1896
Cadillac was not the first gasoline
automobile to ply the streets of Detroit. That honor befalls a lightweight horseless
carriage with cow-tail (tiller) steering, built by Charles Brady King and German
immigrant, Oliver Barthel. That event occurred March 6, 1896 when that first
"car" puttered down Woodward Avenue in Detroit with King at the tiller and
(engineer) Barthel seated at his side.
King had formed the Charles Brady King Company in 1894 to make brakes for
railroad cars. That same year he hired talented engineer Oliver Barthel as his assistant.
They began to build Detroit's first car in John Lauer's machine shop on St. Antoine
Street, where Lauer manufactured products for King's company.
Although his invention put Detroit on the road to becoming the motor
capital of the world, King never built any cars for sale.
1899
With his experience of the gasoline-powered car, Oliver Barthel was
invited to give an opinion on the chances of survival of Henry Ford's first, modest
venture into building automobiles. Around the same time Henry Leland, who was VP and
general manager of the Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company, a budding tool and
die manufacturer, convinced Ford's investors that there was a future in horseless
carriages, provided they could be powered by a reliable motor ...and Leland had one. His
robust little single-cylinder engine would soon be proving its mettle in the fledgling
motor works of Ransom Eli Olds.
Later that year, the Detroit
Automobile Company was founded. Henry Ford was still involved in it but he soon backed
out; he was more interested in a car's speed, he said, than in its endurance.
Saved from bankruptcy two years
later (1901) by Henry Leland, the Detroit Automobile Company was renamed the Cadillac
Automobile Company, in August 1902, in honor of a French adventurer and self-styled
"nobleman", Antoine Laumet Sieur de
Lamothe-Cadillac who, 200 years earlier, had founded "Detroit", a
small French trading post at the confluence of lakes Erie and St. Clair.
Oliver Barthel was kept on by Leland
although credit for the earliest Cadillac automobiles went to another engineer by the name
of Alanson P. Brush. In this respect, on the 50th Anniversary of the first
automobile operated in Detroit, in 1946, early auto pioneers were asked to write their
memoirs. In his "Ramblings", Oliver Barthel felt he had never got the
proper credit for what he did for Cadillac; he described some details of the first cars
that only an insider could know about [This info from Tim Pawl, CLC member in charge
of the Club's Museum and Research Center].
~~~~~
This excerpt from a company
advertising booklet published in 1913 summarizes well the situation of the automobile in
America at the turn of the century:
The worthwhile accomplishments
in this world are usually things concerning which the wiseacres with one accord, have
raised their hands and loudly proclaimed "It can't be done."
Nowhere, perhaps, has this been
more strikingly illustrated than in the automobile industry and its products.
The first significant example
occurred back in the year 1902. At that time the automobile industry was just in its
swaddling clothes. A few car had been made with rather indifferent
success. The automobile was somewhat of a curiosity and to many minds considerable
of a joke.
"It will never amount to
anything for practical purposes" was the common verdict. "Of course it is an
interesting plaything for the man with plenty of money but beyond that there is nothing to
it". There were also some other brilliant opinions whose values have been
dimmed by time and progress.
About that time Mr. Henry M.
Leland who had been associated with the manufacture of fine tools, fine machinery, gas and
gasoline engines for many years, developed plans for the building of a real
automobile. Mr. Leland succeeded in interesting several Detroit business men in the
project and the Cadillac Automobile Company was formed.
These men "foresaw the
future of the motor car" and placed an order for 3000 one cylinder engines with the
Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company of which the aforesaid Mr. Henry M. Leland
was the head.
Immediately all hands went
up. "It can't be done." "They're crazy." "Why they
can't sell 3000 automobiles in the whole world." You hear these things on every
side. But in a little more than a year, the whole quota of 3000 engines had been
used. Then another similar order was placed, then another and another.
In the meantime, the Leland
& Faulconer Manufacturing Company and the Cadillac Automobile Company had combined
their interests and Mr. Leland became the active head of the consolidated institutions
which became the Cadillac Motor Car Company.
More than 20,000 of these
one-cylinder automobiles were manufactured and marketed in the five years following.
