The Department of Homeland Security is shopping for a new presidential limousine when the next chief executive enters office in 2017.
The current Cadillac limousine that made its debut just before President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, nicknamed “The Beast,” replaced the 2006 Cadillac DTSlimo that President George W. Bush had used since his second inauguration in 2005.
President Obama typically rides in the Beast for official business while stateside. When he travels aboard, it’s in an armored Chevrolet Suburban.
The bid restricts the vendor to major domestic automobile manufacturers with headquarters in the United States. So this means that bidders will likely include veteran presidential limo builders General Motors and Ford. GM has built the Cadillac presidential limousine for more than 30 years, while Ford built presidential Lincoln limousines decades earlier. The Detroit News reported that a Ford spokeswoman didn’t comment on whether the Dearborn automaker planned to bid on the project.
