Theodore Roosevelt was the first U.S. President to ride in an automobile (that’s what they called them back then) while in office. He was also the first sitting President to ride in an aeroplane. Ever since then, world leaders and automobiles have been inexorably linked as cars are generally seen as a status symbol of a nation’s manufacturing prowess.
The leaders of the Soviet Union had their ZILs, while the Brazilian President gets to roll in a ceremonial 1952 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, the lucky bastards. Here in America we cocoon our current Presidents in something called “the Beast” a GMC truck-based conveyance that, owing to its safety accoutrements, looks like a Cadillac drawn by a 4th-grader.
What we’re interested in today is your opinion on which world leader—past or present—got to have the sickest ride. What do you think, what is the most awesome political leader car or truck?
Image: Pinterest
Hooniverse Asks: What is History's Most Awesome Political Leader Car or Truck?
By Robert Emslie
Feb 16, 2017
Jeff Glucker
http://www.montrealracing.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/trudeau-mercedes-300sl/justin-trudeau-mercedes-300sl_3.jpg
I appreciate that my current PM owns a car handed down from his dad, really keeps you humble.
https://goo.gl/ikDqw7&wjban
The President of Gabon rides in a Stutz Royale.
http://www.madle.org/bsb16.JPG
http://www.madle.org/egabon.htm
Jäger bought the best ad spot.
https://goo.gl/eWHPLB&ywypo
https://goo.gl/mYotSq&ewevu
The President of France has a sweet Citroen SM 4-door convertible.
https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/gallery/CITROENSMPresidential-1998_5.jpg
And its predecessor (well, one of them, a black DS19) saved de Gaulle’s life, the suspension tackled two flat tires well enough to pull out of the assassination attempt.
Note the licence plate: 2 PR 75. PR for Président de la Republique, 75 for Paris. 1 PR 75 was the DS.
Also, that’s the Queen in the back (and her standard on the right front fender).
Scandinavian monarchs are usually…eh…not particularly interesting or smart. But King Olav of Norway was popular. He had a ’43 Packard and a ’53 and ’82 Cadillac:
http://www.mhkd.no/img/filarkiv/Image/Kong_Olav/img637.jpg
Later, the local-ish auto industry was supported:
http://www.mhkd.no/img/filarkiv/Image/Kong_Olav/img635.jpg
http://www.cdn.tv2.no/multimedia/TV2/archive/00785/Bakfra_785227p.jpg
…and the S80 Oprah Winfrey liked so much:
http://www.cdn.tv2.no/multimedia/TV2/archive/00994/Volvo-limo-bakfra_994940a.gif
At the moment though I think they run a medley of Audi, Mercedes and Volvo limousines, jut because they can. None of them is known to be a car enthusiast.
Actually, the king of Sweden is known to be quite a petrolhead. A quick Google search found this list of his current cars:
1965 Ford Mustang
1966 Pontiac Tempest GTO
1971 De Tomaso Pantera
1966 AC Cobra
1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupé
1973 Porsche 911 Targa
1946 Volvo PV 60
1966 Ford Mustang Shelby
2007 Ferrari 599 GTB
The first paparazzi photo of him together with who later became the queen features what might be the same Porsche 911 Targa as the one in the list. My excuse for knowing this is that it was taken in 1973 at a petrol station I’ve been to that still uses it as their claim to fame.
http://royauxsuedois.r.o.pic.centerblog.net/Kungen_Porsche_911.jpg
Yeah, you’re right. I thought of him, then discarded his credentials for all the rich-kid-crashing he has done…
Ooooh, she looks nice (and the 911, too).
Suicide doors and a drop top.
http://www.omniauto.it/awpImages/articoli/evidenza/_kennedy_24761.jpg
With optional bullet proof clear bubble top.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2e/9b/38/2e9b38593bf2b43b1ce61e8e522f719a.jpg
Obviously not used in Dallas, but it was available.
That blue color was lovely. It was repainted black during the overhaul, after the assassination.
Got to be LBJ and his collection of amphibious cars https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/36a3f7bf5a29e7f3ce9f9ff41c94b431c151662d06be62b6275c97cbf789f9de.jpg
First one I thought of, too.
He had a Continental convertible, too, that he would drive around the ranch in the winter, with the top down, and the heater on full blast.
I’d like to add that to my list of hobbies myself.
There’s something about driving around in the winter with the top down and heater on, or in the summer with the A/C on, especially when your car gets terrible mileage anyways.
https://goo.gl/hgdSKc&jqub
https://goo.gl/hLRGgQ&yqygo
I’m all about the people, not the ruling class. Instead of paying homage to a privileged ruler’s whip, I honor the car company that allowed every man to be the man behind a Commander, Dictator or President. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0cc61a77878440e6f8b1f7ee90a82e3828a8aa64e1a6d4237c98d4a31a460b70.jpg
https://goo.gl/B9LVkV&cemy
You can’t get more
presidentialdictatorial than the Großer Mercedes, owned by such political luminaries as Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, the North Korean Kims, and various other monarchs around the world.And this orangutan:
Does this count?
http://blog.caranddriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Trump-Limo-111-876×535.jpg
http://blog.caranddriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Trump-Limo-PLACEMENT-768×469.jpg
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160229/OEM02/302299961/2-tales-of-cadillacs-trump-limos
Maybe that’s why I don’t like him. I bet he doesn’t even drive.
Well, maybe not on the road.
https://cmgpbppostonpolitics.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/trump-doral.jpg
Obligitary Princess Anne reference:
http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/uploads/cms_article/3601_3700/1976-1982-reliant-scimitar-gte-se6-se6a-3662_6811_969X727.jpg
Ron’s Brat?
