PM's limo is just an old clunker

JULIA Gillard is being driven round in an armoured Holden clunker.

Despite giving Holden $275 million to keep making cars in Australia until 2022, the Prime Minister is making do with an official limousine that's almost 10 years old.

If it were just a civilian version of the Holden Caprice, a mint-condition example would be worth about $10,000 today.

But in a rare example of being thrifty with taxpayers money Ms Gillard has elected not to update to the latest model - because it would cost in excess of $250,000 by the time its modified with heavy armour.

The Commonwealth Caprice bearing the number plates C1 has bullet-proof doors, glass, roof and floor and there are even tiny X-shaped bars in the exhaust to prevent someone from inserting a bomb - or a banana.

And if you're wondering why Ms Gillard doesn't give a royal wave outside the window (apart from the fact it is illegal for a person's arms to protrude from a moving vehicle) it's because the two-inch-thick glass doesn't wind down. No doubt everyone on board hopes the air-conditioning works on hot days.

The metal armour and extra-thick glass adds about 800kg, bringing the cars mass close to 2800kg - as heavy as a LandRover Discovery 4WD.

To handle the extra weight Holden fitted a high-powered V8. But despite the extra grunt it's no quicker than a Toyota Corolla because of all the extra equipment.

The prime ministerial car might be bullet-proof but it's still fallible. It got a flat tyre after clipping a kerb at Federation Square during Oprah's visit in December 2010.

At least that incident wasn't as embarrassing as the time US President Barrack Obama's six-tonne Cadillac limousine was left stranded after scraping its belly on a steep driveway as it tried to leave the US Embassy in Ireland in May 2011.

The PM's office declined to comment on the vehicle but a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus confirmed it was expected to be replaced by security agencies in the first half of this year.

"These vehicles provide for the protected carriage of Australian High Office Holders, visiting foreign dignitaries and other Internationally Protected Persons," the spokeswoman said.

"For operational security reasons it is inappropriate to discuss specific details of the civilian VIP protected vehicle fleet."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

PM's limo is just an old clunker

Dengan url

http://andiplinplan.blogspot.com/2013/03/pms-limo-is-just-old-clunker.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

PM's limo is just an old clunker

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

PM's limo is just an old clunker

sebagai sumbernya