Classic Cadillac Cars
Cadillac was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company when Henry Ford departed along with several of his key partners and the company was dissolved. With the intent of liquidating the firm's assets, Ford's financial backers, William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen called in engineer Henry M. Leland to appraise the plant and equipment prior to selling them. Instead, Leland persuaded them to continue in the automobile business using Leland's proven 1-cylinder engine. Henry Ford's departure required a new name, and on August 22, 1902, the company reformed as the Cadillac Automobile Company.
The Cadillac automobile was named after the 17th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit, Michigan in 1701.
Contributions to the Automotive Industry
Cadillac helped to define advanced engineering, luxury and style early in Automotive History. Precision manufacturing of truly interchangeable parts was an award-winning industry first in 1908. Cadillac was the first manufacturer to release cars with a fully enclosed cab as factory equipment in 1910. Standard electric engine starting & lighting was another award winner for 1912. Cadillac introduced the first production V8 engine for the 1914 model year. Cadillac was the first manufacturer to utilize the skills of a designer to produce a car's body instead of an engineer (1927). This gave the public a car that looked as good as it performed. Cadillac's engineers were first to design a manual transmission with synchronizers for increased drivability (1929) and were instrumental in the early development of the automatic transmission, beginning in 1932. Cadillac offered a production V-16 engine from 1930 through 1940 and introduced the production independent wishbone front suspension in 1934. The marque introduced tailfins for 1948. From the late 1960s onward, Cadillac offered a fiber-optic indication system which alerted the driver of a failed light bulb.
Early vehicles
Their first car was completed in October 1902, the 10 hp (7 kW) Cadillac. It was practically identical to the 1903 Ford Model A. Many sources say the first car rolled out of the factory on October 17; in the book Henry Leland — Master of Precision, on p.69, that date is shown to be October 20; yet another reliable source shows car #3 to have been built on October 16. In any case, the new Cadillac was shown at the New York Auto Show the following January, where it impressed the crowds enough to gather over two thousand firm orders. The Cadillac's biggest selling point was precision manufacturing and, therefore, reliability; it was simply a better made vehicle than its competition.
In February to March 1908, three Model K Cadillacs (1907 production) were released from the stock of Frederick Bennett (UK agent for Cadillac) at the Heddon Street showroom in London to compete in the annual Royal Automobile Club's Standardization Test. They were driven 25 miles to the Brooklands race track at Weybridge where they completed another 25 miles (40 km) before being put under lock and key until Monday March 2, 1908 when they were released and disassembled completely. Their 721 component parts were scrambled in one heap; 89 parts requiring extreme accuracy were withdrawn from the heap, locked away at the Brooklands club house and replaced with new parts from the showroom stock. Using only wrenches and screwdrivers the 3 cars were re-assembled and on Friday March 13 they completed a mandatory 500 mile (800 km) run. On completion of the test, one of the cars was placed under lock and key where it remained until the start of the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) Reliability Trials, several months later. It came out the winner of the R.A.C. Trophy. Parts interchangeability could not have been proven in any other more appropriate way. As a result of these tests, the Cadillac Automobile Company was awarded the Dewar Trophy for 1908 (actual award date was February 1909). The Dewar Trophy was an annual award for the most important advancement of the year in the automobile industry.
General Motors
Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors conglomerate in 1909.
Cadillac became General Motors' prestige division, devoted to the production of large luxury vehicles. The Cadillac line was also GM's default marque for "commercial chassis" institutional vehicles, such as limousines, ambulances, hearses, and funeral home flower cars. The latter three of which were custom built by aftermarket manufacturers: Cadillac does not produce any such vehicles in factory.
In 1911, Cadillac was the first gasoline internal combustion engine auto to incorporate electric start, as opposed to earlier crank start. Originally marketed as a convenience device for female drivers, the electric starter developed by Charles Kettering was first used on the production models of 1912. Other innovations included the first automotive V8 engine in mass production in 1915; shatter-resistant safety glass in 1926; and the first fully synchronized transmission (with gears "locked" in relation to one another to prevent clashing upon execution of a shift) in 1928. The Cadillac and LaSalle synchronized transmissions quickly became known for their robustness, smoothness and ideal gear ratios for use by the go fast crowd. Many a hopped up Ford or Mercury V8 engine was mated to a recycled Cadillac or LaSalle transmission. In about 1928, automobile stylist Harley Earl, whom Cadillac had recruited in 1926 and who was to head the new Art and Color section starting in January 1928, designed for 1927 a new, smaller "companion" car to the Cadillac which he called the La Salle, after another French explorer, René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. That marque remained in production until 1940.
