General Motors Donated Some Cool Cars to Help Train the Secret Service
Secret Service agents have a very important job
Granted their status as one of the world's most influential political leaders, the President of the United States is one of the most protected human assets in the world. Without fail, it is nearly impossible to spot them during public appearances without being within a stone's throw away from a member of their security detail; members of the United States Secret Service.
Even when the President is paraded in different countries to meet other world leaders, it would be impossible not to spot the convoy of vehicles in the presidential motorcade, which includes many different cars, including some specially equipped Chevrolet Suburbans. Although it may seem like something out of TV or the movies, Secret Service agents responsible for the safety of the President are trained to be ready for anything, even if it means commandeering an unfamiliar car.
General Motors donated a cornucopia of cars to hone Secret Service agents' skills
This is where General Motors comes in. Earlier this week, the U.S. Secret Service rekindled its close relationship with the Detroit automaker after it donated 10 different vehicles to the agency's James J. Rowley Training Center (RTC) in Laurel, Maryland.
These vehicles serve a broad spectrum across the automaker's brands and include some of its desirable high-performance offerings. GM provided the agency with two Cadillac CT4s, two Cadillac CT5s, and two Chevrolet Corvettes—including one Corvette E-Ray. Curiously, two of the Cadillacs provided were CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings equipped with manual transmissions; a fairly unusual car for Secret Service use.
A Cadillac Escalade at the James J. Rowley Training Center.
A Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing at the James J. Rowley Training Center.
A Chrvrolet Corvette E-Ray at the James J. Rowley Training Center.
Though car enthusiasts and muscle car fans will drool over the idea that the Secret Service gets to train how to protect the President behind the wheel of a CT5-V Blackwing with a 6.2-liter V8 pumping 668 horsepower, the Secret Service sees this as a valuable teaching tool for scenarios when driving stick will be required. They maintain that its special agents assigned to foreign field offices or protective visits could be required to drive manual cars.
'Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift,' said RTC driving instructor Mark Armstrong. 'Having that platform here will enable us to give instruction on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips.'
The fleet of vehicles donated to the Secret Service training ground also included a Chevrolet Suburban, a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. Scott Simons, the special agent in charge at the James J. Rowley Training Center, noted that having a variety of vehicles on hand helps agents adapt to different vehicles they may encounter.
Vehicles being unloaded at James J. Rowley Training Center.
Vehicles being unloaded at James J. Rowley Training Center.
'Experience with different types of vehicles can help instructors teach students how to adapt their driving techniques based on the vehicle they are operating,' Simons said. 'Because each vehicle handles differently in any given situation, exposure to new cars will challenge instructors and give them an opportunity to develop more realistic training scenarios.'
Constantine Gerukos, a driving instructor with 13 years of experience at the Secret Service, noted that while advanced driving is an important skill for agents, it is important to test out which vehicles are suitable for training and the field as auto technology evolves.
'I think it is cool to try out all these different platforms to figure out what is going to fit, and what we can use,' Gerukos said. 'The times are changing, and so is the rest of the world. So, we have to do the same thing.'
Final thoughts
In the press release, one of the driving instructors, Brandon Bohonek, noted that agents are trained to deal with various 'realistic' scenarios and that these vehicles will help add more depth to it.
'The students wouldn't be expecting it,' Bohonek said about the new cars. 'We won't have these vehicles in view. So, they won't know it is out there. They may be expecting a (police) SUV, and all of a sudden, one of these vehicles rolls up. We try to make it as realistic as possible out here, which is not always easy to do.'
