Five Fun Facts About The Cadillac Brand
Who would have thought despite being Henry Ford’s second failed business venture, Cadillac would go on to become one of the world’s most luxurious car brands?
As one of the world’s oldest motor vehicle manufacturers, the Cadillac brand roared to life all the way back in 1902. Founded by Henry Leland, who named the company after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, in just six short years the company went on to bring the idea of interchangeable parts to the automotive industry, and laid the groundwork for modern mass production of automobiles.
By the time General Motors purchased the company in 1909, Cadillac had already established itself as one of America’s premier luxury car makers. By 1912, Cadillac had already become the first manufacturer to offer a passenger car with a fully enclosed cabin, along with the release of the Model Thirty – or the world’s first car with no crank, otherwise known as an electronic self starter.
With over a century of manufacturing world class vehicles under their belt, Cadillac as a corporation is showing no signs of slowing down. Continuing with the attitude of “go big or go home”, Cadillac even produced the F-22 stealth aircraft in the early 2000’s, which resulted in a swag of design awards to add to the company’s trophy cabinet. However, if you think that it sounds odd for a car manufacturer to produce airplanes, then that’s just scratching the surface.
Five Surprising Facts About The Cadillac Brand
However, whether you’re a fan of the Fleetwood, Eldorado or even Escalade models, there’s a lot that even the most passionate of car enthusiasts don’t know about America’s premiere luxury car manufacturer.
There’s A Tourist Attraction – In the heart of the desert just off Route 66, lies an art installation known as the Cadillac Ranch. Created in 1974 by an art collective called Ant Farm, the installation sourced ten Cadillacs from junk yards, painted them in an array of psychedelic colours, and proceeded to bury them with their noses in the ground.
It Brought V8s To The Masses – Cadillac’s 5.1L engine (70 hp) wasn’t the first V8 ever designed, but it was the first mass-produced, and the first to feature a coolant reservoir. It was so reliable, in fact, that the United States Government bought a couple thousand of them to shuttle officers around during World War I.
Al Capone Was A Fan – Although you might know him from (or as) “Scarface”, American gangster and mob boss Al Capone was a raving Cadillac fan. His 1928 model was one of the first to be crafted as bulletproof, with the armoured plating weighing over 1360kg.
Pioneers Of 3D Printing – Cadillac have been using 3D printing in it’s production lines since the 1980’s. The tech has been used for everything from new A/C ducts to test noise properties, all the way to entire front bumpers, and now holds the world’s 2nd largest facility to do so.
Cadillac Established Luxury – Cadillac was the first auto manufacturer to mass-produce cars with enclosed cabins in 1910. In 1912, the brand introduced the first electric starter, and were also the first car equipped with electric lights, including high beams.
Even in the 21st Century, the name Cadillac is still synonymous with innovation and style. In fact, the brand even introduced a new design philosophy dubbed “Art and Style”, in which it states to “incorporate sharp, sheer forms and crisp edges – a form vocabulary that expresses bold, high-technology design and invokes the technology used to design it.” Over one hundred years later, the brand is still going strong thanks to a vision that refuses to compromise on quality.
