As the future President of the USA’s car is prepared for duty, Vijay Pattni takes a look at the strangest car stories from around the world.

“And the 44th President of the United States is…”

Yes – next week, Senator Barack Obama will step up to the biggest plate in the world and become the President of the USA, taking the reigns from George W Bush.

And top of his priorities will be a massive $515 billion rescue package designed to strengthen the weakening US economy.

Barack and ‘The Beast’

So with all this on his mind, he’s left it up to General Motors – parent company of Vauxhall – to come up with his Presidential ride…dubbed ‘The Beast’.

The 18ft-long Presidential car – named ‘Cadillac One’ – will take President Obama around the world, and is based on a Cadillac chassis.

But this is no simple case of stretching out a Caddy’s base – the Prez’s new wheels features bulletproof glass, armour plating, night vision cameras, pump-action shotguns, Kevlar-reinforced tyres and doors the same weight of a cabin door on a Boeing 757 jet.

Inside, President Obama can wave at his electorate through windows reinforced to withstand armour-piercing rounds, and communicate via wi-fi connectivity and a satellite phone.

The long arm of the law

A police officer was caught flashing - by none other than Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans.

The officer was driving along the A40 dual carriageway when he suddenly found himself the subject of the motormouth presenter's attention, as Evans tried to flag him down.

Posting on his website, Evans said: "Anyway, guess what I did last night on the way home? I pulled a police car over. What a laugh.

"I was behind him for about two miles, for the duration of which his flashing lights were on but he was doing 40 miles an hour and didn't seem to be in the middle of any sort of 'police' action, other than just driving his car.

"'I don't think he knows his lights are on,' I thought to me-self.

"So, gingerly (of course), I edged up alongside him, opened my window and mouthed that he might want to pull over.

"Looking more than a little surprised, to say the least, he did so and duly thanked me, for his lights were indeed a-flashing by mistake."

Chris paid a record £5.6 million for a vintage Ferrari last year - but what other motors are the 'Kings of Bling'? Click the image below to find out...

Nuts about dots

Brits loves dogs. Some Brits loves dogs more than others. Some Brits buy 3,500 ‘spotty’ items in ‘outrageous-love-of-Dalmatians-shocker’.

Secretary Karen Ferrier was last week reported to be selling her massive collection of spotty-coloured items after she split from her husband.

The 44-year-old began collecting all-things-spot 17 years ago after buying a Dalmatian puppy called Ditto.

The hoard includes polka-dot clothes, shoes, hats, bikinis, suitcases, ornaments, and even loo-roll.

She even got her husband to paint her white smart car with black dots so she was “instantly recognisable”.

Sky-car and the wheels of tomorrow…

Imagine yourself stuck in a traffic jam, whiling away the minutes and thinking of excuses to give to your boss.

Then imagine your car suddenly sprouts Batman-esque powers of transformation, takes to the skies and waves the traffic goodbye.

(Speaking of Batman - check out images of his motors by clicking here)

Well…wish no more reader – the time is now. Sort of.

American-based firm Terrafugia has built a modern-day ‘flying car’, capable of flying up to 500 miles on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of 115mph. The wings of the ‘Terrafugia Transition’ can be folded up at the touch of a button, and it sports a 100bhp engine.

The Transition has already had 40 orders, but don’t get too excited. The car needs 1,700ft of uncluttered road to take-off, and costs £132,000.

From the week's most interesting stories...to the world's most interesting car collection: check out the multi-million pound garage of the Sultan of Brunei (or at least most of it...)

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The President might be getting his very own 'Barack-illac', but it's not as quick as the Cadillac CTS - check it out now: