motor car division type division industry automotive predecessor henry ford company founded detroit michigan u.s. august 22 1902 ; 114 years ago 1902 08 22 founder william murphy lemuel bowen henry m. leland headquarters new york city new york united states area served united states canada mexico europe middle east ex . iran china incl . taiwan south korea japan key people johan de nysschen president cadillac products luxury vehicles production output 170 750 vehicles sold 2014 owner general motors website www.cadillac.com footnotes references 1 cadillac k d l k formally the cadillac motor car division is a division of the u.s. based general motors gm that markets luxury vehicles worldwide . its primary markets are the united states canada and china but cadillac branded vehicles are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide . historically cadillac automobiles have always held a place at the top of the luxury field within the united states . 2 in 2014 cadillac s u.s. sales were 170 750 vehicles . 3 cadillac is among the oldest automobile brands in the world second in america only to fellow gm marque buick . the firm was founded from the remnants of the henry ford company in 1902 almost nine years before chevrolet . 4 it was named after antoine de la mothe cadillac who founded detroit michigan . the cadillac crest is based on his coat of arms . by the time general motors purchased the company in 1909 cadillac had already established itself as one of america s premier luxury carmakers . the complete interchangeability of its precision parts had allowed it to lay the foundation for the modern mass production of automobiles . it was at the forefront of technological advances introducing full electrical systems the clashless manual transmission and the steel roof . the brand developed three engines with its v8 setting the standard for the american automotive industry . cadillac was the first american car to win the royal automobile club of england s dewar trophy by successfully demonstrating the interchangeability of its component parts during a reliability test in 1908 ; this spawned the firm s slogan standard of the world . it won the trophy again in 1912 for incorporating electric starting and lighting in a production automobile . 5 contents 1 early history 1.1 founding 1.2 first automobiles 1.3 notable events 1.4 acquired by general motors 1.5 1910 1941 1.6 after world war ii 1.7 the art and science era 2 models 3 assembly plants 4 advertisements 5 awards 6 motorsport 7 see also 8 references 9 further reading 10 external links early history founding cadillac was formed from the remnants of the henry ford company . after a dispute between henry ford and his investors ford left the company along with several of his key partners in march 1902 . ford s financial backers william murphy and lemuel bowen called in engineer henry m. leland of leland & faulconer manufacturing company to appraise the plant and equipment in preparation for liquidating the company s assets . instead leland persuaded the pair to continue manufacturing automobiles using leland s proven single cylinder engine . a new company called the cadillac automobile company was established on 22 august 1902 re purposing the henry ford company factory at cass street and amsterdam avenue . it was named after french explorer antoine laumet de la mothe sieur de cadillac who was from france and he had also founded detroit in 1701 . 6 7 first automobiles cadillac s first automobiles the runabout and tonneau were completed in october 1902 . they were two seat horseless carriages powered by a 10 hp 7 kw single cylinder engine . they were practically identical to the 1903 ford model a. many sources state that the first car rolled out of the factory on 17 october ; in the book henry leland master of precision the date is 20 october ; another reliable source shows car number three to have been built on 16 october . cadillac displayed the new vehicles at the new york auto show in january 1903 where the vehicles impressed the crowds enough to gather over 2 000 firm orders . cadillac s biggest selling point was precision manufacturing and therefore reliability ; a cadillac was simply a better made vehicle than its competitors . runabout 1902 6 hp 1904 1907 1907 1908 with dickey seat open rear entrance tonneau 1903 6 hp 1903 8 hp 1904 8 hp surrey top 1904 10 hp 1904 special bodies delivery 1903 8 hp touring car 1904 8 hp detachable top limousine 1904 9 hp limousine coup 1906 notable events the cadillac automobile company merged with leland & faulconer manufacturing forming the cadillac motor company in 1905 . 8 from its earliest years cadillac aimed for precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes causing its cars to be ranked amongst the finest in the united states . cadillac was the first volume manufacturer of a fully enclosed car in 1906 . cadillac participated in the 1908 interchangeability test in the united kingdom and was awarded the dewar trophy for the most important advancement of the year in the automobile industry . in 1912 cadillac was the first automobile manufacturer to incorporate an electrical system enabling starting ignition and lighting . 9 10 acquired by general motors cadillac was purchased by the general motors gm conglomerate in 1909 . 11 cadillac became general motors prestige division devoted to the production of large luxury vehicles . the cadillac line was also gm s default marque for commercial chassis institutional vehicles such as limousines ambulances hearses and funeral home flower cars the last three of which were custom built by aftermarket manufacturers . it was positioned at the top of gm s vehicle hierarchy above buick oldsmobile oakland and chevrolet . 