President Joseph Biden is currently the leader of the free world. But on January 20th 2025 Joe Biden will be saying goodbye to the Oval Office as Donald Trump is once again sworn in. So what’s the 46th President of the United States going to do with himself? He may just lease some new wheels. In fact, that’s what he did last time he found himself unemployed.

Joe Biden is well known for his car collection. While he was the Vice President, he went viral when he invited Jay Leno to do burnouts at the White House in his classic Corvette Stingray. As President, he’s been more careful to keep it between the lines. But even as USA’s Commander in Chief he isn’t allowed to drive himself. Major bummer for a guy who just loves to drive.

So what did “Uncle Joe” do last time he was suddenly free to drive? He sauntered down to Delaware Cadillac and orders himself a brand new whip, of course.

Rewind to January 2017. Joe Biden had just finished a grueling eight years jetting around the world as Barrack Obama’s Vice President. He’d spent two of those years doing double duty, campaigning endlessly for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. Then he found himself without a job–and finally free to drive again. And what better car to drive than a brand new Cadillac?

Some folks might have chosen an oversized SUV, or the imposing Cadillac CTS sedan. Not Joe Biden. He went with the nimble midsize Cadillac ATS. And he opted for the “V” trim with its twin-turbocharged V6 rated at 464 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque. That’ll get up and go!

While Biden had his new car painted a subtle black he custom ordered it with the bronze racing rims, blacked out emblems, and a special grille from Rennick Performance. He actually reached out to Cadillac’s executives and requested a “Kona brown” interior. It’s a color they don’t normally stitch up the ATS with, but they were happy to customize a special car for the former VP.

The slightly puzzling part of the custom order was that Joe Biden chose to lease the brand new Cadillac. Joe Biden made $15 million on his first book deal after leaving the Vice Presidency, so he could have certainly bought the car outright. So why didn’t he?

Perhaps GM offered one of the country’s most famous enthusiasts a complimentary lifetime lease. It has offered similar deals to celebrities such as astronauts, making sure they can always have a brand new GM vehicle.

Or perhaps Joe Biden considers his old cars his investments, and feels it foolish to bother building equity in a rapidly depreciating new car. If he planned on trading his ATS-V for a newer Cadillac in a few years, a lease might have been a smart financial decision.

In any case, Biden was elected president and when he took office in 2021, he had to park his new Cadillac. It actually popped up for resale on Cars & Bids after Delaware Cadillac took it back.

No word yet on whether President Joe Biden has another custom car on order at Delaware Cadillac for the first day of his long-awaited retirement. And no word yet on whether GM’s financing will be offering him another lease deal, or if he might choose to buy outright this time. But we know he’s a Corvette fan, so perhaps this time he’ll try a C8.