| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
Cadillac is a brand of luxury automobile, part of the General Motors corporation since 1909, produced and mostly sold in the USA; outside of North America, they have been less successful.
In the United States, the name became a synonym for "high quality", used in such phrases as "the Cadillac of clocks". This usage has become rare in recent decades, as Cadillac vehicles are no longer commonly considered in a class above other luxury makes.
Cadillac was formed from the Henry Ford Company upon Henry Ford's departure. 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. Henry Ford's departure required a new name, and on August 22, 1902, the company reformed as the Cadillac Automobile Company.
Cadillac was named after the 18th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit, Michigan.
The first Cadillac car was completed on October 7, 1902 and the following January was shown at the New York Auto Show , where it impressed the crowds enough to gather over two thousand firm orders. The Cadillac's biggest selling point was its refinement; it was simply a better made vehicle than its competition.
Cadillacs were sent to England, where they impressed, winning awards for reliability and build quality.
Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors conglomerateConglomerate is: # A large company; see conglomerate (company). In geology a rock consisting of other stones that have been cemented together; see conglomerate (geology). In computing an XML editor for GNOME; see Conglomerate XML editor. in 1909.
Cadillac became General Motors' prestige division, devoted to the production of large luxury vehicles.
In 19111911 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January-June January 1 Northern Territory is separated from South Australia January 3 In London, a shootout between Russian anarchists and the Scots Guard January 10 Major Jimmi Cadillac was the first gasoline internal combustion engineAn internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. A piston internal combustion engine works by burning hydrocarbon or hydrogen fuel that presses on a piston; an auto to incorporate electric self-starting (as opposed to earlier crank start), utilizing the electric starter developed by Charles KetteringCharles Franklin Kettering ( August 29, 1876 November 25, 1958), a. Boss" Kettering was born in northern Ohio. He was a farmer, school teacher, mechanic, engineer, scientist, inventor and social philosopher. He had poor eyesight. He had an electrical engi. Other innovations included the first V-8 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. About this time, Cadillac acquired a smaller "companion" car called the LaSalle, which lasted 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.