Life. Liberty. and the Pursuit. The History of Cadillac

“When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?”

One American car company that has withstood the test of time is Cadillac. Over 100 years ago, the first Cadillac was introduced and since then has made a large impression on the car industry. These cars are known for their luxurious offerings and Cadillac’s mission for excellence. The company got its start in quite an unusual way though. Cadillac can actually thank its success to another American car company, Ford. In the early 1900’s, Ford Motor Company’s Detroit factory was at a standstill due to the fact that the owner, Henry Ford, was leaving the company. The financial bankers for the company, Lemuel Bowen and William Murphy, brought in Henry M. Leland to appraise all of the equipment that was inside the plant. Instead of selling the plant, Leland figured that the assets could turn into a goldmine and convinced the bankers to keep the factory. In 1902, the plant was reopened as Cadillac Automobile Company. The name comes from the French explorer and military commander, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who was the founder of Detroit. In 1909, General Motors bought Cadillac but still allowed Leland to run the company. However, in 1917 Leland left Cadillac and founded Lincoln Motor Company that was later bought by the Ford Motor Company. Cadillacs became the luxury division of General Motors.

The first Cadillac produced was finished in October of 1902, just a few months after the Cadillac factory was opened. It was known as the 10 hp Cadillac. The car was actually very similar to the 1903 model of the Ford Model A. The vehicle cost around $800 and sales were overwhelming. It looked to be a promising venture for Leland. One of Leland’s favorite cars, the Osceola was produced in 1905. After this, Cadillac began to sell to a higher market and added a four-cylinder vehicle that cost an astounding $2800. To put this into perspective, the average vehicle during these days was about $700. The improvements in quality continued from here. In 1907, Leland purchased a set of Swedish Johanssen gauges. These allowed him to make precise, identical parts for his vehicles which was almost unheard of at this time. This would mean that you could literally disassemble a few cars, put them back together using each other’s parts, and still end up with the same number of working vehicles. The car would be able to run just as well as it had with the original parts inside of it. His interchangeable parts won the company a British Dewar trophy in 1908.

The company can pride themselves as being the innovators of many first in the car industry. They were the first to offer a closed body as a standard feature. Cadillac also used the electric starter, developed by Charles Kettering, as standard equipment on their vehicles in 1912. This was much safer to operate than the classic hand cranks that were previously installed. In 1915, thermostats were put into the vehicles to regulate engine cooling and the V8 engine was introduced. Shatter resistant glass was installed and a service policy was introduced in 1926. The following year, the body was reinvented with the help of car designer, Harley Earl, to make the car look as luxurious as the parts inside. Earl designed the La Salle, which was produced until the early 1940’s. It was a small counterpart to some of Cadillac’s previous models. Earl was responsible for such designs as the tailfin and windshields that wrapped around the vehicle. These features were more prominent in later models of Cadillacs.

Cadillac offered the V8 engine in late 1914 to early 1915. However, there were many defects in it that the competition sprung at to notify Cadillac’s current and prospective customers. Yet Cadillac wasted no time in forming a rebuttal to their claims. They released an ad that was only run once known as the “Penalty of Leadership”, which gave sales a complete turnaround. The ad uses a poem from Theodore MacManus to describe how being a leader is a tough position to be in at times and that there is no success without some failures along the way. Cadillac wanted to base their company on honesty and trust, and this ad surely allowed customers to see that this company was not going to give up. In 1934, the V8 engine was reintroduced with more thought and precision put into its design. The company later went on to produce successful V12 and V16 engines.

Another problem for Cadillac occurred during the Great Depression. Sales for Cadillac were dwindling. On top of this, the company was charged with discrimination against its black customers. The president of Cadillac, Nicholas Dreystadt, met with the Board of Directors for General Motors and pleaded with them to allow him to come up with an advertising strategy that would specifically target black customers. He was given a little over a year to complete this but it was well worth the efforts. Sales for the company were up almost ten times the amount before the campaign. This saved the company from becoming extinct.

