Everyone is used to seeing images of the U.S. President emerging from “The Beast,” the nickname for the president’s official parade limousine; but as private citizens, presidents own their own cars, and their choices in rides certainly reflect their individual personalities.
The first president to drive a car was William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913. By that time, the nation was ditching the horse and carriage, so Congress approved converting the White House stables into a set of garages.
Congress also approved the purchase of two Pierce-Arrows and a White steamer car; however, the forward-thinking Taft really wanted to putt-putt around the nation’s capital in a Baker Electric Car, so Congress appropriated the funds for Taft to have his electric car.
When Taft came to Augusta to dedicate the Butt Memorial Bridge in honor of his friend, Titanic victim Archibald Butt, he crossed over on the Sand Bar Ferry with one of his cars. It is believed that Taft likely traveled with one of the Pierce-Arrows instead of his souped-up golf cart.
Taft’s successor, Woodrow Wilson, had exquisite taste in automobiles, even though he did not own one before becoming president. According to Auto Simple, Wilson loved his Pierce-Arrow limousine so much that, like any good liberal Democrat, he persuaded his supporters to buy one for him when he left office in 1921.
Herbert Hoover loved to tool around in his 1932 Cadillac 452-B V-16 Imperial Limousine with coachwork by Fleetwood; however, that car quickly became a liability for him on the campaign trail after the stock market crash of 1929.
Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was remarkably simple when it came to choosing his cars. Roosevelt owned several luxury cars, but he also owned a Plymouth.
Roosevelt’s favorite was a 1933 DeSoto that had been specially outfitted so that the crippled president could drive the car using only his hands.
Former haberdashery owner Harry S. Truman always carried on the air of a humble man, and his car seemed to reflect that unpresuming nature. He purchased the first post-WWII Ford Deluxe that came off the assembly-line.
Truman also complained that he was basically a pauper after leaving office, telling journalism legend Edward R. Murrow, “The United States government turns its chief executives out to grass. They’re just allowed to starve.”
As a result of Truman’s complaining, Congress passed the Former Presidents Act, which gives the former Oval Office holder a pension and other lifetime perks. However, according to Intelligencia, Truman actually left office a very wealthy man, so perhaps the Ford was just part of the branding.
John F. Kennedy had a thing for convertibles, which did not bode well for him. So, what did the swinging king of Camelot chase down Marilyn Monroe with? If you guessed it was a groovy 1961 Ford Thunderbird, you would be right.
The man who is arguably one of the most peculiar presidents in history, Lyndon B. Johnson, loved pranking people with his German-built Amphicar. According to one of his former advisors, Joseph A. Califano Jr., Johnson would pour himself a tumbler of whiskey on ice, pack the car with people and take off on his ranch.
Johnson would crest a steep hill headed towards the lake and begin furiously pumping his knee yelling, “The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in!” The former president would then laugh like a hyena at his terrified passengers.
Truman was not the only president to use his personal automobile as a political prop. Nixon tried to prove he was an ordinary man of the people by driving a 1950 Oldsmobile 98.
In his famous “Checkers” speech at the 1952 Republican Convention, the soon-to-be vice-president and future president claimed, “I own a 1950 Oldsmobile car. We have our furniture. We have no stocks and bonds of any type. We have no interest, direct or indirect, in any business. Now that is what we have.”
Ronald Reagan owned many vehicles, but his favorites were his red U.S. Army Willys CJ-6, named “Old Friend,” and his Subaru BRAT, making him the first president known to own a foreign car (unless you count LBJ’s Amphicar). Actually, the quirky little car/truck with safari seats in the bed was given to Reagan by Subaru to be used as a test vehicle for his ranch, and his ranch submitted bi-annual reports to the car company which Reagan signed himself.
It didn’t hurt to have Reagan, a former western-action movie star and Governor of California, to provide witness to the fact that the BRAT was a car that could do everything a truck could do and provide seating for four.
Subaru was also trying to get around the so-called “Chicken Tax” and have the BRAT labeled a car and not a light truck.
No photographs exist of Reagan driving the BRAT. At a time when members of Congress were smashing Japanese vehicles with sledgehammers on the steps of the Capitol building, Reagan’s advisers kept the BRAT a closely guarded secret.
In the wake of the Kennedy assassination, former presidents are no longer permitted to drive themselves on the open roads, and that has caused former President Bill Clinton to complain bitterly about not being able to drive his 1967 Ice Blue Ford Mustang Slick Willie Edition.
Dad-jeans-wearing former President Barack Obama has a Ford Escape Hybrid in the garage at his Martha’s Vineyard estate, but I am willing to bet that he only gets behind the wheel when Michelle is around.
Donald Trump has branded every conceivable product with his trademark, from steaks, board games and neckties to vodka and wine. In the mid-1980s, the future president worked with Cadillac and coachbuilder Dillinger-Gaines to design what was touted “the most opulent stretch limousine ever made.”
The ride featured rosewood trim with 24-carat gold accents and hardware. It also featured a bar, closed circuit TV, VCR, a fax machine and a paper shredder (I’m not making that up).
Only two original prototypes were ever made, but Cadillac did mass-market a toned-down Trump Executive Series Fleetwood Brougham for a couple of years.
And yes, we all know that President Biden is fond of his 1967 Chevy Corvette Stingray, but remember, former presidents are not allowed to drive, so that should make you feel better.
See you on the road!
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
