Repair-It

Even then, it was pretty clear Cadillac would once again furnish the White House with its rolling fortresses, an eventuality that has more to do with engineering capacity and institutional know-how than mere tradition. Cadillac has provided presidential limousines for eight out of the last nine administrations, with each generation providing greater levels of ballistic protection and other defensive capabilities.

The next Beast has already been spotted testing and it appears that, as we predicted, it will maintain the design and layout of a "Cadillac Escalade sedan." There's conference-style seating for five in the rear passenger compartment, identical to the 2+3+2 layout of the current limousine, with rectangular rear doors positioned just ahead of extended rear quarter windows partially hiding the rear seats. Don't expect to see any significant changes to the basic architecture -- the current formula has been around since the 1990s and has worked well.

What won't the new limousine likely have? Power windows for the rear passenger compartment. The rear windows don't open on the current limo, and the front ones only open a few inches to allow the front-seat occupants to talk to people just outside the limousine.