No, it couldn't be done.
...but it was!
1902
Facts: Henry Martyn
Leland was co-founder of the Cadillac Automobile Company in August 1902 (earlier
he had been founder, vice-president and general manager of the Leland & Faulconer
Manufacturing Company, where his son Wilfrid was assistant treasurer under William H.
Murphy - it was the latter company that supplied the first engines for the new Cadillac
car). The Detroit Automobile Company [see "1899", above] had called on
Leland to come and appraise their assets with a view to liquidating the company but Leland
convinced them to stay in business, offering them his own 1-cylinder motor, built at the Leland
& Faulconer works, to power a new automobile.
Left: Where the first Cadillac
engines were built (1902); right the Cadillac Automobile Company located at 448-500
Trombly Ave., Detroit, MI
Old photos clipped from ads of the
time, showing the Cadillac Automobile Company premises
Left: Engine assembly in the Leland &
Faulconer foundry building
Right: belt-drive machines in the new Cadillac Automobile Co.
premises (1903)
Reformed as the Cadillac
Automobile Company in August 1902, it began manufacturing runabouts named
"Cadillac", after the city's founder. The first Cadillac was completed on
October 17, 1902 [October 20, according to the book Henry Leland - Master of Precision,
p.69]1; it had patent leather
fenders (image, below).
The first Cadillac
By year's end, three of the small
runabouts had been built. They were not called the Model A until 1904 when that
designation was first used to differentiate between them with the new Model B.
The earliest Cadillacs had wooden wheels with 14 spokes, as shown in the early catalogs
and ads for the marque; the first Cadillac Automobile
Company product catalog was published in late 1902 {*}.
_____________________________________
1 [This update
from Feb. 2004 is from the Cadillac-LaSalle Club Museum and Research Center,
headed by CLC member Tim Pawl] The Cadillac LaSalle Club museum has a copy of the
ledger for 1903 which shows the first five cars as being built in 1902. Car #3 has
surfaced and shows a build date of October 16, 1902; its Michigan registration dates
from 1923 [the first year of documented registrations]. Note: options in 1902-03 were
limited to color (either maroon or black), tires (either Fisk or Hartford) and gear teeth
(either 32 or 36). There is still quite a debate over the number of spokes on the early
cars 12 or 14, as the early photos show NO valve stems [YS adds: true, the early factory photos, or artists' views (?),
appear to be retouched and show no valve stems; however, I have a photo of what is
believed to be the FIRST Cadillac and one valve stem is visible, albeit very dimly; in
addition, the two well-known photos of the "first" Cadillac - Alanson Brush and
Wilfrid Leland on Trombley Ave and Alanson Brush climbing the steps of the Wayne County
building in Detroit) clearly show cars with 14-spoke wheels]. Bodies were built by either The
Detroit Body Company or Wilson. It has been speculated also that the
five cars reportedly built in 1902 had bodies from P.L. Hussey's Hussey Auto and
Supply Co. (Mr. Hussey apparently was the first sales manager of Cadillac,
followed shortly thereafter by William E. Metzger who took three of them to the New York
Auto Show and quickly sold out the entire first year's production [1903]. Note that an
early ad for the Hussey Body Company features the same "car" as was used in an
early Cadillac ad [YS adds:
this is ad #0013 on my listing;
published in Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal in January, 1903, it should
really be in position #0002 or #0003 - it is recognizable by the rectangular inspection
doors located on the body sides, below the seat overhang; that feature is visible also on
the early Cadillac runabout that Alanson Brush drove up the steps of the Wayne County
Building in Detroit - photo below, at "Trivia 1"; however, "The first
Cadillac" (photo, above) - does NOT have those inspection doors; it may have
been supplied by Wilson].
With regard to the foregoing footnote, another enthusiast and Database
visitor, Robert Szudarek, said in August 2004: I don't believe the first Cadillacs
were built in the Leland and Falconer shop. They were built in the D.A.C [Detroit
Automobile Company], aka the Henry Ford Co. on Cass Ave. Barthel took over for Ford,
but was struggling and went to join Henry Ford. Patrick Hussey, located west of the
LF buildings took over and completed three cars ...but money ran out. Henry Leland was
paid to estimate the value of the tools and machines, which were to be sold. Upon
completion, Henry reviewed the results with the management. He also brought his one
cylinder engine (which was developed for Oldsmobile) but they declined. The management
decided to stay in business, but Henry and Wilfrid had to run the company. The engines
were made at the LF factories.
