Cadillac's Early Engineering & Marketing Philosophy

Jack and Marilyn Tallman of Decatur, Ill., pose with their 1930 V16 Cadillac on display at the International Auto Show in New York, April 9, 1966. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)

Cadillac’s Early Engineering & Marketing Philosophy

As Cadillac evolved from its chaotic beginnings, the focus grew to position the Cadillac brand as a Luxury vehicle with very little emphasis on competitive pricing. By 1906 the Cadillac plant in Detroit had become the largest and one of the most efficiently equipped car factories in the world.

Despite its record production, Cadillac turned back on the lure of volume sales and dedicated itself on making the finest quality vehicles available to the public. This decision lost Cadillac its position as a high volume producer, but led to many engineering accomplishments which Cadillac one of the leading manufacturers of quality luxury vehicles.

In order to bring Cadillac to complete maturity, Cadillac took their focus off of volume and concentrated on exclusively on engineering problems in order to solve past problematic situations. In 1908 Cadillac made automotive history by achieving perfect interchangeability of parts. For this feat England’s Royal Automotive Club awarded Cadillac the coveted Dewar Trophy. This achievement by Cadillac laid the foundation of the mass production methods of modern industry.

Charles B. King, umpire in the first automobile race held on Thanksgiving Day 1895, sits at the right-hand drive of a 1907 Cadillac on Aug. 17, 1945 in Chicago. To commemorate fifty years of automobile progress, officials at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry plan to recreate the first race in history. (AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman)

Cadillac proved this standardization of parts when a dealer assembled three new cars from disassembled cars selected at random. Then in 1909 Cadillac was purchased by the then new General Motors Corporation. General Motors gave Cadillac the green light to focus only on comfort and luxuriousness.

Mayor F. Sullivan of Worcester, Mass., drives a one cylinder Cadillac on his birthday in 1923. (AP Photo)

By 1910 Cadillac became the first manufacturer to offer closed bodies as standard equipment. Closed bodies revolutionized motoring convenience in providing cleanliness and all-weather comfort.

When we look back at the history of auto manufacturing, we primarily think of Ford, GM and Dodge, but many firsts were lurking within the specialty auto manufacturers. Some are gone forever, but a few, like Cadillac are still a worldwide name.

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