Secret Service accepts 10 GM vehicles for training

General Motors reportedly provided the U.S. Secret Service with 10 vehicles for research and testing purposes.

“The smell of burnt rubber and hot brakes quickly filled the air after a fleet of 10 vehicles was delivered this week to the driving pad at the U.S. Secret Service’s James J. Rowley Training Center (RTC) in Laurel, Maryland,” a USSS press release announced.

“The vehicles arrived on Wednesday courtesy of an agreement with General Motors, which supplies some of the Secret Service’s most visible protective vehicles. This includes presidential parade limousines and other armored SUVs often spotted in motorcades,” it continued.

(Video Credit: U.S. Secret Service)

A pickup truck, two sports cars, and three SUVs were part of the collection, as well as four high-powered luxury sedans.

“Specifically, the vehicles unloaded included two Cadillac CT4 sedans, two Cadillac CT5 sedans, two Corvettes, a Cadillac Escalade SUV, a Chevrolet Colorado pickup, a Chevrolet Tahoe with a police package, and a Chevrolet Suburban SUV,” the Secret Service explained.

“One of the reasons RTC is so successful in our training mission is because of the relationships we have cultivated with other law enforcement entities and private-sector partners,” Scott Simons, the Special Agent in Charge of RTC, said. “This opportunity with GM will be another tool we can use to innovate and advance our dynamic training.”

“Experience with different types of vehicles can help instructors teach students how to adapt their driving techniques based on the vehicle they are operating,” Simons said. “Because each vehicle handles differently in any given situation, exposure to new cars will challenge instructors and give them an opportunity to develop more realistic training scenarios.”

Secret Service driving instructor Constantine Gerukos was reportedly eager to “push these vehicles to their limit.”

“I think it is cool to try out all these different platforms to figure out what is going to fit, and what we can use,” said Gerukos. “The times are changing, and so is the rest of the world. So, we have to do the same thing.”

Two of the Cadillac sedans have manual transmissions, but Secret Service driving instructor Mark Armstrong noted that “Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift.”

“Having that platform here will enable us to give instructions on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips,” he added.

“GM is committed to ensuring that the brave men and women who protect our national security and our government institutions have the best equipment to improve their training and to execute their critical mission,” GM Defense President Steve duMont said in a statement. “We have always been honored to support our government and are proud to continue to be trusted with this mission.”

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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