The Cadillac Years

[Music] By 192, the automobile was firmly established as a threat to the peace, quiet, and sanity of communities across the land. and be decking their cars with floral arrangements. Playboys broke Sabbaths in such social centers as Newport Road Buttering Gallon. Many more realized that the automobile was more than a fad. It was here to stay for automobile companies. However, it was another matter. Pierce Arrow was born in 192 and Franklin. But it was also the birth year of longforgotten entries like the Oki Automobile Company out of Columbus, the Bristol Motorcar Company of Connecticut, and in November of that precarious year, Cadillac Incorporated with a capital stock of $300,000 to manufacture a single cylinder automobile. The plant then was the old Detroit Automobile Company at Cass Avenue in the railroad crossing. Detroit was a small town in those days. The previous owner of that building was Henry Ford. As in the decade before and the decades after the announcement of the Cadillac Automobile Company, cars came and they were gone. Some lasted no longer than the day they were born. Others lingered on for a time then failed. Either because of unreliable engineering and manufacturer, lack of a sound retail sales organization, or both. Winton, a great name in the automobile business for many years, built a good automobile, but it left the scene in 1924. An interesting fact here, Winton didn't believe in salesmen. Cadillac had not only the engineering genius of Henry M. Leland. But from the very beginning, Cadillac urged men to join the company and sell. Cadillac believed profit would be assured. And as an ad puts it, "The agent who doesn't secure it now is have to hire himself to the woodshed a little later and gently kick himself all over the place. Will you be one of the unfortunates? Now is the time to decide." And men got wise and decided. in addition to Detroit, in Chicago and Jersey City, Toronto and Georgia, from Los Angeles to Portland, and by 1903 in 34 cities across the land. Let's face it, good as that Cadillac was, it occasionally had its problems. But while other cars were racing and wrecking their way to public recognition, Cadillac was concerned with such customer benefits as economy, safety, and greater precision and progress in reliable manufacturer. Not that Cadillac didn't occasionally join the rest of them in the pandemonium of trials that went on in that day. And while stunts were dreamed up by just about everybody in those days, you can't think of a wilder way to make headlines than to drive your car up the steps of the capital in Washington, which somebody did in a Cadillac in 194. But Cadillac's contribution to the industry and to its own prestige was done in a quieter and, as it turned out, much more substantial way. like building the first American multi-cylinder touring car, the four-cylinder Model D of 195, and the importation of the Johansson Gauges, a move to precision that led straight to the winning of the Doer Trophy and international recognition. Cadillac precision proved that automotive parts could be interchanged, and the Cadillac name won worldwide respect and admiration. Later on that year, Cadillac entered England's International Touring Car Trial and surprised nobody when it won. Back home, President Taft, a man who needed plenty of room in the rear compartment, found the Cadillac 30 most accommodating. When Cadillac joined General Motors in 199, production went to six times what it had been the year before, and the introduction of closed bodies as standard in 1910. firmly established Cadillac in the fine car field. It was around 198 that the Gibson girl slipped out of a few petticoats, put on a pair of goggles, and became the motoring outdoor girl. But while she motored all over the place and hardly a male gliden tour entrant went without her, cranking took more muscle and moxy than most females could muster until Cadillac and a man named Ketering found a way to start a car electrically with the push of a button. I was called in because I'd had a lot of experience with the design of spatial motors and had been working on this particular problem. You see, I had been furnishing Cadillac battery ignition for several years, and I had my shop at Dayton, Ohio, in a barn. I had the principles of the selfarter very well in my mind, but I had to design it so as to meet the rigid requirement of the Cadillac engineers. They were just as hard to work for then as they are now. Theoretically, this damn thing ought to work now. and that too. >> Of course, in classic fashion, they said it couldn't be done. And salesmen said that even if it could, it would be too dangerous and wouldn't sell. But Cadillac thought it could be done, would sell, and built it into the car. It not only worked, won another doer trophy and sold, but it started along with the car, a whole new era in American motoring and dealer prosperity. Some think this historic event of 1912 had a lot to do with the downfall of male supremacy in America. Maybe so, maybe not. But it did start 30 million women driving automobiles. But while Ketering's design started not only the engine but everything electrical in a car, another Cadillac advance followed which is considered just as important if not more so to Cadillac salesmen today. This was the introduction of the first high-speed Vtype water cooled engine. In introducing the V8, Cadillac got the jump on all other manufacturers. A lead in time and experience that Cadillac's competition can never overtake. Cadillac dealers everywhere were quick to sense this advantage. The year 1914 [Music] By 1914, Cadillac had well earned the right to claim that its standards of engineering and manufacture set the standard for the whole world. And while the Cadillac became a fine car and was the personal