Pre-World War II Cadillacs were well-built, powerful, mass-produced luxury cars, aimed at an upper class market, below that of such ultra-exclusive marques such as Pierce-Arrow and Duesenberg. In the 1930s, Cadillac added cars with 12- and 16-cylinder engines to their range, many of which were fitted with custom coach-built bodies; these engines were remarkable at the time for their ability to deliver a combination of high power, silky smoothness and quietness.
1932- The year it could have ended
In 1932, after Cadillac suffered from record low sales and charges of discrimination against black customers, Alfred Sloan created a committee to consider the discontinuation of the Cadillac line. At a fateful board meeting, Cadillac president Nicholas Dreystadt heard that legendary boxer Joe Louis could not go into a dealership to buy a car, because he was black, and resorted to having a white friend make the purchase for him. Dreystadt gave the GM Board of Directors a 10 minute speech in which he advocated advertising to black consumers so as to increase sales. The Board agreed to give Dreystadt 18 months to produce results. By 1934, Cadillac had regained profitability. It is significant to note that after this decision, Cadillac was the only American automobile manufacturer to remain profitable during the Great Depression. By 1940, Cadillac sales had risen 1,000 percent compared to 1934, thus saving Cadillac from extinction.
The year 1934 brought about a revolution in assembly line technology. Henry F. Phillips introduced the Phillips screw and driver onto the market. He entered into talks with General Motors and convinced the Cadillac group that his new screws would speed assembly times and therefore increase profits. Cadillac was the first automaker to use the Phillips technology, which was widely adopted in 1940.
Postwar
Promotional art of the 1947 Cadillac Series 75 SedanPostwar Cadillacs, incorporating the ideas of General Motors styling chief Harley J. Earl, innovated many of the styling features that came to be synonymous with the classic (late 1940s-late 1950s) American automobile, including tailfins and wraparound windshields. Cadillac's first tailfins, inspired by the twin rudders of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, appeared in 1948; the 1959 Cadillac was the epitome of the tailfin craze, with the most recognizable tailfins of any production automobile.
Cadillac's other styling attribute was its front bumper designs which became known as Dagmar bumpers or simply Dagmars. What had started out after the war as an artillery shell shaped bumper guard became an increasingly important part of Cadillac's complicated front grille and bumper assembly. As the 1950s wore on, the element was placed higher in the front end design, negating their purpose as bumper guards. They also became more pronounced and were likened to the bosom of 1950s television personality Dagmar. In 1957 the bumpers gained black rubber finials which only heightened the relationship between the styling element and a stylized exaggerated breast and nipple. For 1958 the element was toned down and was completely absent on the 1959 models.
