I just read the other day that President LBJ had an Amphicar and took some guests in the car once... He didn't tell the guests that the car was amphibious, either.
Here's an account of what happened, as told by one of his White House aides:
The President, with [White House secretary] Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back, was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a Amphicar. The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he'd roar with laughter...
And probably think about the time he picked up his dogs by the ears and how fun that was... (Okay, I added this part) :)
"I bought my Amphicar in November of 1967 and it was lots of FUN for almost a Year. I made a trip in it in December of 1967 about 1,800 miles each way from Texas to New Jersey and back within 7 days because I had to get back to do some work with NASA in the Houston area. I remember that an Amphicar had a Triumph Herald 4 cylinder engine in the rear area of its body. The 2 nylon propellors were operated using a seperate transmission from the rear wheels' drive. That engine also had features to comply with U. S. Coast Guard requirements > having a Backfire Arrestor, a Bilge Blower, Bilge Pump and had a 26 Gallon fuel tank forward in its body. That bilge pump would actually shoot a stream of water about 18 feet behind that little Red convertible. It had only a 3-speed Manual transmission for on-road driving BUT > it gave 31 mpg on Regular Gasoline and could climb a 42 % Grade to get out of Water. Its front tires were actually its dual rudders for steering. NOW > Here can be Your Surprise for 2014 > In 1967 only 3,000 were Imported into the U.S.A. from Germany and the asking Retail Price was $ 5,500 < U S dollars > BUT > Due to Unfamiliarity by the General U. S. Public > I made a Deal to buy mine for $ 2,695 combined with my Trade-in of my > Used 1963 Nash Metropolitan < that little gem also had a British engine that allowed me to pull a Tent-Top Trailer Camper at the Highway speeds up to 70 mph here in Texas !!! That '67 Amphicar really was a lot of FUN > It cruised at 12 mph in Water using only 1 1/2 gallons per Hour of Regular Gasoline and really did give me 31 mpg driving at 55 mph up to 65 mph on that Winter trip to NJ and back to Texas. A kinda funny thing occurred enroute back to Texas from New Jersey > I left from NJ on a Friday night and had to be in Houston on Monday to do some work for NASA. Well, as I drove past Washington DC > There was No Other traffic on that Interstate Highway 95 !!!??? > When I turned the car's AM Radio "ON" > I-95 was Closed to All traffic !!! YES ! > I had Mud & Snow-grip tires on the rear of my Amphicar and it drove through 3 to 4 inches of new fallen Snow on I-95 all the way to Dillon, SC before I finally got off the road and stayed to rest in a Motel awhile there in that area that they called "Pedro's". What about All my info about the Amphicar that I owned ? >>> If YALL use Facebook >>> Look up 'Amphicar Dealer' and you'll find one in Florida who tries to sell one at $ 47,000 and it's definetly > USED !!!".... "YALL Laugh ! and.... and have a Good One !".... "My Friends call me 'Bob'.... But YALL can call me 'Bob' ! >>> "YALL keep Laughing !!!!".... "AND if YALL wanna contact me in Facebook > find 'Robert Huff' in the area on Lake Conroe about 40 miles North of Houston.... I'm there and it would be FUN to meet YALL and kinda do some Facebooking together. I was with NASA from its early Days of Our Original 7 Astronauts in their tests and flights in NASA's Gemini Series up into the Apollo Series when Our 2 U. S. Astronauts actually landed on the Moon on July 20th 1969 !!!" > hoping to hear from YALL in Facebook and in this Unique Site ! > My compliments go to the Creators of this Site !!! > I might try to bring some New Members into your Site very soon.... Thanking YALL, 'Art' < is another nickname, sometimes."....
I grew up in Southern Calif. and worked at the Gulf gas station across the street from the George Barris' shop. There were about (+/-) 4 Batmobiles that I remember. They had built a few TV cars, one show car and, the one I liked, was a black velvet with fluorcesent orange pinstripping tape. I always kept my eye on the shop because you never knew what kind of car was coming out of there. Just up the street, was a 'Amphicar' dealer. I stopped in there one day, and took an 'owners manual' out of the glove compartment. I was wanting more information than the salesman had. Still have it somewhere. I did make some notes in it too.
saw one in Hannibal, MO in the sixies, the guy taking people to the flooded areas during a spring flood in the business district, saw a couple more over the years, there is a online club for these vehicles, I wonder did you have a car license and a boat license on them?
Posted by Alan at 11:24 am (PST) on Tue February 7, 2012
When I was about 12 or 13, an Amphicar dealership was right near our house. I used to ride my bike over there just to look at them. I thought they were just the coolest thing!
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Here's an account of what happened, as told by one of his White House aides:
The President, with [White House secretary] Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back, was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a Amphicar. The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he'd roar with laughter...
And probably think about the time he picked up his dogs by the ears and how fun that was... (Okay, I added this part) :)
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