# Presidential Bus - why so ugly and depressing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949 "2011-08-16T20:50:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/1 "2011-08-16T20:50:03Z")
Man, this is one butt ugly bus. The press is already making coffin jokes. Did no one consider a better paint job? 😛 I get depressed just looking at this big turd. :rolleyes: Get some colored paint and fix this thing. Please? [http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/the-presidents-beastly-bus/?hpt=hp\_c2](http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/the-presidents-beastly-bus/?hpt=hp_c2) Compare with Obama’s election bus in 2008. [![](http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/obama-bus.jpg) ](http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/obama-bus.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/2 "2011-08-16T20:54:45Z")
I assumed they couldn’t afford anything nicer. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/3 "2011-08-16T21:21:48Z")
It also raises the delicate question. Does the first black president sit in the front or back of the bus? I bet he sits wherever he wants. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/4 "2011-08-16T22:03:17Z")
I would say it’s intended to be low profile, but that thing looks about as low profile as a guy skulking around a bank in a black leather trenchcoat and fedora. ---
**Author:** ![TXCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/76d3ee/32.png) [@TXCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXCowboy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/5 "2011-08-16T22:08:59Z")
It is pretty ugly. Since it is owed by the government and is an offical vehicle, I can see them not painting it up with campaign slogans but I think a nice paint scheme like Air Force One or Marine One would be better that all black. Its not like its not going to draw attention anyways. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/6 "2011-08-16T22:39:42Z")
Solid black paint would show any damage better than paisley, but still. A little gold pinstriping would snazz it up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/7 "2011-08-16T22:45:54Z")
I dunno, looks pretty cool to me. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/8 "2011-08-16T23:08:15Z")
It feels pretty “Dystopian overlord” to me. Like it should be surrounded by guys with full helmets and molded plastic shoulder-pads ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/9 "2011-08-16T23:15:28Z")
Huh, when they showed this on the news, I just assumed they were decoy buses. There are apparently 2 of them, and they are so stereotypically Secret Service-esque that I figured President Obama would naturally be riding in a beige Prius a dozen car lengths behind them. Glad to see he’s using mass transit, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/10 "2011-08-16T23:21:15Z")
It occurred to me that those heavily tinted windows are illegal most places. Cops carry a meter to check the % light that passes through them. They’ve even been known to have roadblocks to check cars. [http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/04/19/1632122/police-using-meters-to-detect.html](http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/04/19/1632122/police-using-meters-to-detect.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/11 "2011-08-16T23:30:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It occurred to me that those heavily tinted windows are illegal most places. Not since McCullough v. Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/12 "2011-08-16T23:31:13Z")
The driver’s windows do not appear to be tinted. Are there any windows in the passenger portion at all? That article even says that trucks and motorhomes are exempted, and this thing requires a commercial truck license (an NPR story mentioned special training such as driving in reverse at high speeds using only the mirrors, like Mater). ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/13 "2011-08-16T23:32:03Z")
A paint job, an American flag, anything would help. But the fact that it’s probably one of several probably limits the decorating. Some kind of marking to differentiate the buses will show up like neon on that solid black. The bus is probably more armor than anything else. I do know the Presidential limousine is probably the most heavily armored noncombat vehicle in the world. It supposedly can drive for miles on just the rims. The bus probably has a mongo heavy-duty engine to haul all that armor, and AC is some big commercial refrigeration unit. Face it, nobody’s gonna roll down the windows and stick out a pinwheel to blow in the wind! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/14 "2011-08-17T01:21:03Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > A > Face it, nobody’s gonna roll down the windows and stick out a pinwheel to blow in the wind! > ~VOW And it’s a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes. I wonder if the bus will be Greyhound One. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/15 "2011-08-17T01:59:56Z")
Is it possible for it to have as much armor as the limo? The [limo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_state_car_(United_States)) is already so heavy that it is built on a [GMC Topkick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_Topkick) truck chassis. For a large bus to be built in a similar manner, it would have to be monstrously heavy. Wouldn’t it need more axles than it has? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/16 "2011-08-17T02:07:41Z")
The press is right. It looks like the world’s largest hearse :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/17 "2011-08-17T02:20:01Z")
Darn…I was hoping for something more like the [Universal Soldier truck.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR_2Xmv0dhE) Still, a giant black juggernaut isn’t _always_ bad…just look at[Megaweapon!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlHL8KuLcCs#t=2m39s) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/18 "2011-08-17T02:48:21Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I wonder if the bus will be Greyhound One. I was going to say this! :mad: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/19 "2011-08-17T03:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=VOW] The bus probably has a mongo heavy-duty engine to haul all that armor, and AC is some big commercial refrigeration unit. [/QUOTE] A coach that size would already have a pretty beefy engine, and since they’re not packing 50 passengers inside, they’ve already “saved” close to 10,000 pounds of payload capacity that can go to armor. Oddly enough, the AC appears to be handled by four rather standard-looking RV AC units. They just painted the shrouds black instead of leaving them white. But overall, yes, that thing is ugly. Whether they bought one or one dozen, they might as well have picked an attractive color scheme. The white/light blue of Air Force One would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949/20 "2011-08-17T03:37:25Z")
police mortuary van is how BBC News describes it. The speculate that the windows were painted out and not tinted. > **[Obama's battle bus no symbol of hope](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14536517)** > > US President Barack Obama embarks on his first bus tour in office, but his vehicle for the trip through the rural parts of three mid-Western states looks like it really is headed for a battle. I find it frustrating. The country could use some kind of hopeful symbol these days. Some sign of leadership. Instead we get the black hearse. Thanks guys. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/presidential-bus-why-so-ugly-and-depressing/592949.md?page=2)