'I'm a car guy': A look at Joe Biden's love for cars as he takes Ford's latest electric pick-up for a spin
DEARBORN, MICHIGAN: Joe Biden, a self-described "car guy," took the new Ford F-150 Lightning truck for a spin during a visit to a Ford safety testing center Tuesday. As the President made the trip down to Michigan to sell his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, the renowned automaker unveiled its all-new electric truck to coincide with Biden's tour of Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, where the trucks will be produced.
“This sucker’s quick,” Biden told reporters as he rolled up to the traveling press corps. He then proceeded to warn them, “I’m just gonna step on it. I’ll come off at 80 miles an hour.” When a reporter asked about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Biden told her the only way he was answering that question was if she was to "get in front of the truck" as he prepared to step on the gas. Just “teasing,” he added, before vrooming off into the horizon.
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Biden's love for cars
Biden is known for his love of cars, being the son of a car salesman. His affinity for burning rubber was obvious in some of the Obama White House’s public messaging when he was vice president, as well as in his 2020 run for president. Democrat voters displayed campaign paraphernalia declaring they were “ridin’ with Biden,” alongside a stylized image of the future president behind the wheel of a convertible, wearing his signature aviators and a broad grin, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Get in folks, we’re going to win the competition for the 21st century. pic.twitter.com/B8YWFKlzeo
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 18, 2021
“The truth is, my dad, his grandpop, was a great driver," Biden said during a 2016 interview with Popular Mechanics. "I mean, he could handle an automobile. He loved speed. He used to joke that his one regret was he didn’t join the volunteer fire service so he could drive the ambulance. But we were never, you know, motorheads.”
Biden, during his tenure as vice president, lamented to Car and Driver that the Secret Service wouldn’t allow him to drive his beloved 1967 Corvette Stingray. “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," he told the magazine in 2011.
It's worth noting that Biden has made several public appearances with his Corvette, which was reportedly a wedding gift from his father. In fact, he even showed up on Jay Leno's Garage with it.
Racing with Colin Powell
The former vice president, at the time, grabbed headlines as he and fellow car enthusiast Leno rolled down the road with the wind blowing through their grey hair. The pair would soon spot another Corvette -- a newer, faster version -- emerging from a side street.
“I wonder who that cowboy is?” Biden said aloud, moments before the mysterious driver sped past him and Leno. They then got a closer glimpse of the grey 2015 Corvette Stingray Z51. The Chevys would soon pull up next to each other in a wide-open expanse. It was none other than former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
“Where were you?” Powell joked to Biden. “I kept looking in the mirror and I didn’t see you.”
The car talk lasted just moments before the friends decided to challenge each other to a race. “Try to keep up as best you can, Mr Vice President,” Powell said. With engines revving, the two Corvettes launched down the street and left a trail of tire marks behind. To this day, it is unclear who won that race.