About Cadillac
Cadillac is a brand of luxury vehicles owned by General Motors. The majority of their vehicles are produced and sold in the United States and Canada. In the United States, the name became a synonym for "high quality", used in such phrases as "the Cadillac of watches," referring to a Rolex. In English usage outside North America, other brands are used in such phrases - usually Rolls-Royce.
Cadillac's current slogan is "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit," in reference to the inalienable rights mentioned in the United States Declaration of Independence.
History
Founding
Cadillac was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company when Henry Ford departed along with several of his key partners and the company was dissolved. With the intent of liquidating the firm's assets, Ford's financial backers, William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen called in engineer Henry M. Leland to appraise the plant and equipment prior to selling them. Instead, Leland persuaded them to continue the automobile business using Leland's proven 1-cylinder engine. Henry Ford's departure required a new name, and on August 22, 1902, the company reformed as the Cadillac Automobile Company.
The Cadillac automobile was named after the 17th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who founded Detroit in 1701.
Contributions to the Automotive Industry
Cadillac helped to define advanced engineering, luxury and style early in Automotive History and would come to be known as one of the world's finest-made vehicles. Precision manufacturing of truly interchangeable parts was an award-winning industry first in 1908. Cadillac was the first manufacturer to release cars with a fully enclosed cab as factory equipment in 1910. In 1912, Cadillac was the first manufacturer to incorporate an electric starter on their cars equipped with gasoline internal combustion engines, replacing the crank start; the device was developed by Charles Kettering and was marketed as a convenience device for female drivers. This along with electric lighting was another award winner for that year.
