Cadillac, The Standard of the World - Life in America

[Music] [Music] cadillac is known for quality and luxury but did you ever wonder when the first cadillacs were made or how the name cadillac came to be cadillac was formed in august of 1902 by henry leyland as an aftermath of henry ford's second failed company cadillac is one of the world's oldest automobile brands in fact it is the second oldest u.s automaker after buick the company was formed in detroit and was named after anton dela moth cadillac who happened to be the founder of detroit cadillac's crest was also designed to resemble de la moth's coat of arms the tano and runabout were cadillac's first automobiles and were completed in october of 1902 they used a ford designed body with leyland's cadillac engine the vehicles were brought to the new york auto show in 1903 and immediately gained attention in the first year of production cadillac created about 2500 cars and they cost around 850 dollars [Music] in 1908 they were recognized with the doer trophy cadillac was the first american-made car to receive this award which led to their slogan the standard of the world general motors purchased cadillac in 1909 and leyland was kept in the management position by this time cadillac was already well known as a premium car and they completely revolutionized the auto industry in 1910 cadillac became the first company to offer a passenger car with a fully enclosed cabin this was a major change from vehicles of the time [Music] two years after that the company released the model 30 the car with no crank which was the first car to feature an electronic self-starting ignition and even electric lighting by dropping the crank starter cadillac opened the door to women drivers and was able to bring the dewar trophy back to detroit making cadillac the only car manufacturer to claim the award twice in 1915 cadillac brought the world the v8 engine which would become the standard of the cadillac brand cadillac asked harley earl to design the 1927 lasalle convertible coupe which was the first time in american automotive history that a vehicle was designed by a designer and not an engineer [Music] the 1930s saw a decline in sales due to the great depression which affected all automobile manufacturers they still managed to create new types of engines starting with the v16 followed shortly by the v12 customers now had three engine types to choose from cadillac went quiet in the 1940s when they suspended automobile production to help produce planes for the war after the war ended cadillac adapted some of the aircraft technology and created the first ever tail fin on a vehicle the tail fin took off quickly and by the late 50s it was featured heavily in the design of nearly every [Music] vehicle small but meaningful innovations filled the 1950s and 1960s for cadillac in the 1950s cadillac was the first to begin developing power steering and automatic windshield wipers [Music] in the 1960s the company made front seat belts standard in their vehicles which shortly after led to the passing of a federal law requiring front seat belts in all vehicles they also created automatically controlled headlights and the first controlled climate system over the next few years cadillac introduced electric seat warmers in the stereo radio [Music] cadillac started out the 1970s by unveiling the el dorado with its completely redesigned axle this model had the highest torque capacity of any passenger car available at the time cadillac also brought to the market the 1978 seville which used onboard microprocessors in its digital display this started the era of the computerized automobile throughout the 1980s cadillac laid low working on some new technologies that would come to market in the early parts of the 1990s the first feature to debut was an electronic traction control system on front-wheel drive vehicles the seville touring sedan would become known as the cadillac of the year thanks to features such as an all electronically controlled powertrain traction control anti-lock brakes and speed sensitive suspension at the end of the 1990s cadillac introduced the new now iconic escalade suv through the years cadillac has become famous for safety al capone's cadillac was the first bulletproof limo it was a 1928 sedan that was fully armored for his protection capone owned other cadillacs including his favorite getaway car the 1929 model paramount pictures bought and used it in several gangster movies including the godfather this car even had authentic bullet holes in the side [Music] the cadillac known as the beast also keeps the president safe on the road it boasts several defensive characteristics and life-saving features no one can move the beast easily it weighs around fourteen thousand pounds there are no keyholes in its doors additional defense features include five-inch bulletproof glass and an interior that can be sealed off from a biological or chemical attack its underbelly is protected from mines with a kevlar mat unlike other vehicles its tires still work when they're flat also if a wheel rolls off the car can be driven on its rims unfortunately you will never see the beast in a museum for safety precautions it's destroyed when retired over the years cadillac has maintained its reputation for luxury and innovation and remains a leader in the luxury car market it also has continued to live up to its title as the standard of the world

Channel: Recollection Road

Views: 69,142

Keywords: Recollection Road, nostalgia, memories, photos, history, closed, forgotten, business, past, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, memory, yesteryear, golden age, photo album, oldies, fifties, sixties, abandoned, 20th century, cadillac, car, automobile, automaker, tonneau, runabout, ford, buick, general motors, eldorado, seville, escalade, Henry leland, dewars trophy, lasalle, harley earl, tailfins, v8, v16

Id: uOU5DYQMm50

Length: 8min 9sec (489 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 03 2021