Lyndon B. Johnson
Amphicar · Lagoon Blue · exact model year unverified
Photo details
Downloaded the proportional 1280 × 853 Commons JPEG derivative, then deterministically pixelated only the readable historic registration on the right front fender. No crop, generative alteration, retouching elsewhere or vehicle reconstruction; responsive presentation may crop displayed edges.
Photo details
Joyride serves the 960 × 1434 proportional Commons JPEG derivative byte-for-byte. No crop, retouching or generation; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges. The portrait remains separate from the Amphicar photograph.
The road kept going into the lake
- Connection
- Former documented use · personal ranch vehicle, not a legal-title claim
- When
- Photographed April 10, 1965 · exact model year unverified
- Identity
- Individual Amphicar in LBJ Presidential Library catalog A263-8 · no chassis, exact model year or legal title claimed
The National Park Service describes Lyndon B. Johnson retreating to his Texas ranch and enjoying a collection of vehicles there. One was a Lagoon Blue Amphicar. The agency says he would surprise guests by driving toward the lake while shouting that the brakes would not hold, then laugh after the amphibious car floated.
Yoichi Okamoto's White House photograph makes this more than a repeated anecdote. LBJ Presidential Library catalog A263-8 identifies Johnson driving an Amphicar at Haywood Ranch with Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Paul Glynn on April 10, 1965. The image shows that individual car in the water with Johnson at the wheel; Joyride pixelates the readable historic registration and otherwise keeps the proportional Commons derivative intact.
The evidence stops short of a legal-title history. NPS calls it President Johnson's Amphicar and identifies its color, but neither reviewed source supplies a chassis, exact model year, purchase record, disposal record or present custodian. The park page dates Amphicar production to 1961–1968, so Joyride does not turn that range into a year for this individual car or claim complete model-family coverage.
Where the car went next
- 1961–1968Amphicar production context
NPS gives this range for the model and calls Johnson's car Lagoon Blue. It does not establish this individual car's exact model year.
- April 10, 1965Johnson drives into the water
LBJ Library catalog A263-8 identifies Johnson driving the Amphicar at Haywood Ranch with Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Paul Glynn.
- December 23, 2024Park evidence remains explicit
The NPS Presidential Vehicles page, updated on this date, preserves the Lagoon Blue identity and prank account without publishing legal title, chassis or present-custody details.
Sources for this story
The LBJ Presidential Library catalog identifies the dated photograph as Johnson driving an Amphicar at Haywood Ranch; NPS identifies President Johnson's Lagoon Blue Amphicar and the prank. This is former documented use of a personal ranch vehicle, not proof of legal ownership. No chassis, exact model year, purchase or disposal record, present owner or custodian, complete Amphicar-family coverage, exact Joyride catalog match or game-compatible version is claimed.
- Presidential VehiclesLyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park · National Park Service · Updated 2024-12-23 · reviewed 2026-10-05 · external source
Lagoon Blue identity, 1961–1968 Amphicar production context and Johnson's lake-entry prank.
- White House photograph A263-8Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library · 1965-04-10 · external source
Johnson driving an Amphicar at Haywood Ranch with Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Paul Glynn on April 10, 1965.
Reviewed
Why this is the actual car
- Photo identity evidence
The file carries LBJ Presidential Library catalog A263-8, dates the photograph to April 10, 1965, identifies Johnson driving an Amphicar at Haywood Ranch, credits White House photographer Yoichi Okamoto and marks the federal work public domain.
- Photo identity evidence
NPS identifies President Johnson's Amphicar as Lagoon Blue and documents his practice of surprising ranch guests by driving it into the lake.
The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.