Fleetwood is one of the grandest names in American luxury cars. It started as the Fleetwood Metal Body Company, a coachbuilder in the small town of Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, which built custom bodies for luxury chassis. Fisher Body (and thus General Motors) bought it in 1925, and it became Cadillac’s in-house coachbuilder. From the late 1930s, Fleetwood became a model name for Cadillac’s most luxurious sedans and limousines — including the Fleetwood 75 limousine — until the last Fleetwood was built in 1996.

At a glance
Origin Fleetwood Metal Body Company, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
Acquired 1925, by Fisher Body (General Motors)
Famous models Sixty Special, Series 75 limousine, Fleetwood Brougham
Last Fleetwood 1996

The coachbuilding years

In the early 20th century, luxury car makers sold chassis, and wealthy buyers ordered bodies from coachbuilders. Fleetwood was among the best in America, building bodies for many prestigious chassis. After GM’s Fisher Body bought it, Fleetwood concentrated on Cadillac, moving its operations to Detroit in the early 1930s. It produced the bodies for Cadillac’s V-16 and V-12 cars — see the Cadillac V-16.

The Sixty Special

In 1938 Cadillac introduced the Sixty Special, designed by a young Bill Mitchell (later GM’s head of design). With no running boards and a sleek, low body, it was hugely influential. Fleetwood built the bodies, and the “Fleetwood Sixty Special” became a long-running name.

The Fleetwood 75: America’s limousine

The Fleetwood Series 75 was Cadillac’s factory limousine for decades. With a long wheelbase, jump seats and often a glass partition, it was used by funeral homes, hotels, corporations and government officials. Many presidential and official cars were based on Cadillac limousine chassis. Read the history of presidential limousines.

The Fleetwood Brougham and the last Fleetwood

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Fleetwood Brougham was Cadillac’s big rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan, beloved by livery companies for its size and comfort. The final Fleetwood (1993–1996) was a big rear-wheel-drive sedan with a Corvette-derived V8 engine, and it was popular with limousine builders as a base for stretching. When it ended in 1996, Cadillac’s era of traditional big rear-drive sedans ended too.

Fleetwood and livery

For generations, black Cadillac limousines and sedans — Fleetwoods and DeVilles — were the backbone of American livery, alongside the Lincoln Town Car. Read the Cadillac DeVille and the history of the limousine.