In August 1928, Cadillac introduced the first mesh manual transmission that prevented clashing before shifting. For this component, gears spun at the same speed due to the internal clutches. Before this Synchro-Mesh transmission was utilized, drivers had to constantly be thinking about how they were shifting to avoid the gears from grinding and crunching. This led to a much smoother ride in the vehicle. This also helped to develop the automatic transmission that was introduced in 1941 for GM in the Hydra-Matic.

Cadillac continued to create luxurious features in their vehicles which set them apart from others. The company popularized the hardtop vehicle, even though they did not invent it, with the Coupe de Ville in 1949. Power steering was then installed in GM models. In the 1950’s, the Dagmar bumpers were placed on the vehicles. The bumpers then began to lose their purpose when they were put higher on the cars. Black rubber tips were added later on. As Cadillac continued moving forward in the 1960’s, drivers kept safer with a fiber-optic indication system and seat belts were now standard equipment. Airbags were not added until the 1970’s.

The launch of the front-drive Fleetwood Eldorado occurred in 1967. This car was a simple yet luxury vehicle that came as a coupe. However, it seemed that the more the company attempted to downsize, the less power and quality the vehicles had. Cadillac began to see new problems in the late 1970’s during the fuel crisis. Companies were downsizing cars to accommodate the energy mandates. People wanted smaller, simpler cars to be able to afford the fuel to power them. The Eldorado, Seville, and Deville were downsized for years to come. But the customers were still not happy. With the downsizing of the vehicles, the prices were still sky high. It made no sense to purchase a Cadillac when you could buy a similar and stylish car with a cheaper price tag such as the Pontiac Grand Am. Each attempt to make the Cadillac fit the demand of the customers resulted in a car that looked just like the competition with a price that was much more expensive.

Again, the competition took great advantage of this for advertising purposes. Lincoln, which ironically was founded by the Leland, put out an ad in the mid 1980’s that made Lincoln greatly distinguished from others like Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile. The tag line “Lincoln, What a Luxury Car Should Be” came from this ad. Basically, four different car owners are attempting to find their vehicle at the valet counter. The owners of the Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile can not decipher whose car is whose because they all look so similar. The owner of the Lincoln finds their car with ease because of its distinct look. There was also the problem facing all American car makers that International cars seemed to be a better deal. You could receive excellent quality and style at comparable prices.

It seemed that Cadillac was moving away from the company that it once was. Instead of targeting the upper class, Cadillac attempted to please the middle class and it clearly was not working for them. However, in the early 1990’s Cadillac began to go back to its roots with the Seville STS. The Allante, which was a roadster, was also a popular car during this time. The impressive Northstar V8 engine was introduced a year later. It was a great step ahead for Cadillac because the power that this engine provided beat out the competition. This engine is still found in Cadillac vehicles today. OnStar communication system was installed as an option on all of the front-wheel drive models beginning in 1997. Customers would be able to receive emergency help or even have their doors unlocked. Massaging lumbar seats became an option on models such as the DeVille Concours and the Eldorado Touring Coupe.

In more recent years, the company now uses the “art and science” approach. This is where beauty meets science. It is important for Cadillac to make a great, luxurious vehicle while keeping up with the ever changing trends in design. Cadillac began this trend with the introduction of the CTS in 2001. The DeVille and Escalade were also a large part of this philosophy and were the best examples of what Cadillac was trying to do. The vehicles are sleek and modern, but incorporate the Cadillac mechanics. In 2000, the DeVille came equipped with Night Vision as well as a system that would help drivers to see what was behind them with backing up in reverse. Then in 2002, XM radios were factory installed in Sevilles and DeVilles. The new MagneRide system was also installed in the Seville to provide better control and handling. Later on the SRX and the XLR roadster were introduced.

In the past century, Cadillac has made a large number of innovations in the automobile industry. From the earliest cars such as the 1906 Model K to the newest such as the 2008 CTS, Cadillac has always prided itself as providing quality cars with luxury features. We have seen many models that have lasted decades, including the Eldorado, the DeVille, and the Seville. The company has endured a lot of speculation and many misses, but they must be doing something right if the company is still as successful today as it was with the introduction of the first Cadillac.

~ by carmarketplace on June 6, 2008.