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The 1956 twin Cadillac Presidential Limos are 21 feet long, on a 158-inch wheelbase, Series 56-86 commercial chassis, weigh 7,000 pounds, and has a list of options not found at your ‘50s era Cadillac dealer—pistol holders, rifle racks, phones, an extra-large siren, an oscillating rear light, and run-flat tires. All this bulk could be hauled up to 115 mph by its 365 cid, 305 horsepower V-8 engine. Just as the 1938 versions were dubbed the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, this pair was dubbed the Queen Mary II and the Queen Elizabeth II.
This is another of the fine images created by Yat Ming. It has the same, glossy black finish, and it’s also mounted on a black plastic base with the words: “Presidential Series – 1956 Cadillac Presidential Parade Car – Road Signature.” The features include: two folding jump seats, an opening compartment that opens to show two rifles and two telephones. The seats (other than the jump seats) are of soft vinyl. Again, the interior detail’s a bit crude and oversized, but acceptable at the price. The undercarriage detail, once I removed the model from the base, is not bad at all. Since it’s made to display on a base, I’m impressed with the attention to detail. The interior floors, along with the trunk, include “carpeting.” Again, the engine details are minimal—no excitement there. For what it’s worth, the spare tire can be removed from the trunk. Included in the box are two flags to insert in the front bumper mounts—Old Glory (this time with 50 stars) and the Presidential Seal flag. Again, the exterior detail is where this image succeeds. Aside from the great-looking paint job, the chrome’s nicely scaled, and, for the most part, the lights have clear lenses—not just paint. Yat Ming didn’t stint on chrome accents either—except for a few tampoed Cadillac emblems. The wheels are whitewalls, with full hubcaps and Caddy emblems. You want quibbles? Here’s one: the tailpipes on this Caddy were supposed to route through the rear bumper. Although Yat Min has added them as separate parts—and they bend up toward the bumper—there is no indication of exits. Also, there are a couple of paint flaws on the left rear door on my image. I could name a few more but what’s the point? There are images with more features and details but they go for more than twice the price.
All in all, Yat Ming provides a lot of “bang for the buck” with their images. This is the second presidential limo they’ve done and I think there are two more. Heck, we have muscle car collections, racecar collections, and brass age car collections—why not a Presidential limo collection?
(06/16/2004)
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