ST. LOUIS — Backing into the showroom at the Daniel Schmitt and Co. classic car gallery, a timepiece of presidential history.
“This is a 1964 Imperial Crown limousine built by Ghia,” says Daniel Schmitt, owner of Daniel Schmitt & Co. Classic Car Gallery. “Ghia is out of Torino, Italy. So it was built by Imperial, owned by Chrysler and sent to Italy for the body to be put on and put together, and then sent back to the states.”
This White House limo was one of ten built by Chrysler. Everything is original in this automobile. The sticker on the window lets you know it was last driven around Washington, D.C., in 1967.
“This car is bulletproof,” says Schmitt. “Not the windows but the doors. It was delivered to the White House in 1963. Jacqulyn Kennedy used it in the procession going to Arlington. She used it a year after. Then it was turned into the White House, and Linday B. Johnson used it for his administration.”
Schmitt knows a thing or two about famous automobiles. He wrote the book on it., a collection of celebrity and movie cars he’s sold over the years, like this 1962 Lincoln Continental Presidential Town limousine.
“The Arthur car,” says Schmitt. “The other Kennedy car, the limo from Pretty Woman, the Howard Hughes car. We’ve sold a lot of famous cars over the years.”
If you’ve ever rode in a car from the 1960’s, you’ll know the familiar smell of the vinyl and the interior from another time. Jackie Kennedy and later Lyndon Baines Johnson once stared at the clock in the car, taking note of the time of day.
The car is for sale, hopefully to a presidential library or some other kind of museum. There are only 15 thousand miles on it, and there is a whole lot of history inside and out. The asking price is 300 thousand dollars.
“Just the fact that it’s one of ten built is unique,” says Schmitt. “The fact that it was built in Italy. But add to that the provenance of being a presidential limousine. Jackie Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. I think it’s pretty important. I think it’s historical and will be a pretty good investment for whoever buys it.”