The Complete History of the Presidential State Car

Truman’s Switch to Lincoln

There are rumors that General Motors would not let Truman borrow his cars for his campaign in 1948, so when he entered office in 1950, he opted for Lincolns instead. The state cars included 10 Lincoln Cosmopolitans that Henney Motor Company modified. Hess and Eisenhardt enhanced them with safety features, painted them black, and added headroom to fit the tall silk hats. One of these was an armored convertible while the others were closed bodies. All of them had V8 engines with 152 horsepower. There were 10 specially built Lincolns.