Classic cars: The History of the Cadillac Brand

The Cadillac Brand was founded over 100 years ago, in 1902 Detroit, by a man named Henry Leland. Leland named the company after Antoine de la Moth Cadillac, who was a French explorer and adventurer in New France and founded the city of Detroit. Detroit eventually became the world center for automobile production in the 20^th century.

In 1908, Cadillac brought the idea of interchangeable parts to the automotive industry and provided the foundation for modern mass production of automobiles. What resulted was Cadillac becoming the first American car to win the prestigious Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club of England. This high praise is what earned Cadillac the slogan “Standard of the World.”

Following its outstanding beginnings, Cadillac only continued to introduce new innovations to the automobile industry. In 1910, they became the first company to offer a passenger car with a fully enclosed cabin, which was a huge change from the vehicles of the time. Two years after that, Cadillac released the Model Thirty. This was “the car with no crank”, and was the first production car to feature an electronic self-starter, ignition, and lighting. By doing this, Cadillac not only earned the Dewar trophy again, but they also were able to open the door to female drivers.

Cadillac is said to have “forever changed the way cars are designed”. The 20s were an important decade for the brand. Cadillac branched out and offered customers more than 500 color combinations to choose from, a definite change in mentality from Henry Ford’s famous quote, “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.”

One of the most interesting facts about Cadillac, and perhaps why it is still the strong brand we know today, is that in the midst of The Great Depression, while most businesses were struggling, Cadillac created the first V-type 16-cylinder engine for use in a passenger car. The engine would go on to be one of the most iconic engines in Cadillac history. Shortly after this, Cadillac released a V12 version to give buyers something between the already popular V8 and new V16 engines.

Cadillac is still known today as “The Standard of the World” when it comes to automobiles. Even today the brand is coming out with new models to impress it’s buyers. Whether you own a classic Cadillac or other type of classic car, Condon Skelly has the Insurance Policies to keep you financially protected. We’ve been helping our customers protect their classics with affordable, industry-leading classic, antique, and specialty vehicle insurance since 1967. We’re a group of collectors, enthusiasts, and professionals who specialize in insuring all types of collector vehicles. For more information, please contact us today at (866) 291-5694.