1910 1941 in 1915 cadillac introduced a 90 degree flathead v8 engine with 70 horsepower 52 kw at 2400 rpm and 180 pound force feet 240 n m of torque allowing its cars to attain 65 miles per hour . 10 this was faster than most roads could accommodate at this time . cadillac pioneered the dual plane v8 crankshaft in 1918 . in 1928 cadillac introduced the first clashless synchro mesh manual transmission utilizing constant mesh gears . in 1930 cadillac implemented the first v 16 engine with a 45 degree overhead valve 452 cubic inches 7.41 litres and 165 horsepower 123 kw one of the most powerful and quietest engines in the united states . the development and introduction of the v8 v16 and v 12 helped to make cadillac the standard of the world . 10 a later model of the v8 engine known as the overhead valve set the standard for the entire american automotive industry in 1949 . 10 a 1921 cadillac advertisement . in july 1917 the united states army needed a dependable staff car and chose the cadillac type 55 touring model after exhaustive tests on the mexican border . 2 350 of the cars were supplied for use in france by officers of the american expeditionary force in world war i. 12 general motors of canada had built cadillacs from 1923 until 1936 and lasalles from 1927 until 1935 . 13 pre world war ii cadillacs were well built powerful mass produced luxury cars aimed at an upper class market . in the 1930s cadillac added cars with v12 and v16 engines to their range many of which were fitted with custom coach built bodies . 14 in 1926 cadillac recruited automobile stylist harley earl in a one time consulting capacity but his employment lasted considerably longer by 1928 earl was the head of the new art and color division and he would ultimately work for gm until he retired over 30 years later . the first car he designed was the lasalle a new smaller companion marque car named after another french explorer and founder of detroit ren robert cavelier sieur de la salle . that marque remained in production until 1940 . 15 cadillac introduced designer styled bodywork as opposed to auto engineered in 1927 . it installed shatter resistant glass in 1926 . cadillac also introduced the turret top the first all steel roof on a passenger car . 10 previously car roofs had been made out of fabric covered wood . the great depression sapped the auto industry generally with the luxury market declining more steeply ; between 1928 and 1933 cadillac sales had declined by 84 % to 6 736 vehicles . 16 exacerbating sales performance for the cadillac brand was a policy reflective of the times which discouraged sales to african americans . 17 nick dreystadt mechanic and national head of cadillac service urged a committee set up to decide whether the cadillac brand would live on to revoke that policy . after the policy was eliminated brand sales increased by 70 % in 1934 and dreystadt was promoted to lead the entire cadillac division . 17 by 1940 cadillac sales had risen tenfold compared to 1934 . 14 in 1936 dreystadt released the series 60 as cadillac s entry into the mid priced vehicle market . it was replaced by the series 61 in 1939 but a popular model that was derived from it the sixty special continued through 1993 . another factor helped boost cadillac growth over the next few years a revolution in assembly line technology . in 1934 henry f. phillips introduced the phillips screw and screwdriver to the market . he entered into talks with general motors and convinced the cadillac group that his new screws would speed assembly times and therefore increase profits . cadillac was the first automaker to use the phillips technology in 1937 which was widely adopted in 1940 . 18 for the first time in many years all cars built by the company shared the same basic engine and drivetrain in 1941 . 19 1941 also saw introduction of optional hydra matic the first mass produced fully automatic transmission offered the previous year on the oldsmobile . 1910 cadillac model s 1921 cadillac suburban 1929 cadillac 1929 cadillac fleetwood 1931 cadillac phaeton 1932 cadillac 355b v8 sedan 1936 cadillac series 70 4 door convertible v8 1939 cadillac series 75 town car 1940 cadillac 90 town car after world war ii 1948 cadillac postwar cadillac vehicles innovated many of the styling features that came to be synonymous with the late 1940s and 1950s american automobile . incorporating many of the ideas of then general motors styling chief harley j. earl these included tailfins wraparound windshields and extensive use of chrome . tailfins were first added in 1948 10 and reached their apex in 1959 . from 1960 to 1964 they decreased each year until they disappeared in the 1965 model year remaining vestigialy only on the limited production 1965 series 75 chassis a carry over from 1964 . cadillac s other distinctive styling attribute was its front bumper . what had started out after the war as a pair of artillery shell shaped bumper guards 20 moved higher on the front end design as the 1950s wore on . becoming known as dagmar bumpers for their similarity to the buxom 1950s television personality they were toned down in 1958 and gone the next year . 1956 saw the introduction of the pillarless four door hardtop sedan marketed as the sedan deville ; a year later the feature appeared in all standard cadillacs . fledgling automotive magazine motor trend awarded its first motor trend car of the year to cadillac in 1949 for its innovative overhead valve v8 engine . while the company initially snubbed the honor it now proudly references its car of the year wins in publicity material . 21 22 on november 25 1949 cadillac produced its one millionth car a 1950 coupe de ville . 23 it also set a new sales mark of 100 000 cars 23 matched in 1950 and