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Cadillac Car Clubs
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| You are viewing results 1 to 6 of 6 |
The American automotive brand Cadillac was formed by Henry Martyn Leland, a precision mechanic who had previously worked for the gun manufacturer Colt, as well as Brown and Sharpe who made micrometers accurate to one thousandth of an inch. This background of highly precise engineering stood Leland in good stead when in 1901 he was asked to design a new engine for the Olds Motor Works, makers of the Oldsmobile. However his engine was rejected by the company as its production would require their factory to be significantly retooled at great expense.
Leland got his break in 1902 when he was called in as a consultant to appraise the Ford automobile plant with a view to its sale, instead Leland showed his engine to William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen, two of Ford’s financial backers. Suitably impressed they kept the factory open and the Cadillac Automobile Company was formed using the name of Leland’s ancestor Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac who had established a trading post in 1701 on the site of what became Detroit.
It was also at this time that the famous Cadillac Crest logo was introduced and the first car was built. The 1903 New York Automobile show saw Cadillac take orders for over 2000 vehicles in a matter of days.
This early success soon led to a takeover by General Motors in 1908 and the Cadillac brand became GM’s prestige division.
In 1910 Cadillac were the first to volume produce a car featuring a fully enclosed cab and two years later offered the first vehicle to incorporate an electrical system, enabling starting, ignition and lighting for the first time.
Leland stayed with the company until 1917 when he left to form the Lincoln Motor Company who would become Cadillac’s biggest competitor.
Other notable Cadillac firsts included the 1918 Dual plane V8 crankshaft and the 1928 ‘Clashless synchro-mesh’ manual gearbox. But it was the 1949 V8 engine which would become the benchmark for the entire American automotive industry.
By the mid 1960’s Cadillac were producing the ‘Calais’, ‘DeVille’, ‘Fleetwood’ and ‘Brougham’ model lines and through the 1970’s the company introduced airbag systems, electronic fuel injection and the catalytic converter to their list of available technologies.
Today the Cadillac brand sells models such as the ‘CTS’, ‘SRX’ and ‘Escalade’ all over the world and of course is hugely popular in America.
Fans of the marque in the U.K can join one of the car clubs listed in this directory including the Cadillac Owners Club of Great Britain car club.
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