The Washington Auto Show descended upon the nation's capital recently and it welcomed a well-known visitor. President Barack Obama stopped by the event on Tuesday to take a look at the flock of cars powered by alternative fuel and even sat behind the wheel of several vehicles, The Washington Post reports.

The appearance was unusual in that Obama's presence was relatively subdued. Instead of taking questions, giving a speech or talking with voters, he simply examined the cars that were on display. It's not surprising that Obama wanted to investigate the eco-friendly cars, given that going green has been a fairly significant part of his platform. Among the cars he looked at was the electric Chevy Volt, which has created substantial buzz in the auto industry.

"He was mainly interested in what are my greatest challenges in designing these vehicles," General Motors president of global design Ed Welburn told the newspaper. "I always want to raise the level of execution and design something that’s profitable."

The Volt may have been the most high-profile car that got Obama's attention but it certainly was not the only one. According to USA Today, he stepped behind the wheel of seven cars including hotly-anticipated fuel efficient rides such as the Ford C-Max Energi plug-in electric and the Chevrolet Malibu Eco. However, he also took time to check out a few classics including a Corvette and the Dodge Ram.

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