Did you know?

Did you know that former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1939 Packard 12 resides in the Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan?

Presidential historians know this car from the iconic images of Roosevelt riding in the back of the open-air convertible. But the 12-cylinder was such a unique piece of technology that Roosevelt said he couldn't do without it. It has the distinction of being the first car to be armored, during FDR's presidency.

Released in 1915, the technology embodied in the Packard Twelve represented a major breakthrougn in the automobile industry. It achieved great fame in its association with the one person who claimed he could not do without it - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt claimed that he chose the Packard for its reliability, but it is said that he was drawn to it by its sheer power. It was one of the last automobiles to come equipped with a 12-cylinder engine, when in 1939 Rollson (popularly known as Rollston) mounted the body. It was the first armored car with bullet-proof glass to be used by an American president. Its , sporty body came to signify American prosperity.

Courtesy of Cars.com & Toyota Automobile Museum