so what was so what was the first official white house car? it s b, the 1909 white steamer. that year congress passed legislation on behalf of william howard taft for official white house automobiles. for nearly four decades businessman harold lemay amasses a collection of classic cars in tacoma, washington, that includes at least 3,000 vehicles. even he doesn t know the exact number. but there is one car he misses out on says his wife nancy. he always wishes he had gotten a tucker. preston tucker was an american inventor and entrepreneur who designed the tucker sedan in 1948. conceived as the car of the future. it was so ahead of its time. it s so sleek. it has awesome lines. but sales were doomed after