Low points, and the beginning of a recovery
Cadillac suffered from the malaise that set in to the American auto industry in the late 1970s to the late 1980s. There were high points, such as the launch of the two-door personal luxury model of the Eldorado in 1967, with its simple, elegant design — a far cry from the tail-fin and chrome excesses of the 1950s. However, the 1970s saw vehicles memorable for other types of excess: engine size, for one (the new generation 472 cubic inch V8 [7.7 liter] that debuted with the 1968 models was designed for an ultimate capacity potential of 600 cubic inches. It was stroked to 500 cubic inches [8.2 liter] for the 1970 model Eldorado, then adopted across all models for 1975 [note: the compact Seville introduced in 1975 as a 1976 model used only a fuel-injected version of the Oldsmobile 350]. Historical and Classic
1902-1903 Cadillac runabout and tonneau — 72 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1903-1904 Cadillac Model A — 72 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1904 Cadillac Models A and B
Model A — 72 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model B — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1905 Cadillac Models B, C, D, E and F
Model B — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model C — 72 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model D — 100 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model E — 74 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model F — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1906 Cadillac Models H, K, L, and M
Model H — 102 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model K — 74 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model L — 110 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model M — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1907 Cadillac Models G, H, K, and M
Model G — 100 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model H — 102 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model K — 74 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model M — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1908 Cadillac Models G, H, M, S and T
Model G — 100 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model H — 102 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
Model M — 76 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model S — 82 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
Model T — 82 in wheelbase single-cylinder engine
1909-1911 Cadillac Model Thirty
1909 — 106 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine
1910 — 110 in wheelbase; 120 in wheelbase (limousine) four-cylinder engine Fisher
1911 — 116 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine Fisher
1912 — Cadillac Model 1912; 116 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine Fisher
1913 — Cadillac Model 1913; 120 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine Fisher
1914 — Cadillac Model 1914; 120 and 134 in wheelbase four-cylinder engine Fisher
1915 — Cadillac Type 51; 122 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1916 — Cadillac Type 53; 122 132 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1917 — Cadillac Type 55; 125 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1918-1919 Cadillac Type 57; 125 132 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1920-1921 Cadillac Type 59; 122 and 132 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1922-1923 Cadillac Type 61; 132 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1924 — Cadillac Type V-63; 132 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher
1925 — Cadillac Type V-63; 132 138 and 145 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
1926-1927 Cadillac Series 314; 132 138 and 150 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
1928 — Cadillac Series 341-A; 140 and 152 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
1929 — Cadillac Series 341-B; 140 and 152 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
1930 Cadillac Series 353, 370 and 452 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 353 — 140 and 152 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 370 — 140 143 and 152 in wheelbase V12 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 452 — 148 in wheelbase V16 Fisher Fleetwood
1931 Cadillac Series 355, 370-A and 452-A Fisher Fleetwood
Series 355 — 134 and 152 in wheelbase V8 Fleetwood
Series 370-A — 140 143 and 152 in wheelbase V12 Fleetwood
Series 452-A — 148 in wheelbase V16 Fisher Fleetwood
1932 Cadillac Series 355-B, 370-B and 452-B Fisher Fleetwood
Series 355-B — 134 and 156 in wheelbase V8 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 370-B — 140 and 156 in wheelbase V12 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 452-B — 143 and 149 in wheelbase V16 Fisher Fleetwood
1933 Cadillac Series 355-C, 370-C and 452-C Fisher Fleetwood
Series 355-C — 140 and 156 in wheelbase V8
Series 370-C — 134 140 and 156 in wheelbase V12
Series 452-C — 143 and 149 in wheelbase V16
1934 Cadillac Series 10, 20, 30 and 452-D Fisher Fleetwood
Series 10 — 128 in wheelbase V8
Series 20 — 136 in wheelbase V8
Series 30 — 146 in wheelbase V8
Series 370-D — 146 in wheelbase V12
Series 452-D — 154 in wheelbase V16
1935 Cadillac Series 10, 20, 30 and 452-D Fisher Fleetwood
Series 10 — 128 in wheelbase V8
Series 20 — 136 in wheelbase V8
Series 30 — 146 in wheelbase V8
Series 370-D — 146 and 160 in wheelbase V12
Series 452-D or 60 — 154 in wheelbase V16
1936 Cadillac Series 36-60, 36-70, 36-75, 36-80, 36-85, 36-90 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 36-60 — 121 in wheelbase V8
