4. Robert Moses’ Limousine
Channeling a little of Moses himself, Governor Andrew Cuomo here crosses in a 1932 Packard car used by FDR as New York State governor
One of the famous fun facts about Robert Moses was that he did not drive himself. As Caro writes in The Power Broker, “Robert Moses had never, aside from a few driving lessons thirty years before, driven a car. He didn’t know what driving was. His chauffeured limousine was an office, to him a particularly pleasant office, in fact, since in it he was away from secretaries and the telephone and in its upholstered confines he could bury himself in work without interruption. Traveling by car had been pleasant for him in the 1920’s; it was still pleasant for him in the 1950’s.”
Caro describes Moses’ black Packard limousine as “the most luxurious Detroit could provide.” One guest described it as “the library of a fine men’s club.” He was able to get an air-conditioned limousine before the mayor of New York City had one. The limo was on call for him 24/7, with three chauffeurs working for Moses personally. Caro writes that this Moses’ limo was the only vehicle that did not have to stop to pay the tolls on the bridges and tunnels. Later, Moses would switch to a Cadillac limo.
