Since the Clinton era, it’s been fairly common for a new presidential limousine to appear every eight or nine years. With the last one rolling out in 2018, it’s about time we started to hear rumblings about the next Cadillac One. This week, the Detroit Free Press confirmed that Secret Service director Sean Curran has been in talks with General Motors to build the next-generation presidential limo, and it comes on the back of an interesting announcement.
On Friday, the Secret Service posted on the social media network formerly known as Twitter, stating that “Director Sean Curran met with GM executives to discuss advancements that could benefit the next generation of armored SUVs.” While this doesn’t necessarily mean that the next presidential limo will look less like a sedan and more like an SUV, adopting a more Escalade-like form would make the presidential machine more honest.
While the most recent presidential limousine, still known as The Beast, might look like an oversized CT6 sedan, it actually rides on a medium-duty GMC TopKick truck chassis. As such, it features Escalade headlights, massive truck-spec tires, weighs at least 15,000 pounds, and is at least somewhat spiritually SUV at heart. After all, early SUVs almost exclusively rode on ladder frames.
At the same time, an SUV form factor fits better with the market right now. Cadillac doesn’t sell a full-sized luxury sedan in America anymore, but its Escalade SUV is hotter than ever, with standard, long-wheelbase, high-performance, and even electric models cashing in on A-list brand equity.
However, there are other potential benefits to making the presidential limo an SUV that extend beyond merely fitting an image. For one, the tall cabin of an SUV would let GM shrink the footprint while maintaining cabin space, potentially offering better maneuverability in tight locations or should emergency require it. What’s more, the possibility of a shorter tail could result in better departure angle, meaning an SUV Beast could go more places than the current sedan-style one.
Plus, a change in body style for the presidential limo isn’t exactly unprecedented. In the mid-1960s, the presidential Lincoln at the time switched from a sort-of multi-topped creation with removable roofs to a fixed-roof machine for what should be obvious reasons. You know how safety features are often implemented because something really bad happened? Well, Nov. 22, 1963 was one of those days.
Countering evolving threats require us to constantly explore new innovations and improvements to our armored fleet of protective vehicles. Director Sean Curran met with GM executives to discuss advancements that could benefit the next generation of armored SUVs. pic.twitter.com/3RuuXWDCbe
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) March 21, 2025
Right now, we have a great picture of what may result from GM’s latest talks other than that armored SUV production will likely continue, and that a new presidential limousine is likely to eventually come along. Will the next Cadillac One be an SUV? Only time will tell.
Top graphic credit:
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Can we just go straight to Jabba’s sail barge?
I kinda like The Beast as-is, but America switching to an SUV-ish presidential limo makes sense given our penchant for electing ancient candidates to the highest office in the land for a while now. I mean: an SUV is easier to get into and out of gracefully than your average car-based-limo, right? 😉
If I ever became President, I don’t care what the presidential limo is because I’ll never be in it. I’ll enact a secret order (National Security and all) which states that a decoy will ride in my place whenever the presidential limo is needed. I’ll be wearing a disguise and driving myself in some fun sports car about 10 car lengths back, pretending to be annoyed at the hold up the whole time. Occasionally hitting my horn and yelling things like “Get out of the way jackass, I didn’t vote for you!”
What I like to call the “Senator Amidala Decoy System.”
Best post of the day! 🙂
I haven’t seen a new Star Wars movie since Phantom Menace (I think… that really awful one) so I don’t totally get your Amidala reference, but I can figure out what it means.
Also, the logic of using your Presidential authority to tool around in a ratty NA Miata (with a hardtop like my ’95 as a tiny concession to security, and perhaps wearing a wig or something as well) BEHIND the presidential convoy is just SO appealing! 😀
Isn’t the president not legally allowed to drive?
Correct
That’s why it’s a perfect plan. As long as everyone still assumes that, they’ll never think to look for me behind the wheel of any car.
As a matter of protocol but technically the president is the head of the executive branch and could change/ignore that protocol.
Truth is the current Beast is severely limited on cargo capacity. There’s a lot of gear in the trunk which made it difficult to stop for 200 Big Mac’s on the way back to the oval office.
A state dinner fit for a clown.
The next presidential transporter will be a flaming dumpster in the bed of a Cybertruck.
You could have stopped at flaming dumpster.
President? Cadillac?
Kramer, to a room: “Vote for Kramer.”
Kramer, to a man walking by: “Cosmo Kramer. I’m running for condo president.
I’d like your vote. Thanks.”
