Why Can’t Obama’s New Presidential Limo be a Hybrid?
November 18, 2008 · Print This Article
We aren’t supposed to know much about the President’s main ride, since it’s kind of a security issue. So, nobody’s really sure exactly how many miles per gallon the rumored new Obama Mobile gets – but according to reports, it might be pretty eco-unfriendly. Obama may have driven a hybrid SUV before winning the presidency, but once he’s in office this January, we’re hearing that he’ll be rolling in a souped-up limo that looks like a Cadillac GTS but is based on GM’s line of heavy-duty 2500 trucks.
Treehugger reports that even a non-souped-up 2500 series truck gets single-digit MPG and emits 16 tons of CO2 per year, earning it the worst possible climate change rating from the EPA. For security reasons, Obama’s limo will probably be even worse since all that 5-inch-thick glass and blast-proof ceramics are awfully heavy. But for all that, Treehugger doesn’t see why the new presidential limo couldn’t be a hybrid.
From Treehugger:
Clearly the limo — which is currently probably diesel-powered — has to be super strong, bullet-proof, and fast. But why can’t it also include a new drivetrain, electronics and some batteries? Ford made a conventional hybrid limo with the Mercury Mariner. If he needs something more militarized, can’t Obama car get something along the lines of those hybrid Hummer upgrades he earmarked as a senator? He did after all once call for every government car to be a plug-in hybrid.
And after all, wouldn’t a hybrid drivetrain help with accelerating such a behemoth? One commenter at CleanMPG speculates that the car might already be a hybrid for that reason.
Treehugger goes on to note that the limo could be a plug-in hybrid, though the threat of electromagnetic pulse could interfere with its electronics (a job for military engineers?).
It would be pretty awesome if they could pull that off, but when it comes to ferrying around a president with an unprecedented number of threats to his life, safety is definitely first. Hopefully this behemoth will make up for its abysmal MPG by keeping Obama as safe as possible.
Link [Treehugger]
- The Holigent Challenge for Obama's Grassroots
- $4500 rebate for the EV1!!
- Citizen's Mandate 4 Green Government
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I have a 1983 Mercedes which is modified to run on vegetable oil. On top of it, I live within three miles of work and school and ride a bike the vast majority of the time. My green credentials being established, let me say that this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. The hybrid systems currently found on GM trucks are BAS (belt alternator starter), otherwise known as “mild hybrids”. All they do is shut the engine off at a stoplight and quickly turn it back on when the gas pedal is depressed. A full out hybrid such as Toyota’s synergy drive or GM/Mercedes’ two-mode has yet to be applied to a large vehicle. So, what is being advocated here is to plop a very complex drivetrain into a brand new application for three vehicles. If the tens of millions of dollars in development costs were spent on carbon credits instead, Cadillac one would probably not only be carbon neutral, but carbon negative. Yet more damning for treehugger’s intelligence, is the fact that the presidential limo itself is only a small part of the white house’s carbon footprint. I believe the presidential motorcade has something like 35 vehicles in it. And a GMC top-kick’s mpg pales in comparison to that of a 747. A hybrid limo would only be for the press to eat up. I’d rather see my first black president be a hypocrite in an Abrams tank, than a target in a Prius.
Simple. Money, reliability, and power. The presidential limo likely weighs as much as a commercial truck. In a world of RPG’s, IED’s, and .50 calibre rifles, do you want Obama in anything less? We dont need the weight…. HE DOES. There are no readily available proven hybrid drivetrains that can move that kind of weight in a rapid fashion and can fit under the hood of a limosine packed with armor and electronics.
They cant just develop a special unit, their almost bankrupt.
Simple answer, put a truck diesel engine in it. Big, simple, and RELIABLE. The presidential limo is as special a case as there is. get over it.