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–At8i43zz–/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_center,h_450,q_80,w_800/18n1xn380kkb8jpg.jpg
He also had a Scrambler and a CJ-6.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/project-vehicles/154-1005-ronald-reagans-1983-cj8-scrambler-1962-jeep-cj6/
http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/28481323+w660+h440+re0+cr1+ar0/154-1005-01%2breagans-1983-cj8-scrambler-1962-jeep-cj6%2breagan-with-his-scrambler.jpg
Prince Charles has a rather nice Aston Martin that he loaned to his son for the wedding.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/09/07/article-2199970-14E5429E000005DC-253_634x392.jpg
I remember that day. Man, what a sweet machine.
I’m sure Prince Charles has more than one but I recall a story back when he was still married to Princess Diana that at one polo match she decided to sit on the hood of the car and when he saw that, he was fuming. Within a couple of days he got in an accident with the car and it got pretty banged up in the front.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7845afcbbb189bf0cb9b04c746b28c51a95d74314b004176033bd5124bfb22c3.jpg The 1913 Delaunay Belleville 70 SMT (Sa Majesté le Tsar) built for Tsar Nicholas II.
The barrel shaped engine…a steam boiler?
Nope, it’s a gasoline car. Round radiators were a sort of fashion trend in the early 1900s.
Joe Biden’s one-owner ’67 Corvette roadster comes to mind.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0c2ef4bc2e0ee9ab12f89938b6890e1185b77e6ee630e0bd679fa86210073b5d.jpg
Recently underwent a full restoration. Man, it sounds good, and I think it’s just the base 327, with a four-speed. The ’67 is my favorite C2, and that color (Goodwood Green) is classy.
Five guys squeezing a 429 into a 1969 Ford Mustang. (Unrelated Content) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0c34555f7d27aca2d0240d4ab79f3c9e727ea81ac4d56336408f2ac80d6225bd.jpg
A SOHC 429. Holman and Moody?
Not a SOHC (which was built on FE architecture). It’s a Boss 429. Assembly was contracted out to Kar Kraft.
http://www.luxury4play.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/11-1969-mustang-boss-429-rm.jpg
Oh yeah, what the heck was I thinking? No massive timing chain case on the front, like the SOHC. It does have an air pump – was that only on California cars?
Tuesday’s answer is former King Juan Carlos of Spain, shown riding what appears to be a Bultaco, although he was also fond of BMWs
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02928/juan03_2928758c.jpg
That’s not to say he didn’t like cars, as evidenced by this one-of-two Frua-bodied Maserati Quattroporte:
http://www.rmsothebys.com/images/lots/medium/MO16/MO16_r174_001.jpg
Prince Karim Aga Khan liked it so much he commissioned the second example.
The Fusca of Jose Mujica, the President of Uruguay.
http://jalopnik.com/a-sheik-wants-to-buy-the-president-of-uruguays-vw-beetl-1655694226
Gov Brown drove a government issued Plymouth https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8e80fc2f79c2a5b0017f1fdf5952ed431cad09ced91d5433a455bf63d6a7bfc2.jpg
Caption for above: “Yeah, it burns a little oil, and it’s a PITA to keep in tune…”
ALERT: I wonder the photo is flipped – RHD Alfa?
Maybe FCA will use this picture of Fidel Castro as part of an Alfa Romeo advertisement.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad0cf395bd191dd27a008ac83b398ee26e323355c2c76467af510c388fbe09c1.jpg
The obvious choice for me is the Fuhrer’s Mercedes Benz 770K
Harry S. Truman was a longtime Chrysler man. Here’s his last car. Note the plate – 5745 – for V-E Day.
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/truman-72-chrysler.jpg?w=1200
Where’s that car now? Does it still exist? Is it in a museum?
Independence, MO / yes / yes. https://www.nps.gov/hstr/learn/historyculture/the-truman-car.htm
Regarding other Truman cars:
https://goo.gl/pyBkBw&pyqib
https://goo.gl/g9tQaK&ymile
There’s much more on Truman’s cars on Curbside Classic.
https://goo.gl/96jAiB&ihyhu
https://goo.gl/KHXP5u&fohog
https://goo.gl/7m6wNY&rjze
Joseph Stalin had a pretty impressive 15,000 pound armored 1937 Packard V-12.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/75f9a4f7bfaaedf7fafdf0bdeb98876485869da50a492c0622d8679265383c48.jpg
This deserves a mention:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Imperial_Processional_Car.jpg
Toyota Century Royal, belonging to the Emperor of Japan. Only four exist, and features include rice-paper headlining and granite entry steps…
1961 Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale. Pininfarina built four of them for the then Italian president. Two ended up in museums, the other two are still used today :
http://www.savelancia.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lanciapresident.jpg
with the top down in the rain
https://www.repstatic.it/content/nazionale/img/2016/06/02/123954372-9ca2f2fb-8731-43ec-8d55-3a9c4436ba30.jpg
https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/l/lancia/flaminia/lancia_flaminia_335_1.jpg
with Queen Elizabeth
http://ruoteclassiche.quattroruote.it/wp-content/uploads/nggalleries/lancia-flaminia-presidenziale/flaminia_regina_elisabetta.jpg
with JFK
http://ruoteclassiche.quattroruote.it/wp-content/uploads/nggalleries/lancia-flaminia-presidenziale/lancia_flaminia_presidenziale_1.jpg