Cadillac history and trivia

Cadillac is a brand of luxury automobile, part of the General Motors corporation, produced and mostly sold in the US and Canada; outside of North America, they have been less successful. In the US, the name became a synonym for high quality, used in such phrases as the Cadillac of clocks. This is less prevalent, though still known, in other English speaking nations.

Cadillac was formed in 1902 from an attempt to liquidate the Ford company. The company was namedafter de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit, Michigan in 1701.

Their first car was completed in October 1902. Cadillac was purchased by the General Motors conglomerate in 1909.

In 1911, Cadillac was the first gasoline internal combustion engine auto to incorporate electric start, as opposed to earlier crank start.

Postwar Cadillacs, incorporating the ideas of General Motors styling chief Harley J. Earl, innovated many of the styling features that came to be synonymous with the classic (late 1940s-late 1950s) American automobile, including tailfins and wraparound windshields.

Pre World War II Cadillacs were well-built, powerful, mass produced luxury cars, aimed at an upper class market. Obviously many of the older car companies had to go for an exclusive audience, as their was not a mass demand.

Cadillac's other styling attribute was its front bumper designs which became known as Dagmar bumpers or simply Dagmars.

The mid 1980s saw Cadillac try to rebuild its image, aware European and Japanese imports were on a rise, and with Honda launching its American luxury division, Acura. Some new design approaches were tried: the Seville, for instance, had gracefully rounded wheel arches with chrome.

Cadillac's 2003 Cadillac CTS was the first ground up incarnation of A&S and was an instant hit, partly due to product placements in the cyberpunk Matrix trilogy. Following in its success was the Cadillac SRX sport utility wagon and the Evoq inspired Cadillac XLR roadster. The 2005 Cadillac STS is the latest in the A&S lineup and will complete the transition between old school design and new. The new Cadillac V-Series was also introduced to provide sporty models based on Cadillac production cars, with very extensive chassis and engine upgrades.

In late 2005, Cadillac introduced the new DTS, the replacement of the DeVille, completing the full lineup of A&S models.

Also in 2005, General Motors announced the first Cadillac designed exclusively for the European market, a model called the BLS, to be built by Saab in Sweden.

2006-present Cadillac STS V-Series
2004-present Cadillac CTS V-Series
2006-present Cadillac BLS (Europe only)
2003-present Cadillac CTS
2006-present Cadillac DTS
1999-present Cadillac Escalade (ESV/EXT)
2004-present Cadillac SRX
2005-present Cadillac STS
2004-present Cadillac XLR

Trivia

The town of Cadillac lies in the centre of a region Entre-Deux-Mers near Bordeaux, and was built in the 13th century as a walled city. It was key to defending the trade routes through the area, and part of the town is still walled. The imposing castle of the Dukes of Epernon stands in the centre. The current castle was actually built in the 17th century after the original was destroyed during the French Revolution and its past functions include a spell as a womens' prison.

The car has been in numerous movies such as The Fast and the Furious, 1954, The Aviator, 2004, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (Alone Again), 1992 with the Cadillac ambulance in Midnight Cowboy, 1969. And perhaps most famous the Cadillac ambulance in Ghostbusters.

Country music pedigrees don't come much more prestigious than that of singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash, she recorded Black Cadillac.

In 2004 GM invested an estimated $12 million in eight 30 second units will to air a series of seven Cadillac spots.

In 1977 the Cadillac Fleetwood limousine was in a Bond movie.

The Solid Gold Cadillac is a fifty year old play which has lately become topical again - it's about a small shareholder taking on corporate fat cats. The wife of Star Trek creator Majel Barrett Roddenberry, got her acting break in nine month run in the play in the fifites.

Origin of the surname Cadillac:

It is a Breton name for a person who was a person who was small but a strong fighter. The name Cadillac is derived from the Old French word cad, which means little fighter.Spelling variations include: Cadieux, Cadieu, Cadeau, Cadeaux, Cadio, Cadiot, Cadéo, Cadiou, Cadioux, Cadious, Cadius, Cadier, Caduc, Cadel, Cadelon, Cadelard, Cadenel, Cadenet, Cadu, Cado, Cadou, Cadoux, Cadot, Cadotte, Caudos, Caddieux, Caddieu, Caddeau, Caddeaux, Caddioux, Caddiou, Caddious, Caddius, Caddier and many more.First found in Brittany, where they are recorded as an ancient family with lands, manors and estates.

ADILLAC is a rare French name that may be linked.

Adilia is an area in CHAD

Cadillac was the the sponsor of the Russian golf Open in 2005

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birthplace of Australian PMs

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