Some of Cadillac ’s most important engineering developments , and some of its most beautiful cars , appeared in the 1940s . Like sister division Buick , Cadillac gave its cars a face lift for 1940 - 1941 , then egress all new 1942 styling that leave it in a good mart position when civilian railcar production resumed after World War II .
Most 1940 Cadillacs were relatively unmixed , almost Chevrolet - like in front with wide-eyed bar grilles . The exception was the splendid Sixteen , which outwear the eggcrate radiator theme first seen for 1937 , and presently to be a Cadillac fastness . All models benefited from more - reliable sealed - light beam headlamps , as did most Detroit gondola that model twelvemonth .
outrank below the Series 90 and 75 for 1940 was a new Series 72 with a 138 - inch wheelbase and slightly few modelling , but also low prices ( $ 2,670-$3,695 ) . Though impressive and well design , it would be a one - year - only production line , with sale limited by competitor from the more luxurious 75 . Yet even counting 75s and Sixteens , Cadillac build only a picayune over 2,500 prospicient - wheelbase 1940 cars .
The sharp Sixty Special returned with minor styling tweaks in the same four models offered for 1939 . A predictive , if rarely order , unexampled alternative ( Cadillac sold only 1,500 between 1938 and ' 41 ) was a sliding alloy sunshine-roof grandly advertised as the " Sunshine Turret Top Roof " . A manually crank affair , it was uncommitted for both the received " townsfolk sedan " and division - windowpane Imperial exemplar . There was also a Sixty Special " townspeople car " offered with a paint - metal or leather - cover roof . Just 15 were build ; most 1940 Sixty Specials were the received sedan chair ( 4,472 unit ) .
Displacing the Series 61 as the most - low-priced forties Cadillac was the Series 62 , another future Cadillac fixture . Initial offerings were comprised of a coupe , tour sedan , exchangeable coupe , and transformable sedan on a 129 - inch wheelbase . price ranged from $ 1,685 to $ 2,195 . As in belated age , the 62 garnered the most sales by far of any 1940 Cadillac line .
The division ’s 1940 V-8 retained monoblock construction ( unitized pulley and crankcase ) , three principal presence with counterweights , and two - barrel downdraft carb . Though arduous , it was reliable and exceptionally smooth . As in ' 39 , it was tuned for 135 HP in the 62 and Sixty Special , 140 for the 72 and 75 .
Next , we ’ll take care at the groundbreaking features Cadillac introduced in its 1941 modelling .
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1941, 1942, 1946, 1947 Cadillac
A significant and attractive invention variety happen for 1941 , when Cadillac revived the Series 61 to replace its next-to-last LaSalle line . This was a merchandising decision based on the achiever of the Lincoln - Zephyr at Ford Motor Company and Packard ’s One Ten / One Twenty . And it puzzle out .
While Packard continued to rely on medium - priced motorcar long after World War II , Cadillac ( and Lincoln ) come back to the lavishness discipline only , thus bolstering its " o.k. car " reputation , and sales , at Packard ’s disbursal .
The ' 41 Cadillacs fag a fresh face : a complex eggcrate grille with a central bulge carried down from the hood . Taillights were also more prominent , and one even concealed the throttle makeweight , yet another feature destined for a recollective life . Departure of both the Sixteen and Series 72 reduced wheelbases to three : 136 inches for the Series 75 , 139 on four new Series 67 sedan chair , and 126 for others .
Cadillac ’s big mechanically skillful newsworthiness for 1941 was a first in the luxury year : fully shiftless Hydra - Matic Drive . Developed by sister section Oldsmobile , which had introduce it a year earlier , this splendid automatic transmission would rest an option for all Cadillacs through 1949 , after which it fast spread throughout the tune as received equipment .
Also new for 1941 was gamy concretion that lift the V-8 to 150 horsepower . This combined with revised axle ratio to permit most ' 41 Caddys to strain a genuine 100 mph and scale 0 - 60 miles per hour in about 14 irregular , impressive for the day .
Improved functioning , the new Hydra - Matic , and a still - broad price brace ( $ 1,345-$4,045 ) fight Cadillac production to a new high for the 1941 model year : 66,130 automobile . That was only some 6,700 myopic of Packard , which was selling a much higher dimension of less - costly cars .
Most of Cadillac ’s gain was owed to the revived Series 61 , which was every inch a Cadillac despite simpler furnishing and low-pitched prices . But gross revenue of the Series 62 also were up dramatically , the Sixty Special score a goodish 4,100 sale , and a fresh Series 63 four - door saloon attracted some 5,000 customers all by itself .
The 1942 batting order was mostly the same but had a Modern look . primary highlights were big slug - cast fenders front and rear , plus a fastback roofline ( keep from the ' 41 Series 61 ) for a Series 62 coupe named " sedanet . "
alas , this year ’s Sixty Special was more like other Cadillacs , and far less " special . " Cadillac build a total 16,511 of its ' 42s before war halted production in February 1942 . The sectionalization then call on out tanks , aircraft locomotive , and weaponry until V - J Day 1945 , an telling turnout of full of life weapons that facilitate bring home the bacon the warfare .
re-start civilian operations involve several months , so Cadillac managed only 29,194 railway car for theoretical account - year 1946 , of which 1,142 , all Series 62 sedan chair , were ramp up before the end of calendar 1945 . All model were only more or less changed from the 1942 versions , but postwar requirement dictated dropping the Series 63 , 67 , and part - window Sixty Special modeling . What remain were fastback 61s , fastback and notchback 62s , a lone Sixty Special , and five regal 75s .
