Cadillac was founded in Detroit in 1902 from the remains of the Henry Ford Company, after Henry Ford left it. Named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the French explorer who founded Detroit in 1701, it was led by precision engineer Henry Leland. Cadillac won Britain’s Dewar Trophy in 1908 for demonstrating interchangeable parts, introduced the electric self-starter in 1912, and became General Motors’ luxury brand — the self-proclaimed “Standard of the World”. Today it builds the Escalade and a growing range of electric vehicles.

Timeline

Year Event
1902 Cadillac founded in Detroit
1908 Dewar Trophy for interchangeable parts
1909 Becomes part of General Motors
1912 Electric self-starter
1915 Mass-produced V8
1930 V16
1948 First tailfins
1999 Escalade
2022 First EV, the Lyriq

The Ford connection

In 1901, investors formed the Henry Ford Company, but Ford left after disagreements. The investors brought in Henry Leland to appraise the assets; he persuaded them to continue building cars — using his engine — under a new name, Cadillac.

Interchangeable parts

Leland was obsessed with precision. In 1908, at the Brooklands track in England, three Cadillacs were disassembled, their parts mixed together, and the cars reassembled and driven. The demonstration won the Royal Automobile Club’s Dewar Trophy and showed the value of precisely standardized parts.

The electric self-starter

Hand-cranking an engine was hard and dangerous. In 1912, Cadillac introduced an electric starter developed by Charles Kettering, earning a second Dewar Trophy and making cars far easier to use. Read the Cadillac electric self-starter.

Engines and elegance

Cadillac introduced a mass-produced V8 in 1915, the V16 in 1930 and a long line of powerful, comfortable cars. Read the Cadillac V-16 and the Eldorado and tailfins.

The American luxury car

For much of the 20th century, owning a Cadillac meant success. Models like the DeVille and Fleetwood filled driveways, and Cadillac limousines and funeral cars became standard. Read the Cadillac DeVille and Cadillac Fleetwood.

Modern Cadillac

After losing ground to European and Japanese rivals, Cadillac reinvented itself with the Escalade, sharper design and V-Series performance models, and is now moving to electric power. Read the Escalade history.