PRESIDENT CLINTON PUTS HIS MOUTH WHERE HIS CAR IS!

Who would have thought that Bill Clinton, who was once roundly booed by a huge NASCAR crowd a few years ago when he drove his own vintage Mustang around the track before a race (though NASCAR fans, recent surveys show, are no longer slavishly following George W. Bush --- They, too, are getting tired of their kids and themselves getting killed in wars all over the world) would be a MOTORING PERSONALITY?! Well, he has done a good, green deed and ordered-up a gas-electric hybrid Mercury Mariner SUV to be his "personal" vehicle! But is THIS the "right" vehicle for him? Come on! A gussied-up Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute! (Photo: Bill rocks out on the "Arsenio Hall Show" ... Remember HIM?).

President Clinton, say our friends at AUTOBLOG, will be the first U.S. President ever to use a hybrid outfitted for Presidential service thanks to Ford (not Gerald, but FoMoCo), which will be presenting our 42nd President with a Mercury Mariner Hybrid "Presidential Edition" at the Clinton Global Initiative conference later this month in New York City. The Mariner Hybrid has been modified to include LED interior lighting, a 110-volt outlet and a writing table. Everything else on the vehicle, including the hybrid powertrain that delivers 32 mpg in the city, is supposedly stock. (Photo: Mercury Mariner Hybrid, above, courtesy FoMoCo).

Here's what CONSUMER GUIDE has to say about the Mariner: Mariner is a luxury-trimmed version of the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute. It comes in gasoline and gas/electric-hybrid models. Conventional gas-engine models are the 153-hp 4-cyl "Convenience" and the upscale "Luxury" and "Premier", which have a 200-hp V6. These come with a 4-speed automatic transmissions and front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive that lacks low-range gearing. The Hybrid model has AWD and teams a 4-cyl gas engine with a battery-powered electric motor for 155 hp (see photo, above right). It requires no plug-in charging and uses a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Mariner's hybrid system automatically runs on one or both power sources to balance acceleration and fuel economy. All Mariners include ABS; Hybrids and AWD V6s have 4-wheel disc brakes. Rear obstacle detection, front side airbags, and curtain side airbags with rollover deployment are standard on Premier, optional otherwise. Exclusive to the Hybrid is an optional navigation system with screen displays for power flow and fuel economy. Mariner's performance and accommodations mirror those of comparably equipped Escapes and Tributes.

And at 3,435 pounds, even with the extra get-up-and-go-torque which the electric motor in a gas-electric hybrid provides, Mariner is not exactly race-track fast or stable. Remember: We're talking only 145 horsepower here, and All-Wheel Drive! Add another 2,500 pounds (conservatively) for body and glass armoring, run-flat bulletproof tires on all four corners and who-knows-what-other-secret-stuff-they-put-on-it, if Clinton does find himself in any sort of serious trouble while in the Mariner, he'll probably find himself being transferred (quickly) to the Suburban SUV Battle Wagon which will be following him, and leave the Mariner to whatever may happen. (Photo: Mariner hybrid interior, above left).

The answer? We bet there might be a supercharger found on top of that hybrid engine in this particular Mariner. We just can't imagine the Secret Service SERIOUSLY allowing this former President (and quite possible future-First-Hubbie) being driven around town in such an overweight beast with little or no ability at the 'Stop Light Grand Prix'! Another problem is the CVT tranny in the Mariner Hybrid --- If you have driven any vehicle with one of these new-fangled gizmos, you know from experience that "acceleration" does not benefit at all from this fuel-saving feature.

The Suburban Battle Wagons, we would guess, might quite probably have the 505 horsepower, 7.0 liter (427 cubic inches) V8 which is found in the Corvette Z06. While GM says they don't have an automatic transmission which can handle the horsepower and torque of that monster race car engine (470 foot pounds, and the Z06 comes only with a six-speed slushbox) which would fit into the Corvette, they can probably come up with something "off the shelf" at GM's "Skunk Works" in Warren, MI, which would do okay in a 7.0 liter-equipped Suburban (plenty of room to shove that possible powertrain in there). (Photo: Mariner rear interior, above right).

And apart from the weight/horsepower/speed issue, what about roominess? We thoroughly tested a Ford Escape, and the back seat is small, not small-ish, but downright small. Bill Clinton is easily 6'4", if not more, and probably tips the scales at a good 225 or so ... He is not going to be traveling comfort in that Mariner, hybrid or not!

Our guess: President Clinton will use the Mariner between his home in Chappaqua, Westchester County, NY and his office in Harlem, a one-way trip of 35 miles or so. When he goes out-of-town, we're sure the Secret Service will be able to dig up one of their Suburbans for him, wherever he may roam.

(Photo, left: Mariner Hybrid on the assembly line).

Most Presidential vehicles are heavily modified with armor and other technologies to thwart assassination attempts of any possible kind. The LED interior lighting installed in Clinton's Mariner Hybrid suggests the window glass is either heavily tinted for privacy or has been replaced with a transparent armor similar to the kind used on President Bush's armored Cadillac DTS limo that's so thick it blocks natural sunlight. We'd guess the Mariner's glass can now stop a pretty heavy caliber projectile. (Photo: W's bad, bad ride, courtesy Cadillac, right).