There’s something about grown boys and their fast toys. And when it comes to cars and motorcycles, President-elect Joe Biden is a huge fan.
His baby is his dark green 1967 Corvette Stingray that was a wedding gift from his dad, who managed a Chevy dealership. It’s still in pristine shape. Back in 1967, the cost of the car was $5,700. It’s now worth about $80,000.
Biden often bemoans not being able to drive his Corvette. He likes to call it a “quarter horse.” And at times, he says it would be a reason not to run for president. Presidents and vice presidents, along with candidates of the major parties during election season, don’t drive because of security reasons.
“There’s one overwhelming reason not to run for president,” Biden said back in 2014, as he addressed the United Auto Workers. “Zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds … 3.4 seconds.”
Biden loved his corvette so much that he even used it in a political ad. He said the car reminds him of his father and his son, Beau, who died of brain cancer five years ago. One year, Beau and his younger brother, Hunter, had the engine rebuilt as a Christmas gift for their dad.
In the ad, Biden said the United States should own the manufacturing of electric cars.
“I believe we can own the 21st-century market again by moving to electric vehicles,” Biden said, adding he’s been told there’s work to produce an electric Corvette that can accelerate to more than 200 mph.
Joe Biden Got Permission to Drive His Vette Back In 2016
Biden was allowed to drive back in 2016 when he was a guest on “Jay Leno’s Garage,” a show on CNBC. Biden and Leno drove in Biden’s corvette around a Secret Service training facility. Then Colin Powell, the retired four-star general and Secretary of State in the George W. Bush administration showed up in his Corvette. Powell was driving a 2015 Corvette, which had been a gift from his family. It was his third one.
Biden said when he did the Leno show it was only the third time he’d driven the car in his eight-year term as Vice President. Leno, the retired talk show host and noted auto aficionado.
Biden told Leno that because his dad managed the dealership, he was allowed to borrow a nice ride for prom. He said he drove his first date around in a 1951 Plymouth convertible.
Biden loves going fast on motorcycles. But that, too, has been curtailed by the Secret Service. Back in 2015, he joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and singer Billy Joel for the September 11 Memorial Ride, which retraced the route FDNY Rescue 1 took when they raced to the World Trade Center in 2001.
