential fleet in 1984 and has remained the presidential car of choice ever since.

-- The Virginian-Pilot