Coming straight to you from the fabulous 1950s, here’s a swell pocket history of the Cadillac Motor Company. See how the Standard of the World came to be.
REVISED AND EXPANDED — First, we need to do a little historical housekeeping. There’s a glitch or two in this otherwise solid 1959 history of the Cadillac brand, officially titled The Cadillac Years. Not to nitpick, but just past the one-minute mark there’s an explanation of Henry Ford’s relationship to Cadillac that’s not quite historically correct. Ford was not the owner of the building that housed the Detroit Automobile Company, Cadillac’s predecessor, but the chief engineer and general manager. But Ford was at odds with the company’s investors, and he soon departed and formed the Ford Motor Company with a new group of backers.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Automobile Company then changed its name to Cadillac under its new manager, Henry Leland. (The name honored French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who in 1701 founded Fort Pontchartrain, which became the city of Detroit.) Under Leland’s leadership, Cadillac became one of Detroit’s leading carmakers and a few years later, the flagship division of General Motors. Ford and Leland would meet again in 1922 when Ford acquired Leland’s own automotive startup, the Lincoln Motor Company.
In a similar way, the factory building pictured at this point in the film is not the Cadillac building at Cass and Amsterdam in Detroit, as the narrator seems to say, but the Ford plant on Mack Avenue around two miles east. (Read the story of the Ford Mack Ave. plant here at Mac’s Motor City Garage.) All flyspecking aside, the film is a sound review of Cadillac from 1902 to 1959 and the company’s many contributions to the auto industry .And it’s lots of fun, too. Please enjoy the video.
There was also a little mistake in the very last part of the film. In the film it said that the tail fin was brought out the same time as the new overhead valve V-8. In reality all Cadillac and Olds Ninety Eight introduced ” Flow Through Fender Styling” in 1948, where by the top of the front fender body line sweeps back through the door and over the rear pontoon fender. In Cadillac’s case the rear pontoon has the fin in place. The only difference between 48 and 49 is the red reflector lamp has chrome ribs protecting it and the 49 does not. In 49 the Cadillac introduces the OHV V-8.
The picture below shows a 48 and notice the front fender high line going over the rear pontoon fender;
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8e/28/99/8e28994291b7b4aeb177f9300554e4df.jpg
The picture below is a 49 which also has a new feature besides the new V-8 engine which is the pillar less new hardtop coupe called the Coupe de Ville. Notice also no chrome ribs in the tail lamp assy. as mentioned before;
https://notoriousluxury.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/1949-series-62-coupe-deville-8.jpg?w=450
Should have shown the Olds 98 ( the 76 and 88 models won’t get this body until 1949) which along with Cadillac are the only G.M. 1948 models to use the new ” Flow Through Fender Styling” which will be used in all G.M. cars in 49
1948 Olds 98 below;
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/uploads/photoalbum/1948-oldsmobile-98-convertible-3.jpg
Compared to a 1948 Olds 88 below with front and rear pontoon styling that is pre-war;
http://smclassiccars.com/uploads/postfotos/1948-oldsmobile-88-2.JPG
Very good film! Thanks for showing. Cadillac was well-established and sensibly run for many years. It knew what the buyers wanted and delivered. Too bad the bean counters got involved and screwed things up for a few years before management came back in and began to run things again. I worked for a GM dealership in the 70s and 80s. At that time a good family friend was an engineer. Some of the horror stories I heard from him and others in the R and D would chill your blood. But Caddy soldiered on through and still makes good products today….