Easy ID: Semi-elliptic springs; 14-spoke wooden wheels (photos of first
Cadillac built has these wheels, but I believe few production cars were built with them);
the late Phil Dumka, expert on early Cadillacs, says that only the three [five?] 1902
prototypes had them. Catalog illustrations of runabout model with detachable rear tonneau
shows rear fenders upturned at their extremity. No serial numbers were used in 1902. An
engine number was stamped on the crankcase.
Models: Only 3 [or is
it 5?] cars were built that year in time for the NY show in January of 1903; these three
cars were completed at the Leland & Faulconer workshops (?). Work on the
first Cadillac automobile was begun in September 1902 and it was completed and driven out
in the open for the first time on October 17 [photo]. All three cars were sold at
the NY Show.
Trivia 1: It
was in 1902 that engineer Alanson P. Brush drove a Cadillac runabout [perhaps the first
Cadillac built] up (and down) the steps of the Wayne County Building in Detroit. That feat
was recorded in some Cadillac ads of the time. According to Brush's own memory of the
event, thousands of people stood in Cadillac Square and cheered [Detroit News,
December 13, 1937].
Alanson Brush performs the first feat with
(possibly) the first Cadillac
A detachable tonneau was quickly added to the runabout
[ fourteen-spoke wheels were changed to twelve in 1903 production cars ]
Trivia 2:
Lot #1078 at Kruse's annual auction sale in Scottsdale, AZ, in January 2000, was an
"unknown" Cadillac described as "#1 prototype known as the first
Cadillac ever built - Sept 1902, 1 of 3 built, featured in auto magazines. Sold on
bill of sale only - no title." I first read a report about this
"car" in an article by Michael Betzold in the Detroit Free Press Magazine.
It had been acquired, in 1975, by aficionado Chuck Reed who, for almost thirty years now,
has attempted to convince auto buffs and historians alike that this is the
"first" Cadillac prototype, being an early Ford buckboard body in which was
mounted a prototype single-cylinder engine designed by that Grand Old Master of Precision:
Henry M. Leland. The motor is not in the "car" but Reed has it in
his possession.
If this is, in fact, "the first
Cadillac", then there is little or nothing left of it. What I see is an engineless
runabout that formerly may have been equipped with a single-cylinder engine - perhaps
indeed the FIRST Cadillac motor - but that now looks from the rear like a 1906
tulip-bodied Cadillac. Reed explains that the car was "updated" to look like a
1906 model by a previous owner, T.J. Ryan. The owner does agree with me that THE
first Cadillac is the one in the photo above, captioned The
first Cadillac. The latter car has
inflatable tires (you can't see the valve stem in the small, low resolution image above;
however it is clearly visible on the original photo - as also on the car that climbed the
Wayne County courthouse steps).
Who would replace 14-spoke wheels with the
12-spoke type, inflatable tires with solid rubber, a straight shift lever with one that is
"S"- shaped [a type never used on a Cadillac], the dash, the rear body, etc?
I find it hard to believe that anyone would go to so much trouble to make the car
look so different from THE first Cadillac. How could a FORD with a Cadillac engine be the
"first Cadillac"? Let's call it a Fordillac - a name that was
effectively used in the fifties for Fords fitted with Cadillac engines).
And let's take all the hype about this car
with the proverbial pinch of salt. It is reported to have been bid up to $90,000 at
Scottsdale. Unfortunately, Reed wanted at least $1,000,000 for it. His partner, Tim
Potter, is said to have offered it to GM for ...$15 million !!
Shown at the Cadillac-LaSalle Experience meet
at the Gilmore Museum,
in 1993, this little "automobile" had to be towed past the judges booth
Sequel and conclusion:
From an article that appeared in "Antique Automobile" (the magazine of
the Antique Automobile Club of America - AACA), Vol. 72, #3, for May/June 2008 (pp.42-46),
we are told that the foregoing car was acquired by GM at an Illinois auction, in 2002 (for
an undisclosed amount) and restored back to what would have been its original splendor.
