Obama goes green

President Obama is the next person that has jumped on the "going green" bandwagon that has been touring the country for the past year or 2. With global warming threats and documentaries like Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth", Americans are beginning to worry about their carbon footprints. President Obama is trying to reduce his mark by using hybrid vehicles for his fleet.

Obama also wanted to transform his presidential limos into hybrid vehicles. The New York Times' Wheels Blog reports that although the President can basically get whatever he wants, security officials drew the line at hybrid limousines. At a town meeting in North Carolina, Obama compared the limousines he travels in to tankers, and said that because of their large size, hybrid engines wouldn't obtain the same acceleration levels.

Security in presidential vehicles increased after President Kennedy was shot, so it would even take awhile to design and get another limousine prototype approved. Not to mention, that since President Reagan was in office, all presidential limos have been designed exclusively by Cadillac. Because of the strict security details surrounding the president's vehicles, Obama officials or Cadillac will not discuss the details of his vehicles.

Though he may not be strolling around in a hybrid limousine, the Obama administration did purchase over 5,000 hybrid vehicles for his federal fleet. Obama also told edmunds.com that the government would purchase the first 100 American made plug-in vehicles.

I personally have been trying to reduce my carbon footprint by recycling more and driving a Toyota Prius. How are you all "going green"?

Read the entire Wheels Blog post here: http://wheelsblog.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/no-hybrid-limo-for-president-obama/