The most interesting thing about presidential limos is that they’re built on the assumption that most people want to see you, but a few people want to kill you. Or at least that’s how the more recent limos are. Eisenhower’s Chrysler Imperial was a beautiful open-topped voyeuristic paradise, but then everybody liked Ike. Nixon’s limo was a rolling fortress. What’s that say about the two men? Who knows?

In honor of President’s Day, we dug around in various collections across the country to investigate the limos of the presidents. First, we went to the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, which has three U.S. presidential executive transports that covered eras from FDR to Richard Milhous. The three, along with cars of other dignitaries, or war criminals in some cases, were lined up in the basement of the museum, an area known as The Vault. The Vault is pretty cool and worth paying the extra 20 bucks to tour if you’re ever in Los Angeles and have an afternoon free.

Our guide would be everyone’s favorite museum curator, Leslie Kendall, who has been at the place since before it opened 20 years ago and will hopefully remain for another 20. It was Kendall who helped organize one of the museum’s most highly regarded exhibits, “Popes, Presidents and Potentates: Cars of Heads of State” in 2005. While that exhibit covered cars of all global leaders, there was an emphasis on American presidents.

There was a time when Presidents could ride around in open cars. Petersen Automotive Museum

Turns out our chief executives had to buy their own transportation up until about 100 years ago. That meant horses and carriages. Washington preferred “plain and elegant” rather than “rich and elegant,” according to Kendall. The first president to officially switch from horses to cars was Taft, who did so in 1909. Taft had a $12,000 budget to do so, which was pretty big at the time, and he wanted the “best deals,” according to Kendall. He purchased a White Steamer, two Pierce Arrows and a Baker Electric.

Woodrow Wilson also had a Pierce Arrow. Harding was the first president who could actually drive, though he got driven nonetheless. He was the first president-elect to arrive at his inauguration via automobile, a Packard Twin Six supplied by the Republican National Committee. Calvin Coolidge went back to Pierce Arrows for his term, while Herbert Hoover rocked a stylin’ V-16 Cadillac.

Franklin Roosevelt was a Ford man and it was Roosevelt’s 1942 Lincoln Zephyr that was one of the presidential limos we saw in the Petersen Museum’s famous Vault. Of the three executive limos in The Vault, FDR’s had the most legroom inside, ironic for a guy who might not have needed it as much as the others.

“This one was ordered on Dec. 8, 1941 because there was no armored car at his disposal (when the U.S. entered WWII),” said Kendall.

While waiting for the Lincoln to be uparmored, Roosevelt rode around in the only armored car available at the time -- Al Capone’s Cadillac, seized from the bootlegger gangster when he was sent off to Alcatraz.

FDR used this Lincoln limousine towards the end of his administration. Petersen Automotive Museum

FDR’s Lincoln was fully armored, with thick bulletproof glass and reinforced cladding surrounding the cabin. As probably everybody in history has done since the stuff was invented, we wrapped a knuckle against the bulletproof glass, as if to gauge its quality and resistance. It was solid.

"Every body panel is slightly re-contoured to accommodate the armor," said Kendall.

The windows are heavy as heck, but still roll up and down.

"Normally windows have one counterspring,” Kendall said. “This one has four."

It also has a Bendix Aviation brake servo to accommodate the extra weight and what was called a "parade generator" to keep the lights running over long periods rolling at slow speeds. Curb weight is “…a stout 7,000 pounds.” The interior fabric was wool, which was very comfortable to sit in as we slid into the FDR parade position down there in the dark cement confines of The Vault. We waved… but no one waved back.

Next to FDR’s car was Eisenhower’s 1952/56 Imperial Parade Phaeton. Huge difference. While the ’42 Lincoln had been efficient and heavy, safe and secure in a time when the world was under fire, Ike’s peacetime Chrysler Imperial was open and stylish. It exuded post-war prosperity and optimism. It was one of three built, the other two going to the mayors of L.A. and New York. This one was used by Eisenhower, Nixon “…and a whole lotta astronauts,” said Kendall.

This Imperial was one of the last open cars that U.S. presidents have used. Autoweek

Last we had a look at Nixon’s 1967 Lincoln limo. Only the rear cab was bulletproof on this one (the driver and front passengers presumably Democrats). The details on this were cool: the original had runflat tires; the two front “diplomat flags” were illuminated by three mini-floodlights built in to each front fender; there were headset jacks all around the car so the secret service men could be kept appraised of threats, and there were running boards and grab handles all over so they could “…hang on for dear life.”

Inside was shag carpet, true to the era, and a radio telephone. A push-button stereo was sequestered in the presidential armrest like something out of a Crager catalog. Two ginormous bulletproof sunroofs could actually be opened and flopped forward, which

Kendall did with some effort, so the leader of the free world could wave at his subjects. To counter the massive solar gain of the sunroofs, shades could be velcroed in place to ward off the heat.

"It’s funky as hell," said Kendall.

Ronald Reagan used this limousine during his second term in office. Aaron

Just up the freeway from the Petersen Museum is the Reagan Library, final resting place of this monster Cadillac limousine. It entered the presidential motorcade in January of 1984. While hot-rodders may chop a roof to lower it, if you’re the leader of the free world you want people to see you, so the roof on this one was raised by 3 inches while the body was stretched 18 and a half inches. Like Nixon’s limo, it has a rear platform and raised grab bar for the Secret Service to hang onto, as well as two fender spotlights to illuminate the diplomatic flags waving away on the front corners.

Underhood is a 500-cubic-inch Cadillac V8 mated to a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic.

Presidential limousines are scattered around the country, and it seems that if you really want to see one on any given day, they're just a few hours' drive away. Here are a few more that we've found around our respective neighborhoods.

FDR's Sunshine Special was one of the most elegant and versatile convertibles used by U.S. presidents. Autoweek

The “Sunshine Special,” named for the top that was often open, was the first car made specifically for a president. With the fear of a world war surrounding the nation, security for the president was imperative. FDR had already survived an assassination attempt in a Buick convertible, but the Secret Service wanted to ensure his safety. This 1939 Lincoln V12 built on a Lincoln K-Series chassis was modified with bullet-proof tires, armor plated doors and thicker windows. The Lincoln was also designed to make moving Roosevelt in and out of the car easier so discretion could still be kept regarding the president’s battle with polio. The “Sunshine Special” was the start to a long line of Lincolns in the White House fleet.

The 1950 Lincoln Mercury “Bubbletop” was one of the more complex White House limousines of the period, incorporating plexiglass. Autoweek

After the war, the 1950 Lincoln Mercury was built for President Harry S. Truman, but Eisenhower used the car from 1952 to 1960 and added the “bubbletop” plastic to protect him from bugs during parades. There was also a step for Secret Servicemen in the back. Altogether the Lincoln weighed about 6,500 pounds and had a V8 engine that produced 152 horsepower.

Other presidents such as Kennedy and Johnson used this car as a substitute for their own from time to time.

This Lincoln Continental served in the White House motor pool during the Lyndon Johnson administration. Autoweek

Not every limousine used by the White House motor pool ended up in a museum. This Lincoln Continental limousine from the LBJ administration wound up in a private collection, with the White House radiotelephone system still in the back seat. This particular version isn't armored -- not all of the cars in the motor pool were; in fact, after the government determines that an armored motor pool vehicle is "done," it is destroyed instead of being sold.

Want to see more of these? Tune in to the inauguration around this time next year. That's when Cadillac's new presidential limousine will make its first appearance.

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