Cadillac

Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac , is the <a href="/facts/Luxury_vehicle/nFb5l5kk">luxury vehicle</a> <a href="/facts/Division_(business)/WEEHTz4A">division</a> of the American automobile manufacturer <a href="/facts/General_Motors/rBgP3IRK">General Motors</a> (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles were at the top of the luxury field within the United States, but have been outsold by European luxury brands including <a href="/facts/BMW/cJd8y02r">BMW</a> and <a href="/facts/Mercedes-Benz/pGrJrQHC">Mercedes</a> since the 2000s. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.
Cadillac, founded in 1902, is among the first automotive brands in the world, fourth in the United States only to <a href="/facts/Autocar_Company/uGtEBxQ0">Autocar Company</a> (1897) and fellow GM marques <a href="/facts/Oldsmobile/TIfEKkaz">Oldsmobile</a> (1897) and <a href="/facts/Buick/MV4z0rU6">Buick</a> (1899). It was named after <a href="/facts/Antoine_de_la_Mothe_Cadillac/jeuwu1PU">Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac</a> (1658–1730), who founded <a href="/facts/Detroit/wMe6MCub">Detroit</a>, Michigan. The Cadillac crest is based on his <a href="/facts/Coat_of_arms/PcwQ5lH8">coat of arms</a>.
By the time General Motors purchased the company in 1909, Cadillac had already established itself as one of America's premier luxury car makers. The complete interchangeability of its precision parts had allowed it to lay the foundation for the modern <a href="/facts/Mass_production/31Cmgjuc">mass production</a> of automobiles. It was at the forefront of technological advances, introducing full electrical systems, the clashless manual transmission and the steel roof. The brand developed three engines, with its <a href="/facts/V8_engine/W7Q5Uw29">V8</a> setting the standard for the <a href="/facts/Automotive_industry_in_the_United_States/lC2j5nzG">American automotive industry</a>.
Cadillac had the first U.S. car to win the Royal Automobile Club of the United Kingdom's <a href="/facts/Dewar_Trophy/TvLUsoo5">Dewar Trophy</a> by successfully demonstrating the interchangeability of its component parts during a reliability test in 1908; this spawned the firm's slogan "Standard of the World". It won the trophy again in 1912 for incorporating electric starting and lighting in a production automobile.

Cadillac open-in-new

Cadillac