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Volo Auto Museum adds Trump limo to collection

Cynthia Wolf Posted on 2017-08-23

 

Volo’s latest celebrity car one ‘yuge’ find

 

VOLO — Love him or hate him, there’s no denying President Trump’s stratospheric fame. 

 

So, what’s an auto museum director who features eclectic celebrity cars to do when he comes across a one-of-two-in-the-world Trump edition Cadillac limousine formerly owned by none other than Donald J. Trump himself? He buys it, of course.

 

“We’re not making a political statement one way or the other,” said Brian Grams, director of the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road. “We display rare, interesting cars with fascinating and documented back stories. This certainly checks that box.”

 

Grams said the uber-luxurious 1988 car features gold-plated and rosewood interior embellishments and was built to be an office on wheels — complete with fax machine, TV, VCR, three telephones (one in front and two in back), paper shredder and an electric bar. The roof also was raised for added headroom.

 

“Trump talked Cadillac into making this limited-edition limousine in 1987,” Grams said. “Part of the agreement was that Trump was going to buy the first 50 for corporate use. Only two were made. The first was given to Trump and he bought the second for his dad.”

 

Grams has paperwork as well as brochures featuring Trump that were developed for marketing the never-produced line. As with a number of other rare vehicles featured at the Volo Auto Museum, the Trump-edition limousine was a barn find, Grams added. 

 

“Recently one of the two prototypes sold at auction in England for $72,000, which begged the question — where did the other one go?” Grams said, adding he found it in private ownership, parked indoors with just 21,000 miles on it. He bought it for an undisclosed sum from the daughter of its now-deceased second owner and plans to feature it within a week in the Cars of the Rich and Famous exhibit in Showroom 4.

 

“It’s definitely another historical find,” Grams said. “I read in an article that this was Trump’s first attempt to brand his name on a product, but I couldn’t find anything that showed which items he branded when. In any case, we’re sure visitors will be intrigued.”

 

The Volo Auto Museum features roughly 400 classic, muscle, Hollywood cars and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children 4 and younger. For other information, call 815-385-3644, visit volocars.com or find Volo Auto Museum on Facebook.

 For details and pictures of the car CLICK HERE 

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Photos provided/captioning info

 

The Volo Auto Museum has purchased a one-of-two-in-the-world 1988 Trump-edition Cadillac limousine, which soon will be featured in its Cars of the Rich and Famous exhibit. The car is one of two prototypes built as part of a planned but never-manufactured limited-edition production line.