The story is told by R.C. Reed, above (who had acquired the “base car” in 1975),
Steve Moskowitz (AACA Executive Director) and West Peterson. I have no reason to doubt
their tale. The front and rear covers of the
magazine, when laid out flat are an interesting composition; the rear cover pictures the
rear of the car in B&W [from an original factory photo that had been sent to Wilfrid
Leland in 1952 by Clair B. Owen, a Leland & Falconer engineer], while a photo of the
front of the restored car has been superimposed on the original B&W photo. The effect
is striking and reflects the talent of Frenak Photos in Detroit.
We learn that the first Cadillac prototype (this car?) was delivered to L&F in
August of 1902 and that the first test drive took place in September that year, not
October as historians have believed until now. In addition, the car (without mudguards) in
the photo of the alleged test drive, in October, is NOT this car; that car was not
drivable when the photo was taken, for promotional purposes.
The “1st Cadillac! Was acquired in 1924, by T.J. Ryan of Michigan from
the estate of E.H. Merriam a retired MI doctor, who is said to have got it from Leland
himself, but that has not been proved. It was Ryan who wrought the many changes that led
me (and others) to doubt that this was a 1902 Cadillac prototype. In 1940, Ryan sold his
“customized” Cadillac to a DeSoto-Plymouth dealership in Detroit, where it was
regularly displayed to attract potential clients. At one time it was described there as a
“1902 Leland-Ford”, until the late Oliver Barthel, who had been involved in the
design and construction of the prototype, refuted that Ford label and asserted that it was
prototype Cadillac #1. In 1954 the car was
acquired by Arch Rankin of Detroit, a friend of the Leland family. He sold it to Mr. Reed
in 1976.
GM had the car restored by Tim Ohlendorf and Ed Wilmart of the Ohlendorf Restoration
Shoppe in Beecher, IL. It made its (2nd)
debut at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and remains a prized possession of GM’s Heritage
Collection.
[ Summary text and photos: courtesy
"Antique Automobile" - AACA ]
1902-05
Article in MT, 100th
anniversary issue, pp.184-185.
1902-08
Article in C&P, Jan.
1991, pp.6-10. There may have been further Cadillac history articles in subsequent
issues but I don't have them on file. If any reader has them and can send me a copy
for the Database archives, it would be greatly appreciated [check all C&P
issues for 1991].
1903
Facts: 2497 units were
built; production began in March 1903; 1895 units were built between March 1903 and March
1904; the runabout cost $750; an optional rear entrance detachable tonneau cost $100; it
doubled occupant capacity from two to four; a buggy top cost $30; wooden artillery wheels
now had only 12 spokes instead of the original 14; tires were 28x3" (71.12x7.62cms);
body colors were black with wine red trimmings; a side-mounted wicker basket was a
popular, non-factory option; engine bore & stroke was 5x5" (127x127 mm), 98.2ci
displacement (1609,2cm³), 10HP according to NACC, 9.7 actual BHP, 76" wheel base
(193,04cm), three gallons of coolant, 25-30mph (40-48kmh), slanted radiator; small
detailed color photos in CLCA 1976, cover; large photo in CLCA, 30th
anniversary issue, p.5. The single-cylinder engine featured complete parts
interchangeability; it was set in center of car and was readily detachable if required; no
running boards (step plates instead), patent
leather fenders, tread 54½" (138.43cms), jump spark ignition, 3" (7.62cms)
tires, angle-iron frame, rack & pinion steering, cut-out on muffler (for driving on
open roads), kerosene lamps and bulb horn were optional at extra cost.
Easy ID: Like 1902 cars, but 12-spoke wooden wheels; colors: (early 1903)
jet black or rich maroon, both with wine-colored running gear; dead black radiator finish;
colors (late 1903) jet black only, with wine-colored running gear, nickel-plated radiator
finish. Serial numbers from 1 to 2500 [includes the three 1902 prototypes although no
serial number appeared on the latter].
