The Frist Diesel First Sled

Officially Official: Cadillac introduces the new presidential limo

Bits of info have filtered out over time, but the incoming Commander-in-Chief gets a new ride. Official photos were released today. Previous revelations include a possible truck chassis and a mixture of other pieces from the luxury brand's parts bin, and potentially the first diesel powered limo (Obama's Presidential Limo Will Be a 'Rolling Tank With Windows). Autoblog.com Forum commenter Duke gives us his list: "I think I've spotted some actual production components on the Presidential Limo.

1. Escalade headlights.
2. Escalade side view mirrors
3. Escalade door handles
4. STS tail lights
5. STS third brake light
6. STS rear license plate and reverse lights.

After that, everything is custom. The tires are HUGE. The Goodyear Regional RHS is a truck tire built for medium duty applications... The seem to be 275/70R19.5s on 19.5-inch truck wheels. My guess is that they're standard tires over survivable cores -- kevlar and such to keep rolling no matter what. Those have to be wheel covers over steel wheels.....Most of the chassis must be TopKick truck. And if there is a diesel powering this beast (as seems likely) that's a first for a Presidential Limo."

I expect that there are a host of technology and engineering tricks to this beast. Like 5" of glass, a mechanical lock-down in an emergency, chemical weapon protection, and the use of exotic materials (i.e., titanium, ceramics) (Leaked reports).