page_title: Presidential state car (United States)
section_title: 2001–2009
hierarchical_section_title: Presidential state car (United States) / History / 2001–2009
caption_attribution_description: Busheva limuzina u Zagrebu 05/04/2008 ispred Mimare English: U.S. President George W. Bush travels in the presidential limousine in Zagreb, Croatia.
context_page_description: The United States presidential state car is the official state car of the president of the United States. The current model of presidential state car is a unique Cadillac that debuted on September 24, 2018.
  United States presidents embraced automotive technology in the early 20th-century with President William Howard Taft's purchase of four cars and the conversion of the White House stables into a garage. Presidents rode in stock, unmodified cars until President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration bought the Sunshine Special, the first presidential state car to be built to United States Secret Service standards. Until the assassination of John F. Kennedy, presidential state cars frequently allowed the president to ride uncovered and exposed to the public. President Kennedy's assassination began a progression of increasingly armored and sealed cars; the 2009–2018 state car had five-inch-thick bulletproof glass and was hermetically sealed with its own environmental system.
  Decommissioned presidential state cars are dismantled and destroyed with the assistance of the Secret Service to prevent their secrets from being known to outside parties.
context_section_description: In 2001, for the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Cadillac no longer produced a car suitable for conversion into a presidential limousine.  Furthermore, the additional armor and amenities that were added to the state car by the Secret Service taxed previous presidential limousines beyond their limits, resulting in failing transmissions and short-lived brakes.  The George W. Bush state car was instead designed from the ground-up by "an R&D arm of General Motors in Detroit" to meet Secret Service specifications.  "[I]nformed speculation" has  President George W. Bush's Cadillac Deville actually based on the chassis of General Motors' line of full-size sport utility vehicles such as the "Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon[,] and Cadillac Escalade."  This "Deville" featured five-inch (130 mm) armored doors, and "bulletproof glass so thick it blocks out parts of the light spectrum."  Rumored components of the car were sealed passenger compartments with their own air supply, run-flat tires, and a 454-cubic-inch (7.44 L) engine.  Confirmed accessories include "an integrated 10-disc CD changer, a foldaway desktop[,] and reclining rear seats with massaging, adaptive cushions."  This presidential state car was estimated to weigh approximately 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg).  Bush's presidential state car was nicknamed "The Beast", a name that has persisted through the presidency of Donald Trump.  When traveling, President Bush took along two of the armored limousines (flown by either C-5 or C-17), one for use and one for backup.  This proved fortuitous during a 2007 trip to Rome where one of the presidential state cars stalled for five minutes on a street; the car was re-started, but was replaced with the backup limousine after President Bush reached his destination.  Sometimes, President Bush would instead use vehicles already present at his destination such as embassy motor pool cars or military assets, rather than transporting the presidential state car.  The president never used non-American-governmental vehicles when overseas.
caption: President George W. Bush's presidential limousine in Zagreb
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