the beast
再びいただいた記事です。オバマ大統領が乗車する車の紹介です（これを撮影しに羽田までわざわざ出かけたマニアがいるくらい）。
キャデラック・ワンと呼ばれる特殊な車は，別名"the beast"と呼ばれています。様々な機能を搭載しているため，主さ8トンにもなるそうです。もはや乗用車とは呼べません。こうした車両を何十台も空輸していること自体、驚きです。（Ume）
Inside the President's armored limo
What's really in the belly of The Beast? Hint: It's not a Cadillac
It's called "The Beast," but it might surprise you to learn that President Barack Obama's massive Cadillac isn't really a Cadillac. And there's not one, but a dozen, in the highly classified motor pool, each costing more than $1 million. The cars travel with their own mechanic, an armed federal agent who carries a vast arsenal of electronic diagnostic devices and tools.
We've come a long way since JFK's opentop Lincoln. Until only recently, the Secret Service bought the presidential limousines off the lot, then modified them with super-secret aftermarket products and systems. All that changed when George W. Bush became president. The reason? The stock presidential limos kept breaking down. All the extras the agency added to each vehicle created excess stress and weight beyond the real operational limits of the original cars. As a result, the transmissions often failed, “and the brakes would last about two trips,” said one veteran agent. “The cars were just too heavy, and they were a terror to drive, and even harder to stop.”
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131018/carnews01/131019838