Few changes occurred for 1947 : around alternatively of orthogonal parking lights ( except with the large optional fog lamps ) , script instead of block letter for fender nameplates , a five - bar grille idea in berth of the six legal profession used the previous year , and distinctive " sombrero " wheelcovers .
gallop postwar inflation swelled prices by $ 150-$200 , but yield regained its prewar footstep , nearing 62,000 units for the example year . As before , the Series 62 accounted for most of it with just under 40,000 units .
Read on to get wind how Cadillac ’s postwar mode innovation bring about its earmark intent feature .
1948 Cadillac
Cadillac for 1948 ignited a styling pool cue that would follow to symbolize post - war American automotive enthusiasm and , by extension , the post - war optimism and confidence of America itself . Call 1948 " The Year of the Tailfin . "
Before World War II , designers Harley Earl , Bill Mitchell , Franklin Q. Hershey , and Art Ross had glimpsed the then - hole-and-corner Lockheed P-38 " Lightning " pursuit fighter aircraft .
During the state of war , a frame crew of GM architect played with ideas for postwar styling inspire by some of this plane ’s design factor : pontoon front fenders , pointed nose , cockpitlike curving windshields – and tailfins .
This influence would also be seen at other GM divisions . Olds , for example , adopted the P-38 ’s locomotive engine aviation - scoop theme for the headlamp bezels on its 1949 " Futuramic " model . But the fin had the most lasting shock . As Mitchell later on said : " From a excogitation standpoint , the fivesome give definition to the rear of the gondola for the first time . They made the back conclusion as interesting as the front , and established a longstanding Cadillac - styling hallmark . "
Tailfins were the top signature for Cadillac ’s masterful 1948 design , which was execute by a belittled team working under Hershey at his farm in suburban Detroit . The traditional Cadillac grill became more fast-growing via larger eggcrates , complemented by a more - shapely hood . Roof and fenderlines were buxomly beautiful from every slant .
Inside was a new splashboard dominate by a immense " drum " housing gauge and ascendency . This endure only a yr , however , as it was complex and costly to bring forth . The ' 49s used a simpler instrument card that echoed the grille chassis , a motif that would prevail for the next eight age .
model , physical structure styles , and wheelbases remain firm pat for ' 48 , though Series 75s would n’t get their own redesign until model - yr 1950 ( low output precluded other amortization of their prewar die ) .
After days of inquiry and development , Cadillac introduced two spectacular change in 1949 . We ’ll hash out these next .
1949 Cadillac
One was the Coupe de Ville , a $ 3,497 addition to the Series 62 . It shares honors with that year ’s newfangled Oldsmobile 98 Holiday and Buick Roadmaster Riviera as the first modern " hardtop convertible security " offered as regular factory models . Cadillac sold 2,150 of the first - year Coupe de Villes , a higher part of its total ' 49 output than either Buick or Olds .
Like most balmy - top convertible coupes , the hardtop had no fixed central cap position , the " B - pillar " in styler ’s jargon . lower the front and rear side windows thus provided a breezy convertible motoring experience , but with a mend metal cap maintain traditional coupe / sedan puff and structural rigidness . This idea prove enormously pop , start a trend that would dominate Detroit by the mid-1950s . ( Cadillac also built one 1949 Coupe de Ville on the 133 - inch Sixty extra chassis , stringently as an experiment . )
No less rotatory was Cadillac ’s exciting new 1949 overhead - valve V-8 , the second blow of a potent one - two punch delivered directly to Packard , Lincoln , and Chrysler ’s Imperial .
The product of 10 years ' research and development , this engine was designed by Ed Cole , Jack Gordon , and Harry Barr , who aim for less weight unit and high compression ( to take advantage of the high - octane fuels promised for after the warfare ) . This dictated rearranged valves , a stroke unretentive than bore , wedge - shape combustion chamber , and " slipper " plunger . The last , devised by Byron Ellis , jaunt low between the crankshaft counterweight to allow for short connect rods and , thus , low reciprocating mass .
Sized at 331 three-dimensional inches , the newfangled V-8 arrived with 160 horsepower , 10 horsepower more than the old 346 L - forefront despite less displacement , attest to the design ’s efficiency .
The overhead valve V-8 had other advantage . Though a plaster bandage - iron job like the L - fountainhead , it librate almost 200 punt less , thanks to advance in manufacture techniques pioneered during wartime . Compression was just 7.5:1 , yet could be fight up to 12:1 ; the L - head could n’t stretch that gamey .
The ohv V-8 also delivered more torsion and 14 - percent upright gas mileage . Yet it was no less durable nor reliable . And it had way enough to be greatly enlarged , as indeed it was . A relatively lightsome 1949 - 1950 Series 62 could do 0 - 60 miles per hour in around 13 seconds and an easy 100 mph , which was vivid performance in those day .
Further validation of this V-8 ’s prowess was provided by sportsman Briggs Cunningham , who entered a near - Malcolm stock 1950 Cadillac in that yr ’s Le Mans 24 - Hour race in France . Driven by Sam and Miles Collier , it finished tenth overall , an achievement unmatched by any other luxury car . It deplume down the running ’s Mulsanne Straight section at around 120 mph and averaged 81.5 miles per hour for the race .
Cunningham himself drove a aerodynamic Cadillac - power special the French calledLe Monstre . He go even quicker than the Colliers , but lost top appurtenance and stop right behind them .
With its brilliant V-8 and best - in - socio-economic class styling , Cadillac accomplish the top of the luxury heap by 1950 , and would stay on there for the next 40 yr . To determine why , gibe out the next installment in our story , Cadillac 1950 - 1959 .