choice of heads of nations, big and not so big, Ford, which had gone the other way, became the first choice of Keystone Cops. As a matter of fact, it might be said that the production lines of Ford in Detroit and Max Senate in Hollywood both started in 1914 and with the same product. We thought we could keep out of the mess over there and went about our business. Business that was better than usual. And Cadillac had time to think about such things as safer nighttime driving and introduced the tilt beam headlight. And Theodore McManis, one of the founders of Cadillac's present advertising agency, could write the greatest ad ever written for an American product. The penalty of leadership. If the leader truly leads, he remains the leader. And the Cadillac Crest then, as now, stood for the dynamic leadership it will never relinquish to any other motor car. In 1916, Cadillac became a division of General Motors. Production soared to 18,000 cars. In those days, a very impressive fine car figure. By 1917, German subs had done just about all we could take, and we were at war. The official staff cars of that war were Cadillacs. The ROC, however, was not furnished with Cadillacs, and young engineering students like one named Frederick Arnold, walked. Cadillac supplied 2350 staff cars, but also produced Liberty aircraft engines and parts, tools and gauges, chassis for various military vehicles, tractor power plants for the artillery. The delirium of joy that welcomed the armistice was soon sobered by a grim period of economic readjustment. Cadillac dramatically demonstrated its belief in the future of our economy by building a new factory to meet what was known to be a growing demand for fine cars. There may be those who kept cool with coolage, but the 20s was a zany period. The ziest [Music] But a funny thing about car buyers of that period, they bought cars to keep a while, like four and 5 years before they traded them in. And they appreciated then, as they do today, dealers who threw their weight behind good service. Cadillac reliability reached the point where a dealer could offer his customer a comprehensive service policy, a new landmark in the industry in service and customer relations. [Music] In 1927, Cadillac introduced the Lassal. To style the Lassal, Cadillac brought in a young man from California, Harley Earl, and car styling became, for the first time in the industry, a separate automotive department. Total Cadillac division sales went well past 47,000, up to then a record high. And the last time the owner of a new Cadillac had any excuse for grinding his gears was in 1928 when Cadillac introduced synchro mesh transmission to the industry. 1929 was a good year until that week of October 21st. While the shock was felt heavily by everybody and a lot of white collar workers were pulling muscles they never knew they had. Cadillac continued to invest in the future, adopting chrome plating as standard and launching a program begun in happier times to provide the best that could be built for Cadillac customers. But in 1932, fine car buyers probably were too apprehensive to sign an order. And in 33, they still wanted to wait and see. Cars continue to change hands, however, one way or another. In Chicago, a good for instance, 9,68 cars were sold, 10,000 were stolen. During those uncertain years, Cadillac had its ups and downs, but continue to enjoy public acceptance while many, many other makes simply went out. Winton in 1924, Charmers in the same year, Stuts in 33, Franklin in 34, Auburn in 36, and Pierce Arrow, one of Cadillac's most distinguished rivals, built its last car in 1938. Packard was of course a formidable competitor, but it made a move in this period which while it increased total sales was to have an unhappy effect on Packard's position in the fine car field. Cadillac's prestige position was not only strong but building. And in 33 and 34, Cadillac continued to lead in styling and engineering, streamlining, concealing the spare tire, introducing knee action wheels. But in one respect, Cadillac was far behind the rest of the industry. It wasn't until the 30s that Cadillac made the discreet suggestion that its customers could drive now, pay later. By 1936, Cadillac was selling 48.1% of all cars priced over $1,500 and had introduced controlled action, known as the fabulous Cadillac Boulevard ride. By 1940, the desire for Cadillac ownership was so great, the Lassal was discontinued. In fact, in 1941, Cadillac outsold all make cars in both the medium and high price groups. Then, on a bright Sunday morning in December, we were again at war. Plowshares were again beaten into swords as Detroit mobilized its industrial strength on behalf of the war effort. Cadillac earned its E award by turning its skills to making precision parts for planes and the production and manufacturer of tanks. The M5 and the M24, one of the fastest and most maneuverable ever built. Car production began again in 1946, and Cadillac's longestablished efficiency got the plant back to 90% of pre-war peak in a matter of weeks. And again, Cadillac pressed forward in engineering and design. Cadillac presented its greatest engineering achievement in 45 years, the new overhead valve high compression V8, and introduced in that same model year the most controversial styling note of all time, the Finn. Despite the first reaction to the fish tail, as it was dubbed by competition, Cadillac decided this was the way to go in styling. And it apparently was. First, competition laughed at the idea, then copied it, then claimed to have invented it. For years, Cadillac has been copied by its competition. But no matter how fast you can copy, you still haven't got the original. And the originals have been hung year after year where they properly belong in the gallery of the Cadillac car. [Music]