The $1.1 million vehicle, one of two
that Quebec-based Prevost sold the government, has been tricked out by
the Secret Service with state-of-the-art security features and creature
comforts.
It's a VIP H3-45 model, the company's
top of the line, and is used by major traveling rock bands.
"That's the more luxurious model,"
Christine Garant of Prevost told The Post.
COOL RIDE, EH! It's the only way to
travel for President Obama, who is pushing American jobs -- in a
Canadian-made bus.
OBAMA'S $2.2 MILLION BUSES
"When we have the Country Music
Awards, we sometimes see a lot of them," she said, noting that Kid Rock,
David Lee Roth and Kenny Rogers also have owned them.
Obama's new ride is equipped to carry
all the baggage a president needs -- including the "football" that
allows him to remotely control US nuclear weapons.
There's electronic equipment allowing
Obama to communicate and teleconference worldwide.
Like his GM-built limousine, nicknamed
"The Beast," the bus has armored doors.
The president also has large
flat-screen TV sets and comfortable couches.
There's a bathroom, but unlike on Air
Force One, no sleeping area.
The bus was ordered by the Secret
Service in July 2010 and delivered two months ago.
The feds bought the two coaches for
$2.2 million from Hemphill Brothers Coach, based in Tennessee. It
installed custom interior upgrades into the Prevost shell, which
accounted for about half the cost.
The contract lists the country of
origin as Canada and place of manufacture as "outside U.S. - Trade
Agreements," a possible reference to the North American Free Trade
Agreement.
Hemphill wouldn't comment on the bus.
But an ad on its Web site for a similar bus costing $100,000 less than
what has been dubbed "Greyhound One" boasts: "This coach is appointed
with the finest materials and the latest in high tech electronics and
was built for a top entertainer to travel efficiently without losing the
luxuries of home.
"It is the perfect coach for
entertainers, sports stars, NASCAR drivers, executive travel, or anyone
accustomed to the very best."
Ed Donovan, a Secret Service
spokesman, said, "There are certain security and communications
equipment that we'll have in there. It's just a better situation for us
rather than leasing something and then putting in temporary equipment."
Hemphill Brothers lists Beyoncé, Cher,
KISS, Van Halen, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, and Pope Benedict XVI as
clients on its Web site.
The Secret Service says the buses will
be available to other protectees who travel by bus, which could include
the 2012 GOP presidential nominee
Other Rumors:
Secret Service Buys Two New $1.1
Million Buses For Three-Day Trip…
US
President Barack Obama (C) walks to his bus as he arrives in
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Minnesota, August 15, 2011,
where he is to begin his three-day bus tour in the Midwest centering on
ways to grow the economy. (AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON)
He FLYS into an airport somewhere in
the midwest, hops into a brand new 1.1 Million $ bus, paid for by you
and me, for a “bus tour” ‘around the Midwest’, and after an hour or so,
gets driven back to the airport for ANOTHER FLIGHT, lands at another
airport where another 1.1 Million $ brand new black bus is waiting for
him… and repeats all that until his midwest bus‘tour’ is done?? Oh
yes......and THEN he leaves on a 12 day vacation to Martha's
Vineyard.......to REST UP from this campaign bus tour!
And don't forget........those brand
new shiny black buses aren’t DRIVEN to the location where they meet
Obama. Those buses are loaded up on one or more C-17s. Then, they are
flown to the destination ahead of AirForce-1.
AND!.......this is REPEATED FOR EVERY CAMPAIGN STOP.
On this 'bus tour', the Prez will
lecture the 'little people' on how they need to live within their means
and cut-back! Remember when very recently Obama told that family man to
GO BUY A HYBRID VAN when he said he couldn’t afford to fill up his
truck????
Obama's 'carbon footprint' must be as
large as most cities by now.
All of this on the taxpayer's
dime.....But remember, this is NOT a campaign trip - it is "Meet with
the people" trip only! So that the DNC does NOT pay a cent for all of
this.
PS: He ordered these busses from a
Canadian company