It should be noted that the Secret Service's responsibilities go beyond protecting the President. Up until 2003, they were a division of the U.S. Treasury, and are currently tasked with investigating a wide range of financial and cyber crimes, including credit card fraud, wire and bank fraud, computer network breaches, ransomware, as well as currency counterfeiting. It would be interesting to see Secret Service agents roll up in Cadillac CT5-V Blackwings to carry out a search warrant for a Superbill investigation or track down the origin of some hackers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Auto Blog
13 hours ago
- Auto Blog
Senate Moves to End Fuel Economy Fines That Hit Automakers Hardest
Several automakers were projected to face billions of dollars in penalties by 2032 from a fuel economy fine that Congress may repeal. Legacy automakers could save billions with Congress's recent proposal Senate Republicans have proposed ending fines for automakers not meeting Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules as part of President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.' CAFE fuel economy standards have been active since 1975, with the initial penalty at a $5 fine per 0.1 mpg below the standard, multiplied by the number of vehicles sold in the US market. In 1997, this fine increased to $5.50, and today, the penalty is $14 per 0.1 mpg below the standard, with some automakers significantly more affected than others. 0:08 / 0:09 Walmart is selling a 'heavy duty' $89 step ladder for $48, and shoppers say it's 'sturdy and secure' Watch More Stellantis has paid the highest amount of recent fines, including $156.6 million for the 2016 and 2017 model years, a record $235.5 million for the 2018 to 2019 period, and $190.7 million for the 2019 and 2020 periods. General Motors (GM) paid $128.2 million in penalties for 2016 and 2017. In 2001, BMW paid a $27 million CAFE fine. If Congress doesn't change CAFE rules, GM, Ford, and Stellantis are projected to pay over $10 billion in penalties from 2027 to 2032 under stricter regulations set by the Biden administration, according to Transport Topics. Stellantis sign at the company's North American office in Auburn Hills, Michigan. — Source: Stellantis Politicians have their eyes on emissions requirements, too Senate Republicans also proposed lowering emissions requirements, ending the $7,500 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit, imposing a $250 annual EV registration fee, and phasing out EV battery production tax credits in 2028. Tesla earned almost $2.8 billion last year by selling regulatory credits to other automakers, helping competitors meet government-established car emissions rules, many of which are in California. Competitors who don't manufacture enough zero-emission vehicles face steep fines if they don't purchase regulatory credits from Tesla. If rolled back, new emissions requirements would save automakers $200 million, Reuters reports. The Transportation Department also declared that former President Biden's administration exceeded its authority by assuming a high EV adoption rate in calculating fuel economy rates, increasing the likelihood of looser CAFE standards. Under President Biden, 2027 to 2031 model-year passenger cars faced a 2% annual fuel economy increase requirement, with trucks subject to a 4% increase. However, new final rules would keep the 2027 to 2031 passenger car fuel economy at 2% while lowering the annual increase for trucks from 4% to 2% for 2029 to 2031 models. However, separate legislation may eliminate CAFE fines altogether. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, DC — Source: Getty Automakers could still face tailpipe emissions rules established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), even if Congress eliminates CAFE fines. While Congress can overturn EPA rules, its most recent CAFE proposal doesn't impact EPA penalties. As of 2025, automakers are subject to EPA penalties up to $45,268 per non-compliant vehicle or engine, $4,527 per tampering event or sale of defeat device, and $45,268 per day for reporting and record-keeping violations. Final thoughts If passed, Congress's proposal could significantly shape the U.S. EV adoption rate in favor of lowering immediate costs for legacy automakers. 'We are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States. The previous administration illegally used CAFE standards as an electric vehicle mandate, raising new car prices and reducing safety. Resetting CAFE standards as Congress intended will lower vehicle costs and ensure the American people can purchase the cars they want,' said current Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy regarding Congress's proposal to end CAFE fines. About the Author Cody Carlson View Profile
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
China has a stranglehold on the world's rare-earths supply chain. Can Australia break it?
Weeks after China retaliated against Donald Trump's tariffs by suspending exports of a range of rare-earth elements and related high-powered magnets, Ford was forced to pause a production line in Chicago. Days later, executives from other major carmakers, including General Motors and Toyota, told the White House their suppliers faced an impending shortage of necessary materials that could shut assembly lines. The speed of the fallout shows just how reliant the world has become on China's mineral supply chain and its production of rare-earth magnets , used in everything from wind turbines and medical devices to combustion and electric motors, and ballistic missile guidance systems. The Albanese government believes it can help break China's dominance, but experts say the challenge is enormous. Prof John Mavrogenes, from the Australian National University's research school of earth sciences, says the government needs to dramatically boost its investment in skills, education and technology if it wants to develop the domestic capability to manufacture rare-earth products, namely magnets. 'The question over who can deal with the processing and the making of magnets is a really big one, and quite hard to get your head around because we've let China just take that business over,' says Mavrogenes. 'The question is capability. Who's ready to ramp up if we need to? One country that I know isn't ready is Australia. 'We need so many metallurgists and chemical engineers, and we need them tomorrow. We probably need 10, 20, 50 times more than we're producing.' China is a large producer of rare earths and has near-complete control over the refining processes needed to make the minerals useful. It produces about 90% of rare-earth magnets, completing its control of the supply chain. It has become a very efficient, cost-effective provider of rare-earth materials, although given some of the historical environmental damage caused by their extraction and processing, it has paid a price. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Economies around the world have benefited from China's rare earths industry. The system seemed to work, until it didn't. In 2010, China starved Japan's hi-tech manufacturing industries by halting shipments of rare earths for about two months, after a dispute over a detained Chinese fishing trawler captain. In late 2023, China formalised a ban on the export of rare-earth separation technologies. Two months ago, China placed export restrictions on seven strategically chosen rare earths and the end product, magnets. While the recent curbs were sparked by Trump's tariffs, Beijing applied the export controls to all countries. It has implemented a new export permit system, choking the world of supply. Rare-earth magnets need a lot of two light rare-earth elements, neodymium and praseodymium, which are not subject to China's export curbs. But more powerful, heat-resistant magnets used in automotive and defence industries tend to require dysprosium or terbium, which are called heavy rare earths because of their atomic weights. Dysprosium and terbium are on China's list of suspended rare earths, as is samarium, which is also used in hi-tech applications. Until recently, the desire to develop a rare earths sector has been pitched by governments as a means to fuel the transition to clean energy technology and electric vehicles. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion But now, it's also taken on the pressing aim of shoring up supplies of materials required for national interests, including defence. Australia, rich in resources, is seen as a natural competitor to China that could break into its rare-earths supply chain. The Albanese government has openly discussed this desire for well over two years, and officials have crisscrossed the country, from Dubbo in New South Wales to Western Australia and Northern Territory, offering grants, funding and other assistance in order to develop bona fide domestic processing capabilities. Notably, the government has backed the development of Iluka's Eneabba project in WA, which is designed to come online in 2027 and produce several rare-earth oxides, including dysprosium and terbium. Iluka's chief executive, Tom O'Leary, told shareholders last month the 'current industry is unsustainable, owing to China's monopoly position and approach'. 'It is a fact that rare earths are among very few metals where China has demonstrated a preparedness to withhold supply to achieve political or strategic objectives,' O'Leary said. Another Australian company, Lynas, is a step ahead, given it has some rare-earths processing capabilities out of Kalgoorlie. It relies on further refining at its factory in Malaysia, which recently became the first to separate heavy rare-earth elements, primarily dysprosium and terbium, outside China. The Labor government has also proposed setting up a strategic stockpile of critical minerals. While the details of this plan are scant, such a stockpile, by building up supplies, could provide pricing certainty for projects affected by the current monopoly market. The government's various funding announcements show that Australia is focusing on the initial extraction and refining of rare earths, but not on the process of turning that material into metals and, in turn, manufacturing magnets. There are mixed views on whether that is the right approach, given the strategy falls short of developing an end-to-end rare-earths supply chain in Australia, independent of China, as some had hoped for. There has also been limited discussion of the potential for magnet recycling in Australia. Rowena Smith, the chief executive of Australian Strategic Materials, says it is more realistic for Australia to partner with overseas magnet producers outside China than to quickly develop capabilities to produce magnets. 'The opportunity for Australia is to play to our strengths upstream and integrate with allied partners into those emerging magnet manufacturers,' says Smith. 'It would be ambitious to get this supply chain up rapidly in Australia, because you need every piece of the supply chain to come online simultaneously.'
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: China issues rare earth licenses to suppliers of top 3 US automakers, sources say
BEIJING/WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - China has granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers, two sources familiar with the matter said, as supply chain disruptions begin to surface from Beijing's export curbs on those materials. At least some of the licenses are valid for six months, the two sources said, declining to be named because the information is not public. It was not immediately clear what quantity or items are covered by the approval or whether the move signals China is preparing to ease the rare-earths licensing process, which industry groups say is cumbersome and has created a supply bottleneck. China's decision in April to restrict exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has tripped up the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. China's dominance of the critical mineral industry, key to the green energy transition, is increasingly viewed as a key point of leverage for Beijing in its trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. China produces around 90% of the world's rare earths, and auto industry representatives have warned of increasing threats to production due to their dependency on it for those parts. Suppliers of three big U.S. automakers, General Motors, (GM.N), opens new tab, Ford (F.N), opens new tab and Jeep-maker Stellantis ( opens new tab got clearance for some rare earth export licenses on Monday, one of the two sources said. GM and Ford each declined to comment. Stellantis said it is working with suppliers "to ensure an efficient licensing process" and that so far the company has been able to "address immediate production concerns without major disruptions." China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. China's critical-mineral export controls have become a focus on Trump's criticism of Beijing, which he says has violated the truce reached last month to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. On Thursday, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a lengthy phone call to iron out trade differences. Trump said in social-media post that "there should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products." Both sides said teams will meet again soon. U.S. auto companies are already feeling the impact of the restrictions. Ford (F.N), opens new tab shut down production of its Explorer SUV at its Chicago plant for a week in May because of a rare-earth shortage, the company said. The approval for the auto suppliers follows a green light granted to a U.S. electronics firm's suppliers last week and another one issued earlier this week to suppliers of a U.S. non-auto company, the first person said, declining to name the companies. "We have to give the Chinese the benefit of the doubt that they're working through this. It's up to them to show that they are not weaponizing it," said the person. Reuters reported on Wednesday that China has introduced a tracking system for its rare earth magnet sector in a move to improve its control over the sector and crackdown on smuggling.
