Zac's US Autos: Zac's Autos

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The company was named after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit, Michigan. The Cadillac crest is based on his coat of arms. General Motors purchased the company in 1902. Cadillac had laid the foundation for the modern mass production of auto-mobiles by demonstrating the complete interchangeability of its precision parts while simultaneously establishing itself as one of America's premier luxury cars. Cadillac introduced technological advances, including full electrical systems, the clash-less manual transmission and the stainless steel roof.

The brand developed three engines, with the V8 engine setting the standard for the American automotive industry. Cadillac is the first American car to win the Dewar Trophy from the Royal Auto-mobile Club of England, having successfully demonstrated the interchangeability of its component parts during a reliability test in 1908; this spawned the firm's slogan "Standard of the World". It won that trophy a second time in 1912 for incorporating electric starting and lighting in a production auto-mobile.

FOUNDING

Cadillac was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company.

After a dispute between Henry Ford and his investors, Ford left the company along with several of his key partners in March 1902.

Ford's financial backer William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen, called in engineer Henry M. Leland of Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company to appraise the plant and equipment in preparation for a liquidation of the company's assets.

Instead of offering an appraisal, Leland persuaded Murphy and Bowen to continue manufacturing auto-mobiles using Leland's proven single-cylinder engine.

A new company called the 'Cadillac Auto-mobile Company' was established on 22 August 1902.

The company was named after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701.

Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors (GM) 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 last three of which were custom-built by after-market manufacturers.

Post–World War II

In 1951 Cadillac began production of the M41 Walker Bulldog army tank for that would be used in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Harley J. Earl

Postwar Cadillac vehicles, 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 and 1950s) American automobile, including tailfins, wraparound windshields, and extensive exterior and interior bright-work (chrome and polished stainless steel). Fledgling automotive magazine 'Motor Trend' awarded its first "Car of the Year" to Cadillac in 1949; the company turned it down. On 25 November 1949, Cadillac produced its one millionth car, a 1950 'Coupe de Ville'. It also set a record for annual production of over 100,000 cars, a record it repeated in 1950 and 1951. 1949 also saw the introduction of the first mass-produced hardtop convertible by Cadillac (and Buick), a closed coupe body style without a "B" pillar, similar to the side windows of a convertible but with a fixed steel roof. Marketed as the 'Coupe de Ville', it would become one of Cadillac's most popular models for many years.

1959 Cadillac
The Eldorado Biarritz

Cadillac's first tailfins, inspired by the twin rudders of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, appeared in 1948; the 1959 Cadillac, designed by Peter Hodak, was the epitome of the tail-fin craze, with the most recognizable tail-fins of any production auto-mobile. From 1960 to 1964, the fins decreased in size each year, and disappeared with the 1965 model year (except for the 1965 series 75 chassis which was a carry over from 1964). The Cadillac tail-fin did serve one practical purpose, however. From the inception of the fin up to the 1958 model year, the driver's (left) side fin housed the gasoline filler neck under the tail-light assembly. To fill the car with fuel, the tail-light had to be released, and pivoted upward to access the gas cap. This eliminated the unsightly gas filler door from the side of the vehicle, providing a smoother, cleaner appearance. Tail-fins were added to body shape in 1948. In 1953, the "Autronic Eye" was introduced. This feature would automatically dim high-beam headlamps for the safety of oncoming motorists.

Cadillac Eldorado Brougham - 1957

The 'Eldorado Brougham' of 1957 offered a "memory seat" function, allowing seat positions to be saved and recalled for different drivers. An all-transistor, signal-seeking car radio was produced by GM's Delco Radio, and was first available for the 1957 'Eldorado Brougham' models, which was standard equipment and used 13 transistors in its circuitry. Cadillac's other distinctive styling attribute was its front-bumper designs which became known as Dagmar bumpers or simply Dagmars.

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 tips which only heightened the relationship between the styling element and a stylized, exaggerated bumper design. For 1958 the element was toned down and then was completely absent from the 1959 models. 1956 saw the introduction of the pillarless 4-door hardtop sedan, marketed as the "Sedan deVille." All standard 1957 Cadillacs featured pillarless body styling. 1962 saw the introduction of a dual-reservoir brake master cylinder with separate front and rear hydraulic systems, fully five years ahead of the Federal requirement for all new passenger cars. The first fully automatic heater/air conditioning system was introduced in 1964, allowing the driver to set a desired temperature to be maintained by "climate control". That same year saw the introduction of 'Turbo-Hydramatic', a modern three-speed automatic transmission that would become GM's standard automatic for several decades. From the late 1960s, Cadillac offered a fiber-optic warning system to alert the driver to failed light bulbs. The use of extensive 'bright-work' (chrome) on the exterior and interior also decreased each year after 1959. By the 1966 model year, even the rear bumpers ceased to be all chrome – large portions were painted, including the headlight bezels.

In 1966, Cadillac would mark up its best annual sales yet, over 192,000 units (142,190 of them de Villes), an increase of more than 60%. This was exceeded in 1968, when Cadillac topped 200,000 units for the first time.1967 and 1968 saw the introduction of a host of Federally-mandated safety features, including energy-absorbing steering columns and wheels, soft interior and instrument panel knobs and surfaces, front shoulder belts, and side marker lights. The launch of the front-wheel drive Eldorado in 1967, as a personal luxury coupe, with its simple, elegant design – a far cry from the tail-fins and chrome of the 1950s – gave Cadillac a direct competitor for the Lincoln and Imperial, and in 1970, Cadillac sales topped Chrysler's for the first time. The new 472 cu in (7.7 l) engine that debuted in the 1968 model year, designed for an ultimate capacity potential of 600 cu in (9.8 l), was increased to 500 cu in (8.2 l) for the 1970 Eldorado. It was adopted across the model range beginning in 1975. Driver air-bags were offered on some Cadillac models from 1974 to 1976. The last true pillar-less 'Coupe deVille' was the 1973 model; however the 'Sedan deVille' continued in production as a pillar-less model through 1976. The 1970s saw vehicles memorable for their luxury and dimensions. The 1972 'Fleetwood' was some 1.7 in (43 mm) longer in wheelbase and 4 in (100 mm) overall, compared to the 1960 Series 75 'Fleetwood'; the entry-level 1972 'Calais' was 2.4 in (61.0 mm) longer than the equivalent 1960 Series 62, on the same wheelbase. During this time, the Cadillac series gained a smoother ride while vehicle weight, standard equipment, and engine displacement were all increased. Cadillac experienced record sales in 1973 and again in the late 1970s.