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[Music]
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we all know about air force one
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but once that flying tank lands how does
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the president get from point a to point
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b
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well he uses the beast a 20 000 pound
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cadillac limousine that's so guarded it
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puts the death star to shame considering
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a 2021 cadillac escalade weighs just
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under 6 000 pounds at the tundra we're
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just a little curious about the tactical
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gear that constitutes those extra 14 000
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pounds
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let's start with a brief history
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the first truly specialized car made for
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the president of the united states was
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the 1938 cadillac queen mary so-called
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because queen mary christened it for
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some reason and fdr had the pleasure of
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using that as his parade vehicle then
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truman
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then eisenhower
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the queen mary was also the first
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presidential car to have the secret
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service involved with the car's design
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incorporating a two-way radio for
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communication and storage for ammunition
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it was blessed with cadillac's second
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generation 16 overhead valve v8
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producing an impressive 210 brake
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horsepower so it was no slash on the
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straight if the occasion arose while
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there aren't any documented presidential
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drag races on record juice was
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definitely a priority the queen mary was
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replaced in 51 with a custom ordered
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lincoln cosmopolitan it didn't include
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any tactical upgrades but it did sport a
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336 cubic inch flathead v8 that produced
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a not so whopping 145 horsepower here's
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a bit of fun trivia president harry
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truman commissioned the car but because
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cadillac refused to make a car for him
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during his bid for the presidency truman
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chose lincoln as the brand for the beast
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who said politicians don't hold grudges
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for the next three decades the
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presidency stuck with lincoln's until
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ronald reagan brought the cadillac back
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in 1980. although by that time the
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secret service had taken on the
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responsibility of acquiring multiple
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presidential vehicles for
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security reasons ever since that
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transition the cars themselves were more
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like armored personnel carriers built
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more for secure transport than for
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performance that brings us back to the
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beast and its weight problem sorry not
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trying to body shame anybody
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commissioned in 2014 the body might look
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like a stylish cp6 but it's made of five
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inch thick military grade armor
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including the floor the doors have eight
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inch thick armor plating and all the
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windows are bulletproof
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all adding a bit of heft no doubt as
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well as extra costs making it quite a
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bit more expensive than the floor model
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ct6 coming in at 1.5 million dollars
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that's the price of a ferrari sf90 the
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beast is airtight so it can withstand a
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chemical attack cars doors are famously
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difficult to open requiring some serious
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duane the rock johnson strength if you
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want to escape the belly of the beast
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the rock 2024. there's an oxygen tank
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under the backseat in case of a fire and
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the trunk has you guessed it a spare and
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a bunch of guns now all we need to know
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is how the secret service intends to
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access those guns in the event of an
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emergency engine wise the beast is
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rocking general motors finest the
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duramax diesel v8 producing 214
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horsepower though the vehicle gets a
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very disappointing 8 miles to the gallon
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at a max speed of 60 miles per hour come
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on you can get guns but you can get some
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gnaws
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to that end though president biden's
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press secretary said recently that the
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president's team is considering giving
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the beast an electric engine imagine
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that
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the beast made by tesla one can always
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dream either way you look at it the
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beast is certainly a beauty
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i'm leo schwetzky with the tundra
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enthusiast network thanks for watching
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[Music]
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We all know about Air Force One – but once that flying tank lands, how exactly does the President move from point A to point B? The answer is ‘The Beast’.
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