Series 36-70 — 131 in wheelbase V8
Series 36-75 — 138 in wheelbase V8
Series 36-80 — 131 and 160 in wheelbase V12
Series 36-85 — 138 in wheelbase V12
Series 36-80 — 154 in wheelbase V16
1937 Cadillac Series 36-60, 37-65, 37-70, 37-75, 37-85, 37-90 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 37-60 — 124 and 160.75 in wheelbase V8
Series 37-65 — 131 in wheelbase V8
Series 37-70 — 131 in wheelbase V8
Series 37-75 — 138 and 156 in wheelbase V8
Series 37-85 — 138 in wheelbase V12
Series 37-80 — 154 in wheelbase V16
1938 Cadillac Series 38-60, 38-60S, 38-65, 38-75, 38-90 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 38-60 — 124 and 160 in wheelbase V8
Series 38-60S — 127 in wheelbase V8
Series 38-65 — 132 in wheelbase V8
Series 38-75 — 141 and 160 in wheelbase V8
Series 38-90 — 141 in wheelbase V16
1939 Cadillac Series 39-60S, 39-65, 39-75, 39-90 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 39-60S — 127 in wheelbase V8
Series 39-61 — 126 and 162.25 in wheelbase V8
Series 39-75 — 141 and 161.75 in wheelbase V8
Series 39-90 — 141 in wheelbase V16
1940 Cadillac Series 40-60S, 40-62, 40-72, 40-75, 40-90 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 40-60S — 127 in wheelbase V8
Series 40-62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 40-72 — 138 and 165.25 in wheelbase V8
Series 40-75 — 141 and 161.75 in wheelbase V8
Series 40-90 — 141 in wheelbase V16
1941 Cadillac Series 41-60S, 41-61, 41-62, 41-63, 41-67, 41-75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 41-60S — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 41-61 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 41-62 — 126 and 163 in wheelbase V8
Series 41-63 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 41-67 — 139 in wheelbase V8
Series 41-75 — 136 and 163 in wheelbase V8
1942 Cadillac Series 42-60S, 42-61, 42-62, 42-63, 42-67, 42-75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 42-60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 42-61 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 42-62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 42-63 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 42-67 — 139 in wheelbase V8
Series 42-75 — 136 and 163 in wheelbase V8
1946 Cadillac
Series 60S, 61, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 61 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 136 in wheelbase V8
1947 Cadillac
Series 60S, 61, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 61 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 138 in wheelbase V8
1948-1949 Cadillac
Series 60S, 61, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 61 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 136 in wheelbase V8
Finned Fifties
1950-1951 Cadillac
Series 60S, 61, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 130 in wheelbase V8
Series 61 — 122 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 146.75 in wheelbase V8
1952 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 130 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 147 in wheelbase V8
1953 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 130 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 126 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 146.75 in wheelbase V8
1954-1955 Cadillac Series 60S, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 149.8 in wheelbase V8
1956 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 149.75 in wheelbase V8
1957-1958 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 70, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 133 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
Series 70 — 126 in wheelbase V8 "Eldorado Brougham"
Series 75 — 149.7 in wheelbase V8
1959-1960 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 63, 64, 69, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 130 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 130 in wheelbase V8
Series 63 — 130 in wheelbase V8"De Ville" sub-series
Series 64 — 130 in wheelbase V8"Eldorado" sub-series
Series 69 — 130 in wheelbase V8 "Eldorado Brougham"
Series 75 — 149.75 in wheelbase V8
Sixties and Seventies
1961-1964 Cadillac
Series 60S, 62, 75 Fisher Fleetwood
Series 60S Fleetwood — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
Series 62 — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
Series 75 — 149.8 in wheelbase V8
1965-1966 Cadillac
"Calais", "De Ville" and "Fleetwood" Series
Fisher Fleetwood
Calais — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
DeVille/Coupe de Ville — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
Fleetwood — 133 149.8 and 156 in wheelbase V8
1967-1970 Cadillac
"Calais", "De Ville" and "Fleetwood" Series
Fisher Fleetwood
Calais — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
DeVille/Coupe de Ville — 129.5 in wheelbase V8
Fleetwood — 120 133 149.8 and 156 in wheelbase V8
1970-1973 Cadillac
"Calais", "De Ville" and "Fleetwood" Series
Fisher Fleetwood
Calais — 130 in wheelbase V8
DeVille/Coupe de Ville — 130 in wheelbase V8
Fleetwood — 126.3 133 151.5 &bnsp; and 157.5 in wheelbase V8
1974 — Cadillac
"Calais", "De Ville" and "Fleetwood" Series
Fisher Fleetwood
Calais — 130 in wheelbase V8
DeVille/Coupe de Ville — 130 in wheelbase V8
Fleetwood — 126 133 151.5 and 157.5 in wheelbase V8
1975 — Cadillac
"Calais", "De Ville", "Seville" and "Fleetwood" Series
Fisher Fleetwood
Calais — 130 in wheelbase V8
DeVille/Coupe de Ville — 130 in wheelbase V8
Seville — 114.3 in wheelbase V8
Fleetwood — 126.3 133 151.5 &bnsp; and 157.5 in wheelbase V8
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