Famous Cars Of The Presidents

This year, one of those hopefuls is Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State (not to mention former First Lady), and her campaign has made news due to the use of an unexpected vehicle.

The vehicle in question (pictured above) – a Chevrolet Express that has been customized by the Explorer Van Company – isarmored, according to Time, and driven by members of the Secret Service. But Hillary's van isn't the only interesting vehicle ever used by a president or presidential hopeful. 

The Beast 

President Obama doesn't actually drive this massive black Cadillac limo, affectionately nicknamed The Beast. Instead, he rides in back, deep inside its heavily armored bodywork.

There are reportedly a dozen such limos used for presidential duties, each one powered by a gasoline-burning V8 engine that returns less than four miles per gallon.

But President Obama didn't always ride in such a massive vehicle. 

President Barack Obama's Old Chrysler 300C

This is the car President Obama drove before he was elected president in 2009 in Naperville, Illinois. The car Barack Obama drove to election victory in 2007 was put up for auction on eBay with a whopping one million dollar asking price on January 30, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.

According to the Illinois-based private seller, the Hemi-powered Chrysler 300C sedan was driven by Obama when he leased the vehicle in 2004 after just being elected Senator of Illinois. A certificate of title, proving that the sleek grey car was registered in Obama's name after being driven only two miles is included in the sale. The service history shows that the Chrysler was driven for 19,000 miles before Obama traded in the vehicle after becoming President in the summer of 2007.

Wondering what George Bush drove? 

US President George W. Bush's Ford truck

Former President George W. Bush (R) and First Lady Laura Bush (L) are seen here driving on their sprawling ranch in Texas. As befitting such a location, the vehicle Bush chooses to call his own is a fullsize pickup truck, specifically a white Ford F-Series.

And what about Bill Clinton? 

Bill Clinton's 1967 Ford Mustang Convertible

Bill Clinton's younger brother Roger first owned this 1967 Ford Mustang before his older, somewhat more famous brother, parked it in his own driveway.

It's not often that a US President is allowed to drive himself anywhere, so we're sure there was plenty of security around Clinton as he helped celebrate the Mustang's 30th Anniversary in 1994. He reportedly drove it a total of 250 feet.

Ronald Reagan's Subaru Brat

According to rumors and reports, former US President Ronald Reagan drove this exact red Subaru Brat around his own personal ranch in California.

In a strange bit of history, Reagan apparently used the vehicle at the behest of Subaru, giving regular performance reviews to the Japanese automaker about how well the car operated when used as a real working truck.

The Subaru Brat was recently restored.

Lyndon B Johnson's Amphicar

LBJ earns the distinction of having the strangest car on this list. It's called an Amphicar, and, as you can see, it can drive on land or float on the water. In a bit of truth-being-stranger-than-fiction lore, we'll let Joseph A. Califano, Jr, a former US Secretaru of Health, Education, and Welfare, explain this one:

"The President, with Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back,was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a Amphicar. The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he’d roar."

The presidential limousine in which President John F Kennedy was shot 

The presidential limousine in which President John F Kennedy was shot, seen here, is on permanent display at The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Detroit, Michigan.

The car started life as a 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible, but it was modified for presidential use and renamed X-100 by the Secret Service. Surprisingly, the car was not retired after JFK's death, instead being further modified and re-used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter before being decommissioned in 1977.

 Harry Truman's Chryslers

Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, was a life-long Chrysler buyer and driver. Two of his first cars, both white Chryslers from 1941, are on display at the Truman Presidential Library near Kansas City.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is what Truman drover after his presidency. Naturally, it was a Chrysler, which he purchased brand new in 1953. But the strange part is that he drove it himself, embarking on a road trip from Washington to his home in Kansas, with his wife in the passenger seat. That's something we'll never see happen again...

Let's go one step older, shall we?

Stanley Steamer

Gasoline wasn't always the only way to get around. In fact, William McKinley, the 25th President, was the first in history to ride in an automobile.

The car? A Stanley Steamer. As its name implies, this was a car powered by steam, and, by all historical accounts, quite an advanced and performance-minded machine in its day.