We have all had our share of being turned down by someone and we know how it feels. But it will take a lot imagination to get even close to feeling what Barack Obama must have felt when his request for a hybrid limousine was turned down by a bunch of Secret Service agents. Shouldn’t he get what he wants? He is the President of the United States of America, for God’s sake.

All that the US President wanted was to go green by having hybrid power in his limousine, but the Secret Service agents denied it with a loud NO. Obama gets driven in a Cadillac, nicknamed “the beast” for being big and black. The Presidential Cadillac is reinforced with armour plating and an array of other protection gear, which makes it weigh over two times the normal weight of cars. A hybrid engine is not capable of handling all that added weight.

The Presidential limousine features bullet-proof windows, a stowable desk, a gas-proof chamber for defence against gas attacks and a range of state-of-the-art art communication and protection systems.

While we are talking about the car that ferries the US President, one question instantly pops in our head: what car does our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, gets transported in? Well, many people (me being one of them) may assume that our PM must be chauffeured in one of those royal looking Ambassadors, but that is far from the truth. Manmohan Singh now is being chauffeured in a luxurious BMW 7 Series. The black coloured BMW uses a B7 level armour.

But that’s about the official vehicle of the Prime Minister of India. When it comes to amore personal level, Manmohan Singh sets high standards of modesty and simplicity. He has still kept his 1996 model Maruti 800 and flaunts it with an unmatched nonchalance.