Obama: Voters will want "new car smell" in 2016 presidential race

Acknowledging the "dings" he's taken as president, President Obama said voters shouldn't expect to see much of him on the 2016 campaign trail in an interview that aired Sunday.

"I think the American people, you know, they're going to want that new car smell," he told ABC News. "They want to drive something off the lot that...doesn't have as much mileage as me."

The president said he's "very interested" in making sure a fellow Democrat succeeds him in the White House, "So I'm going to do everything I can, obviously, to make sure that whoever the nominee is, is successful."

"They're probably not going to be looking at me to campaign too much," he added.

The president's approval ratings have certainly seen better days - in a CBS News poll released in late October, only 39 percent of voters approved of the job he's doing as president. It was that relative unpopularity that made him a scarce presence on the 2014 campaign trail.

Mr. Obama was also asked about his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who's said she'll decide whether to launch a 2016 presidential bid early next year.

The president praised Clinton as an "outstanding secretary of state " and a "friend," saying she'd be a "formidable" candidate and a "great" president if she decides to run.

But he certainly wouldn't expect her to agree with him on everything, he added, signaling the likelihood that Clinton could distance herself from his record during the campaign.

"One of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions...and have a clean slate, a fresh start," he said.