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The first production Cadillac automobiles rolled off the assembly line in October 1902. The car was officially unveiled in January 1903 at the New York Auto Show.
The Cadillac Automobile Company launched in 1902, formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company. It was named after the Frenchman who founded Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac. Pictured the same year are workers at the plant.
In 1701 French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded the site that would become the city of Detroit. Various places bear his name in America, in particular Cadillac Mountain in Maine and the town of Cadillac, Michigan.
The Henry Ford Company was the American industrialist and business magnate's second company after the Detroit Automobile Company. He left in 1902 after a dispute with investors.
The Henry Ford Company was renamed the Cadillac Automobile Company. In 1905 it merged with Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing, forming the Cadillac Motor Car Company.
From the outset, Cadillac's biggest selling point was precision manufacturing. Vehicles were robust and reliable. In 1906, Cadillac produced the first fully enclosed car. In 1908 it became the first carmaker to produce precision standardized, replaceable parts—a critical step for economical production and maintenance of engines and vehicles.
The introduction by Cadillac in 1915 of a production automobile with the first V8 engine—a 5.1-liter 70 horsepower marvel of engineering—enabled its cars to achieve a top speed of around 105 km/p (65 mph).
General Motors (GM) purchased the company in July 1909. Henceforth, Cadillac became General Motors' prestige division, devoted to the production of large luxury vehicles.
In the 1930s, Cadillac added cars with V12 and V16 engines to their range. The V16 (pictured) was a monster. Introduced in 1939, it boasted a 7.4-liter capacity and 160 horsepower. Many of these models were fitted with custom coach-built bodies.
The 1940s saw further technical innovation. But it was the unveiling in 1948 of Cadillac's Sixty Special (pictured)—which saw the first use of the tail fin in automotive design— that caught the imagination of the public. Indeed, the styling of this vehicle would prove far more predictive of 1950's trends and secured GM's place at the cutting edge of automotive design.
The Cadillac Eldorado was introduced in 1952. Two years later, Cadillac became the world's first car maker to include power steering in all models. The 1954 Eldorado featured power steering along with power breaks, vertical and horizontal power front seat adjuster, and wire wheels, which were among the many pieces of optional and accessory equipment standard on this specially-styled model.
The Eldorado was manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over 12 generations. It quickly became a byword for luxury.
The 1960s saw more technical advancement. In 1964, Cadillac introduced the industry's first thermostatically regulated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. Advertising campaign taglines boasted that it was "easy to be a weatherman in a new Cadillac," the driver of course being a beautiful woman.
The front-wheel drive Eldorado was introduced in 1967 to further elevate Cadillac's reputation as a personal luxury car. A road test for the January 1967 issue of Motor Trend magazine reported the "Eldorado switches from push to pull with the new front-wheel driveline. It takes longer to get used to all the automatic convenience accessories than to the car itself."
Two popular late '60s Cadillac models were the Fleetwood Brougham Sedan (top) and the Cadillac De Ville. Not resting on its laurels, the 1970s saw Cadillac introduce new extremes in vehicle luxury and dimension.
The 1972 Fleetwood typified Cadillac's models throughout the 1970s—longer and heavier and marketed as "international size," though still offering a super-smooth ride.
In another first, Cadillac was the first American manufacturer to employ electronic fuel injection in 1975. Pictured is the custom engine of a Cadillac Seville.
By the mid-1970s, Cadillac was reducing the length of its models in line with GM significantly downsizing their full-sized cars. The reduction in size and weight was implemented to improve fuel economy and emissions as a result of the United States Federal Government passage of Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations.
In 1978, Cadillac fitted its Seville range with a trip computer, another automotive industry first. The device recorded, calculated, and displayed the distance traveled, the average speed, the average fuel consumption, and real-time fuel consumption—all standard parameters today but unheard of back then. Pictured without its computer is a 1977 Cadillac Seville, once owned by Elvis Presley.
The 1959 Cadillac, the Coupe de Ville, is remembered for its huge sharp tailfins with dual bullet tail lights.
The 1980s saw further downsizing of many models including the De Ville, Fleetwood, Eldorado, and Seville. In 1982, the Cimarron (pictured) was introduced as the brand's first compact car. It was not a success, and marked a low point in the history of Cadillac and of GM's product planning.
Despite Cadillac's sullied reputation in the wake of the disastrous Cimarron launch, the company remained ahead of the curve with the first front-wheel-drive vehicle with electronic traction control, introduced in the 1990 Allante.
The redesigned 1992 Cadillac Seville made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list that year.
For 1997, the Catera mid-size sedan was introduced as Cadillac's new entry-level model.
By the late 1990s, the burgeoning American market for full-size luxury-type trucks prompted GM to introduce a competitor to the Lincoln Navigator—the Cadillac Escalade, launched in 1999 (pictured is a model from 2005). Cadillac bowed out of the 1990s by unveiling the first vehicle with infrared technology, the 1999 De Ville, equipped with "night vision."
The dawning of the new millennium saw Cadillac introduce a new design philosophy for the 21st century called "Art and Science." The XLR roadster was unveiled in 2003 on the back of this new approach.
GM debuted the Cadillac Converj concept, the car that would eventually become the 2014 Cadillac ELR, in January 2009, at the North American International Auto Show. The ELR (pictured), a luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé, was manufactured until 2016.
This Cadillac model is the XT6, mid-size luxury crossover SUV. It's a vehicle that Car and Driver describes as being suitable for "stylish family transport."
Sources: (Detroit Historical Society) (Car and Driver) (CNBC)
It's one of the most iconic automobile brands in the United States, and one of the best known in the world. But when did Cadillac's historic wheels start turning?
The first Cadillac rolled off the assembly line in Detroit in 1902. Since then, it has become one of the most iconic automobiles in America, recognized for its precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes. Today a division of General Motors, Cadillac is still producing some of the most sought-after cars in the country.
Click through for a short drive through the history of the Cadillac.
How iconic is the Cadillac?
Forever celebrated for its precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes
LIFESTYLE Automobile
The first Cadillac rolled off the assembly line in Detroit in 1902. Since then, it has become one of the most iconic automobiles in America, recognized for its precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes. Today a division of General Motors, Cadillac is still producing some of the most sought-after cars in the country.
Click through for a short drive through the history of the Cadillac.