Kramer, to an old woman: “Remember, ma’am, a vote for me, is a vote for
Kramer.”
Old Woman: “Will you cut my meat?”
Kramer: “Gladly.”
———————————————
JACK: (worked up) What d’you think? I’ve never ridden in a Cadillac before?
Believe me, I’ve ridden in a Cadillac hundreds of times. Thousands.
MORTY: (skeptical) Thousands?!
So predictable… so obnoxious.
Not only do I miss the times that sitting US presidents comfortably rode around in convertibles, I equally pine for a present tense that one might be fine riding around in a non militarized Toyota Sienna.
President Bernie?
No way would you find Bernie riding in a non-union brand.
I see the base for the current limo referred to as a TopKick frequently, but wasn’t it developed concurrent with the current gen medium duty Silverado 6500 that International builds? They both were revealed in 2018, which doesn’t seem terribly coincidental.
The TopKick was done in ’09 and it was not a fresh design then.
I’m fine with the limo being an SUV, so long as the President is not a POS.
Only makes sense to make it an SUV that’s what they use for everything and everyone else. Just Chevy and rarely GMC. Surprised Ford hasn’t put in a bid.
Having been involved with the build on the GM CY 2000 version I’m pretty sure this is a money losing deal all the way and whatever value for the mfgr is in showing off the brand. Ford may well feel it’s not worth the effort.
Isn’t our leadership too elderly for climbing up into that? The current one seems about right.
Worth noting that the Secret Service has a massive fleet of Suburbans that transport everyone from the President on down, especially in situations where the Beast is too unwieldy.
Obama famously went balling in a convoy of three of them several days a week.
With the ever increasing age of the presidents, the higher seats would be easier for ingress/egress for them.
A hearse would make more sense.
Fingers crossed!
Maybe the back seats fold down 🙂
I thought the man of the people in charge was all about cutting the budget. Wouldn’t a ’63 Lincoln Continental convertible be a more economical way of letting him go out for meet-and-greets?
Geez, next you’ll be suggesting a trip to Dallas.
I do hear they have a lovely little grassy area near an old book storage facility.
Well, shoot, this got dark in a hurry.
And yet, it is still lighter and more hopeful than reality.
The next limo for trump should be a BOP transport bus.
As long as it comes with an ejector seat that reaches escape velocity.
On the other hand, Putin’s limo is still based on the Aurus Senat sedan, so would it really make sense for Trump to be appearing to trade down to a truck? They seem to have that sort of OJ/AC thing going on where they’d want matching vehicles
Seems to me the best solution would make the President’s limo look like a bone stock black Escalade ESV. Or a black Suburban if Mr President is a Jimmy Carter type who doesnt want to put on airs.
The security comes in having a fleet of 20 or 30 bone stock black Escalades in the motorcade, constantly switching position so you never know which one the President is in. Of course Mr Presidents is armoured, every other Escalade has a 50 cal or surface to air missile launcher that pops up out of the roof. And that is current tech the CIA uses, there are two or so normal looking suburbans with the concealed 50 cal in every presidential motorcade.
Secret service, not CIA.
Given the CIA’s history with the current president during his first term, I kinda wish they were responsible for his security now.
Similar to “The Italian Job”, we’ll ID the correct vehicle because it’s riding lower than the others. Few of our presidents are known for their svelte figures and good overall health.
Well it is a Cadillac, so it has load leveling rear suspension. Thats why all the fat mob guys liked Cadillacs back in the day. They could ride their fatssses around in the back along with a couple dead goombas in the trunk. Cops would never know cause a Cadillac doesnt drag ass when you load it down
Screw Cadillac – why isn’t Tesla building this? Use some of the bullet proof Starship steel, and put a Tesla Semi frame underneath it!
Elon’s dropping the ball here.
(That’s sarcasm, in case anybody missed it.)
We should replace humvee’s with Cybertrucks while we’re at it.
No one is dropping the ball. They’re flinging it at the window.
The next Presidential Limo might as well be a ZIL
Times have changed, he’d be getting either an Aurus Komendant or a Senat.
Based on Trump’s call for sponsorship for Easter, I expect the next Presidential limo to look like something from NASCAR with sponsor logo’s plastered all over it and possibly TRUMP45 vanity plates.
Makes sense. What looks more, “America – fuck yeah!” than an Escalade?
Let me “C”… I’m sure there’s something that fits America to a “T”…
Exactly! The Lexus CT(200h) truly is the embodiment of America.
Not exactly what I had in mind, but I do like your thinking!