Had it not been part of General Motors , Cadillac might have perished in the Depression , a metre when few could give – or wanted to be determine in – heavy , expensive car no matter how superb .
Unlike independent Packard , which was impel to survive with medium - priced products , Cadillac was protected by GM ’s vast size and tremendous fiscal strength . Then , too , the division already had a medium - priced car , the LaSalle , introduced in 1927 . All this helped Cadillac go " hard times " without squandering its dismal - chip image , even as it establish radical - luxury cars deal only in little numbers .
first of all among them was that glorious 1930 surprisal , the Sixteen , carrying an overhead - valve , 452 - cubic - inch V-16 engine produce 165 horsepower and 320 Irish pound - feet of torque . Horsepower was increased to 185 in 1934 .
An undoubted great in an era of greats , the Sixteen was ostensibly uncommitted in 33 unlike models , submodels or trim down magnetic declination range from a $ 5,350 two - rider buggy to a $ 9,700 town brougham . Keep in psyche those prices buy a very nice home in the Depression old age .
The distinctive Cadillac Sixteen could return about eight stat mi to a 15 - cent congius of petrol and 150 miles to a dry quart of oil color . It could also cruise at 70 and top 90 mph . But beastly performance was n’t its forte . Rather , the Sixteen was intended to raise Cadillac into the rarefied realm of Packard , Peerless , and Pierce - Arrow , still the three colossus of American motoring . That it did , offering superb luxuriousness and smooth , effortless big businessman with minimum shifting . Cadillac advertised the Sixteen ’s performance as " a uninterrupted flow … incessantly at full - volume efficiency … flexible … instantly responsive . "
The Sixteen was only nine months old when Cadillac introduced another multicylinder engine , a 368 - cubic - column inch V-12 . Essentially a V-16 with four few cylinders , it delivered 135 horsepower and 285 Syrian pound - feet of torque . The cars it powered also were n’t quite as large the Sixteens , riding the Cadillac Eight ’s 140 - column inch wheelbase instead of an enormous 148 - inch span .
Predictably , the Twelve also was n’t as fast , but its free - revving railway locomotive was renowned for smooth , even power . And that power was quite ample . A roadster could do about 85 mph with standard rearward - axle proportion , and most Twelves could cruise all day at 70 . Of course , the Twelve was cheaper than the Sixteen , by far , offered with 11 body choice in the $ 3,795-$4,985 range .
But despite their processed carrying into action and majestic proportionality , the multicylinder Cadillacs were mistiming in the devastated Depression market , and none sold in significant identification number . The peak was 1930 - 31 with exactly 3,250 Sixteens and 5,725 Twelves .
Production was only bonnie for ' 32 , then decline to about 700 and 400 unit per twelvemonth , respectively . Both models were miss after 1937 , but Cadillac made one more examine starting the next year with an liter - head V-16 . At 431 cid and 185 horsepower , this locomotive engine was smaller and lighter yet more potent than the early overhead - valve design , but only 508 cars were so outfit through 1940 , its final twelvemonth .
There were two reasons why these grand Cadillacs do so poorly . As notice , super - expensive cars with more than eight cylinders seemed socially inappropriate to many people in the early ' 30s . After their initial sales spurt , these models were cast out by most customers for the cheaper , less showy , but by no means subscript Cadillac Eights .
Later , the bragging engines were simply outmoded by advancing technology . The introduction of preciseness - insert connecting - rod bearings helped eliminate knock and high - speed wear in engine with fewer than 12 cylinders , so there was little reason for Cadillac purchaser to choose a Twelve or Sixteen over an Eight .
We ’ll cover Cadillac ’s V-8 offerings in more point on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
For more infomation on Cadillac, see:
Cadillac V-8 Models of the 1930s
Fortunately for Cadillac , its V-8 line sold consistently and clean well through the 1930s . Model - yr production flow around 10,000 units for 1930 - 31 , plunged to 2,000 - 3,000 for 1932 - 33 , and then find speedily .
With the introduction of the low - priced Series 60 for 1936 , V-8 bulk run 10,000 , then pass over 13,000 by 1939 . This highly creditable sale operation was owe to a reliable plaster bandage - atomic number 26 L - head engine , militant damage , and a all-encompassing range of body style .
Cadillac ’s early-’30s V-8 was based on a 341 - cubic - inch unit introduced in 1928 . Sized at 353 three-dimensional inches for 1930 through 1935 , it deport 95 - 130 HP .
A completely redesigned V-8 of 346 cubic inch and with 135 horsepower replaced it for 1936 . That year ’s unexampled Series 60 used a 322 - three-dimensional - inch variation , then take on the 346 . This esteem powerplant would remain in production until Cadillac launched its new short - stroke overhead - valve V-8 for 1949 .
Though the cubic decimeter - head had limits , it deport excellent performance and reasonable economy . The light 1938 - 39 models could do nearly 100 miles per hour and run 0 - 60 in 15 - 16 mo , no mean feat for 4,500 - Ezra Pound luxury liners before World War II .
Although Cadillac did cater chassis in honest bit to independent body builder , unlike many luxury rivals , it design and build most of its body in - home via Fisher and Fleetwood , two respected coachmakers GM had acquired . This arranging enable GM design chief Harley Earl to assert a consistent tone throughout the car instead of in just the radiator and hood .
" Classic " Cadillac styling was doubtlessly epitomized by the 1930 - 1931 models with their opulent , thick - collar upright radiators ; attractively rounded bonnet ; and clear , course telephone circuit .
