George Bush King Ranch F-150 up for auction
The George Bush King Ranch F-150, from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is going up for auction. (Not the one pictured.) Image from WIkimedia Commons.
Cars of famous people do occasionally come up for auction, but normally the big ticket items are usually exotic sports cars. However, in a uniquely American twist, the George Bush King Ranch F-150 is coming up for auction, though it isn’t known if the bidding will go “nuke-you-lar.”
George Bush King Ranch F 150 to be auctioned for charity
As everyone probably remembers, former president George W. Bush, sometimes referred to as “Dubya” or “Baby Bush,” owns a ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he spent downtime away from the White House. Criticisms were made of him spending too much time there, but a few looks at photos of the place make it pretty clear why he would want to.
Anyone who has a ranch usually needs a truck for work purposes and Bush’s vehicle of choice was a Ford F-150 King Ranch, one of the most premium trim levels. It’s the step up from the Raptor. A new one today will run you more than $43,000 before options.
However, Bush is letting the truck go, as the truck will, according to AutoGuide, get auctioned off to the highest bidder in a charity auction in January.
Goes to Fisher House
The George Bush King Ranch F-150 is being auctioned by Barrett-Jackson, one of the premier auto auction houses, on Jan. 19, 2013 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Proceeds are going to the Fisher House Foundation. For those that haven’t heard of Fisher House, the foundation installs large houses next to Veterans Administration hospitals and medical facilities on military bases, according to MarketWatch, for families of veterans and soldiers that are receiving extensive treatment to stay, free of charge.
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The truck was ordered by Bush in 2009, through Jim Click Ford in Tuscon, Ariz., exclusively for use at Prairie Chapel Ranch, Bush’s ranch in Texas. It’s been there ever since.
One of several presidential cars gone to the block
Various presidents have owned some real classics. Ronald Reagan, according to Jalopnik, secretly helped Subaru tune the BRAT as a test driver, driving the AWD half-car, half-truck around his California ranch in the late 1970s and giving Subaru notes. Lyndon Johnson was infamous for a prank involving his Amphicar, an amphibious car made in the 1960s, according to Forbes. While driving guests at his Texas ranch around, he’d pretend something had gone wrong and steer it into his duck pond, then engage the propellers.
President Obama, as it turns out, is a serious Johnny Come A Lately when it comes to hybrid and electric cars; William Howard Taft had a Baker Electric, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Occasionally, a former president’s car comes up for sale, but it isn’t like popping down to Nick or Tony or BJ’s Used Cars; they usually sell for a lot. Some former presidential vehicles besides the George Bush King Ranch F-150 include, according to the Los Angeles Times, Herbert Hoover’s 1932 Cadillac V-16 Imperial Limousine, which sold at auction in 2007 for $87,750.
In January 2012, a 1938 Cadillac V-16 convertible limousine that was used to ferry around presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower was auctioned for $275,000, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The same auction had the Cadillac hearse that carried John F. Kennedy’s coffin in 1963, according to AOL. It sold for $160,000.
The Chrysler 300C formerly leased by now-President Obama went on eBay earlier this year, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, the buyer asked for $1 million and the auction went nowhere. President Obama’s last car before taking office, a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, was re-sold but has yet to surface, according to Daily Finance.
Sources
Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-presidents-cars-pg,0,258054.photogallery
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/elfd45fjee/lyndon-b-johnson-amphicar/
Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2012/0126/Obama-car-for-sale-Only-20-800-miles.-1-million
AOL: http://autos.aol.com/article/president-johnson-lincoln-limo-auction/
Chicago Tribune: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-02/classified/chi-obama-car-ebay-story_1_barack-obama-auction-vehicle
Daily Finance: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/07/obama-ford-escape-auction-president-unknown-bidder-hybrid/
Pictures of Dubya’s truck from the White House: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/08/images/20020809-1_ranch8-515h.html