Right: actors in period costumes display a 1903
Cadillac in the 50s
Models: (1)
Single-cylinder runabout for two (convertible to 4-seater capacity
by adding a detachable tonneau behind the front seats), $750, 1370lbs; report in AU
10.1.03 with photo of runabout and (2) same car with tonneau; $850, 1450 lbs. (3)
Delivery wagon [added 11/03 for 1904 Model A] $850, 1525 lbs;
Photos/illustrations: 1903 Cadillac climbing Shelby Street in Detroit towing cartload of
men; also CCI, 28:2; C&D card set. Story of a rare find and restoration
in Australia, CLCA/92, pp.22-28
Left: This little tradesman's
wagon, built on the Model A chassis, was introduced in November, 1903
Right: Cadillac's own 1903 touring car at a Cadillac convention in 1963
Right: ultra-rare delivery wagon from 1903,
reconstructed
and on display at the CLC Grand
National in 2002
Trivia 3: Frederick Bennett, the London representative of The
Cadillac Motor Car Company took a 1903 runabout on a 1000-mile tour of the United Kingdom
[50 years later, he repeated that feat, in the same car which, by that time, had
clocked up about 200,000 miles.]
Trivia 4: To illustrate the power and sturdiness of the new, small
Cadillac, William Metzger who was in charge of marketing the new automobile staged some
feats similar to the one carried out by Alanson brush the previous year. Two are
illustrated below.
(Left) sturdy 1903 Cadillac
runabout, with tonneau, overloaded with
passengers climbs Detroit's Shelby Street towing a cartload of men
(Right) Everyone who could get on the tandem rig and hang on did so for this
repeat performance of hill-climbing under severe (over)loading conditions;
in this photo, twelve people [enthusiast Robert Szudarek says sixteen!]
are piled into and onto the car as baffled cop looks on
Bare chassis (left) and finished car, with
tonneau (right)
Early invoice for a 1903 Cadillac runabout; note $12
charge for a single lantern
1903-1990
Book Standard Catalog of Cadillac
1903-1990, ISBN 0-87341-174-9, edited by Mary Sieber & Ken Buttolph, KP,
700 E. State St., IOLA, WI 54990.
1903-2000
New edition of the Standard
Catalog of Cadillac, ISBN 0-87341-925-1, this one edited by James T. Lenzke, KP,
700 E. State St., IOLA, WI 54990.
1904
Facts: In late 1904,
the Cadillac Automobile Company and Leland & Faulconer merged to form
the Cadillac Motor Car Company. CEO was Henry M. Leland. On April 13 this year a
fire destroyed the main building, the assembly room, the south wing and the roof of the
finishing building; fortunately 500 completed cars and 2000 more engines already delivered
by the Leland and Faulconer works had been stored in another warehouse and were
saved from destruction; furthermore no tools, castings or forgings were lost. By working
round the clock, the Cadillac Automobile Company reported at the time that it
expected to work its way back to normal production in just 30 days after the fire [source:
AU, 04.16.1904, p.433]; vertical radiator; motor took name Little Hercules,
8.25 HP (used in both Models A and B); a new model, the Surrey,
was introduced; it featured a full-width rear seat, curved side openings for access to
rear seating and lots of storage space under the rear seat; base price $900; Model B
chassis had extended front platform to support a dummy hood; excellent photo in catalog From
Peace to War [1943-44].
Easy ID: Model
A runabout with or without detachable tonneau is unchanged from last
year; color [all "Ä" and "B" models]: maroon with black trimmings; Model
A removable delivery van body has oval windows level with driving seat; Model
B has a dummy hood, spreading outwards at the base, and a vertically
mounted radiator [Model A radiators were mounted at an angle] and I-beam front
axle; available as 2-passenger runabout or 4-passenger touring car; Model B
Surrey: side-entrance touring car with notched openings in sides - no
doors; Model B delivery: larger van body than Model A,
round side windows by driving seat. Combined engine numbers for these single-cylinder
Cadillacs: Model A = 3500 to 4018 [includes some Model B], 8200 to 8350
[includes some Models C, E and F] and 13501 to 13706 [also includes some Models
C, E and F]; Model B = 2500 to 4018 [includes some Model A] and
4200 to 5000 [includes some Models E and F]; Model C = 8200 to 8350 and
13501 to 13706 [includes some Models A, E and F]; Model E = 8200 to 8350
and 13501 to 13706 [includes some Model A, C and F]; Model F = 8200 to
8350 and 13501 to 13706 [includes some Model A, C and E].
