Taft was America's first "car guy" president! When William Howard Taft was in office starting in 1909, politicians were wary of being seen in an automobile for fear of alienating the public, many of whom felt that the automobile was a vulgar display of wealth. Taft, however, had the foresight to recognize that the automobile could benefit all Americans. Taft believed in the future of the technology so strongly that he formed the first fleet of Presidential automobiles, beginning with this 1909 W