Body styles were bewildering . The 1930 Fisher line spanned seven types in the $ 3,300-$4,000 compass . Fleetwood Custom mannikin come no fewer than 14 , priced from $ 3,450 to $ 5,145 . Most graceful of all were the several " Madame X " styles , named after a stage play of the era , with lithe chrome doorway and windscreen moldings .
Square - manipulate styling begin to dissolve with the more - rounded 1932 Cadillacs , but the ' 33 models showed evidence of lawful streamlining , a look then make out into vogue through the public of industrial design .
The 1933 Cadillacs keep on canonical ' 32 consistence , but Earl develop their visual aspect with items like dodge fender , vee’d radiators , and more - sweep - back windshields . A notable innovation was front - room access discharge window , called " No - Draft Ventilation , " a feature shared with babe GM divisions that year . All early-’30s Cadillacs have long been jimmy by enthusiasts as some of the best intent of the previous Classic era .
Styling for 1934 was full retool along the lines of the alien , data-based " Aero - Dynamic " fastback coupe , a special show car prepared for the 1933 Chicago World ’s Fair . Earl now moved out completely from upright form into the realm of rounded pontoon fenders , slop radiators , " bullet train " headlight cuticle , and rakish rearward decks . He also bid new two - art object front and rear bumpers likely inspired by biplane , but they prove fragile and unpopular , and were thus abandoned after one season .
The 1935 - 36 models were relatively stumpy by comparison , with roundness prevail over squareness throughout . However , 1935 introduced a popular instauration : close " Touring " body style with built - in trunks . Though appearance was embarrassing from some slant , these framework proffer extra practicality and quickly replaced traditional " beaverback " versions with freestanding detachable trunks .
Cadillac introduced major changes in the late thirties . get word about the kickoff of Cadillac ’s " new era " on the next page .
The Cadillac Sixty Special of the 1930s
Everything change again for 1938 , when unseasoned William L. Mitchell , a protégé of the great GM couturier Harley Earl , drew up the Sixty Special sedan chair as an addition to the 124 - in - wheelbase Series 60 .
Square yet crisply elegant and quite succinct for a Cadillac , Mitchell ’s institution stand up aside with chrome - edge side window , squareback fenders , concealed running board , and a low profile on a wheelbase three inch longer than on other 60s ( which bid a coupe , a sedan chair , and two convertibles ) . This first Sixty Special sedan has long been estimate one of the all - time nifty self-propelled designs .
Cadillac production for 1939 was a stronger 10,000 units high than its ' 38 total ( which had suffered from a national recession ) . Only mild face lifting come and engines were unchanged , but the section now blanket the luxury theatre of operations .
A new 126 - inch - wheelbase Series 61 offered four model priced from $ 1,610 to $ 2,170 , while the Sixty Special returned as a freestanding framework line price from $ 2,090 to $ 2,315 . The Series 75 , top of the V-8 personal line of credit since 1935 , listed its usual overplus of Fleetwood bodies on a 141 - in span , Cadillac ’s longest V-8 wheelbase yet .
The thirties saw huge proficient progress at Cadillac . Having bring in clashless " Syncro - Mesh " transmission in 1929 , the division keep up up for 1932 with " Triple - Silent " Syncro - Mesh ( smoother - meshing helical - cut gears for all three forward speeds ) . " No - swig " and vacuum - assisted brake system appeared for 1933 , autonomous front suspension for ' 34 .
For 1935 came GM ’s all - steel " Turret Top " construction that eradicate the traditional fabric - ceiling inset . Hydraulic brakes arrived on all but Sixteens for 1936 . Column - mounted gearshift arrived in ' 38 , optional turn signals one class later .
As mentioned , a " second - series " Sixteen arrived for 1938 , and it again lead the Cadillac fleet for 1939 - 40 . Designated Series 90 , it used a unexampled light - solidus locomotive that was little than the early V-16 , but made the same 185 horsepower . Like Cadillac ’s V-8 , this powerplant featured rugged cast - branding iron construction and side valves , as well as nine master bearing and separate manifolds , carburetor , water ticker , and allocator for each cylinder cant .
figure were shared with the 75 , as were body styles : two coupe , a convertible , touring sedan chair with and without a division - window , a " trunkback " convertible saloon , formal sedans seat five or seven , and several seven - passenger sedan .
The prominent difference was toll . The basic five - passenger saloon of 1940 deal for $ 1,745 with V-8 but $ 5,140 with V-16 , a premium no longer really justified , as Cadillac ’s V-8 was one of the smooth engines anywhere . With sales no easily than in 1930 - 37 , the opulent Sixteen was dropped for good after 1940 , a souvenir of a grand eld we would not see again .
A new age was , in fact , beginning . Europe was again at war by 1940 , when President Franklin Roosevelt won an unprecedented third full term after promising not to involve American forces even as he contrived to " Lend - Lease " stuff support to beleaguered Britain . A result ramp - up in war - goods production create billion of new jobs , thus at last ending the Great Depression . All too soon , however , America would have no selection but to oppose the Axis power after the " infamy " of December 7 , 1941 .
Like all of American industry and the world at large , Cadillac did its part to win the war . When peace return , GM ’s flagship division summarise efforts that within a few short years would make it the undisputed leader in American opulence cars . To learn how all this bump , chink out the other article in this series .