A survivor with surrey top [B&W photo: Gerald
Sichel Trust collection, NY]
Models: Model A:
(1) Runabout, $750, 1370 lbs, (2) Tonneau, $850, 1450 lbs, (3)
Delivery wagon [added 11/03] $850, 1525 lbs; no significant changes, options included top
and lights; color: maroon with black trimmings; Model B introduced in January
1904, (4) Runabout, $800, 1300 lbs, (5) Tonneau tourer, $900, 1420 lbs, (6)
4-passenger Surrey,
$900, 1400 lbs, and (7) 2-passenger Delivery, $900, 1525 lbs. Side view of Surrey
in AU 16.7.04; unlike tonneau, surrey is entered from the sides and offers ample
storage under rear seat; article in CATJ 2/04, pp.53A and 54, good drawings of Model
B Surrey, Runabout and Delivery (all RH side views); small photo (CLCA 1985,
p.20).
Surviving Model B tonneau tourer
A 1904 Model B survivor, photographed in 1922 and
erroneaously identified as a 1902 model
Far right, the same car used as a studio photo prop
Left: 1904 Model A delivery wagon;
Right: 1904 Model B delivery wagon (one survivor may still
exists; it was offered for sale in the classifieds of the AACA
magazine, Antique Automobile, in Sep.-Oct., 1980
This survivor is owned by Tom McDonald of Saginaw, MI
Trivia
5: Here is a facsimile of a letter sent by the
Cadillac Automobile Company to its agents three days after the fire that destroyed the
company's main building on April 13, 1904:
April 16, 1904
As you know, we have had a fire, a bad one, but not as
bad as reported, nor bad enough to put us out of business. Our engine factory, machine and
power plant are both in full operation. Our warehouse, 300x180', with large quantities of
material, including 2000 engines and 200 finished Model "A's" is undamaged. This
ware-house will be converted into an assembly shop within a week. A large two-story
factory near the plant of one of our body makers has a large force of finishers at work on
bodies. We have sufficient material coming in to make nearly forty machines per day. The
large manufacturers who supplied us with bodies, axles, tires, wheels, frames, chains and
other material, have been instructed to duplicate orders already filled. We have lost no
tools, dies, jigs, patterns, drawings or special machinery. Our entire force of 600
employees are now at work. Within thirty days we will be shipping Model B's. In the
meantime we can fill a limited quantity of orders for model A's. If you cannot hold your
trade until we can get machines to you, do not hesitate to save your profit by selling
another machine, if you can get it, but remember that the Cadillac people have a
reputation for hustling, and we are likely under present conditions to be able to fill
your order as soon as any other concern, who makes goods of our class. We can make no
definite promises at this date. If you cannot wait, please cancel your unfilled orders,
and we will assign them to those who can. We can see no reason why we cannot resume model
B shipments in a month. We cannot, of course, fill all our order in 30 days, but we can
begin. Please canvass your trade at once and let us know how many standard machines of
each model you will need to fill your orders, and we will try to give you some idea of
what we can do.
To the many dealers that have expressed their regrets
and assurance of support, we wish to say our loss is great, but our energy is greater. We
thank you, and assure you that we are not discouraged. We feel your loss keenly. We know
you need the machines, and we will have them for you. Give us a little time is all we ask.
We are unable to reply promptly to the many expressions of sympathy from our friends. We
know you will pardon us. Give us a little time, and we will make Phenix look like a
"plugged nickel".
Yours for a greater business than ever,
Cadillac Automobile Company.
P.S. - Contract for rebuilding the burned portion of
our plant has been let, and work begun.
Patent plate from 1904; these were screwed to the
inner face of early Cadillac instrument boards
