Joe Biden, our Vice President has many years of seasoned experience serving the American people. Car and Driver recently interviewed Mr. Biden and the following are some things you might have not known.
The Vice President is 68 years old and his middle name is Robinette. The VP’s dad was a car salesman. He managed dealerships in Delaware and had experience with the Big Three – GM, Ford as well as Chrysler. The VP told Car and Driver that his father was bringing home cars all the time.
Car and Driver asked the VP which car he recalls the most. As evident from Vice President Biden’s answer, it is apparent that he knows a thing or two about cars. The VP responded by saying, “I bought a ’51 Studebaker. My dad thought it was nice and calm, but it had that overdrive, and it was fast. Then I bought a 1952 Plymouth convertible, candy-apple red with a split windshield. I think that was my favorite. I had a ’56 Chevy, then in college I bought a 100,000-mile Mercedes 190SL with those Solex carburetors that never functioned. And I still have my ’67 Goodwood-green Corvette, 327, 350-horse, with a rear-axel ratio that really gets up and goes. The Secret Service won’t let me drive it. I’m not allowed to drive anything. It’s the one thing I hate about this job. I’m serious.”
The VP was asked about GM paying back its government (taxpayer) loan. Vice President Biden responded that GM is paying it back on schedule and that the automaker is talking about hiring back the last of the laid-off workers by the end of this year. This is good news for America indeed!
The VP was asked about his 2 billion grant for battery technology. He told Car and Driver
that he is proud of what it has done with battery technology. The VP said that in the next decade we will have batteries that are one-third to one-tenth the weight of today’s. Also, the VP said that we will be able to go 1,000 miles.
Car and Driver asked VP Biden if any cars recently zinged him. His response was, “My brother has one of those 556-hp (CTS-V) Cadillacs with a manual. He brought it down for me to eat my heart out. So I got in. I have a driveway that’s about 1700 feet long. I know that the Secret Service wouldn’t let me drive it outside. So I jumped on that sucker and laid rubber. A great feeling. That thing could probably beat my Corvette.”
It is interesting that the Vice President’s driveway is a bit longer than a quarter-mile (1320 feet). Well, cars need to have the carbon blown out somewhere! By the way, his brother’s Cadillac is equipped with a version of the Corvette engine and its chassis. No wonder it moves so fine off the line!
It is great to hear that Vice President Biden really enjoys cars. I’m sure that he is doing everything possible to help the American auto industry and that is great indeed!
Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price: How to Buy a Used Automobile, Sport-Utility Vehicle, or Minivan and Save Money.” He welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site: www.cartown1.com. Follow Kyle on Facebook and Twitter.