[ last update: 03.03.2014 ]

The (new) Cadillac Database^©

Photo Pages
Cadillac

1951

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Unless otherwise specified all photos and illustrations are from Yann Saunders'
collection of Cadillac photos, advertisements and product catalogs,
reproduced courtesy of the Cadillac Motor Car Division and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club

 

The 1951 models were merely face-lifted 1950 cars. There was a new combination grille and impact guards, a wider, more massive "V" set lower on the hood, chrome headlight rims, a wider, lower interior rear-view mirror, slim rear quarter panels to minimize blind spots, an inverted "U"-shaped instrument panel with the retro look of the 1948 horseshoe style,  a new two-spoke steering wheel, striated, bright metal instrument panel insert which was carried through to the front doors (the extensions housed the inner door handles and the vent pane winders; in cars with hydraulically operated windows, these side panels also housed the power window switches.   As in 1950, doors released from the outside by depressing a button on otherwise stationary door handles, and the hollow  trunk "V" served as a handle to raise the trunk lid; trunk capacity was increased from 1950 and there were large rear ventipanes for increased, all-round vision.

The easiest way to identify the 1951 models is by the new, ornamental "egg-crate" grille extensions below the headlights:

The usual selection of accessories was available including a Fleetwood robe, seat covers, heater-defroster, push-button radio, signal-seeking radio, exterior sun visor, spotlight, full wheel discs or trim rings combined with hub caps, license plate frames, windshield washer, a vanity mirror on the RH sun visor, an outside RH rear view mirror, fog lamps combined with the parking and signal indicator lights and Cadillac's famous "Blue Coral" polish.

The artist's drawings below are from the unique merchandising folder for 1951.  It was printed in December, 1950.

As before, the new, 1951 models were classified into the following groups (in ascending order of value):  the series Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty Special and Seventy-Five.  That is again the order I have chosen to follow in the graphic presentation, below.

Additional information on the 1951 models and the related sales literature may be found  in The (New) Cadillac Database© sections entitled "Descriptions and Specifications of Cadillac Cars 1951 - 1955",  "Cadillac and La Salle Sales Literature 1950 - 1954" as well as "Dream Cars for 1950 - 1951".  Further recommended reading includes:

(a)  "Automobile Heritage's Illustrated Guide to 1950 Through 1959 Cadillac" by Roy Schneider, © 1978,  published by Automobile Heritage Publishing Co., Post Office Box 7, Temple City, CA 91780 [ISBN #0-917104-02-1] and

(b)  The "Standard Catalog of Cadillac, 1903-2000" edited by James T. Lenzke, © 2000, published by Krause Publications, Inc., 700 E. State Street, Iola, WI 54990 [ISBN #0-87341-925-1, Library of Congress #91-61301].

 

The Series 61
[the final year for this Series]

Series Sixty-One coupe, style 6137 2,400 units were built

Rear passenger compartment, plain and functional

Rear seat of the sedan, again plain and functional	The Series Sixty-One sedan, style 6169 2,300 units were built
(Left) factory press photo of this model; (right) a fine survivor

The Series 62

The Series Sixty-Two coupe, style 6237 10,132 of them were built	Interiors were more luxuriously trimmed than the 61 Series
Factory publicity shot of the new model Factory designer's drawing of the same car

Rear seat of the 62 sedan note small quarter window	The Series Sixty-Two sedan, style 6219 55,352 were built, of which 756 were knocked down and crated for export
Retouched factory photo of this model

The Series Sixty-Two Convertible Coupe, style 6267 6,117 units were built	Interior layout of the convertible; sumptuous leather throughout
Illustration from period ad [ Z. Taylor Vinson collection ]     A survivor   Click here to view some wonderful pics of a 1951 Cadillac Series 62 convertible that was taken to Europe by its owners, in 1953, and visited a number of European countries; this is a geography lesson as well as an interesting photo album [link not yet running]

Rear seat of the Coupe de Ville; a mixture of lain and pleated trim	The Series Sixty-Two Coupe de Ville, style 6237DX 10,241 units were built
Illustration from period ad [ Z. Taylor Vinson collection ]     A fine surviving 1951 Coupe de ville

The remainder of the 1951 Series 62 production consisted of two bare chassis.  One of these received a station wagon body by Coachcraft of Hollywood.  Based on a design by Philip Wright, it was built for Merril M. Madsen of Minneapolis; a special hood mascot displayed the buyer's initials: "MM"

 

The Fleetwood Series Sixty Special

The Sixty Special sedan, style 6069 18,631 were built	Rear seat of the Sixty Special sedan, Cadillac luxury at its best
Illustrations from period ads [ Z. Taylor Vinson collection ]     These are two factory publicity shots for the luxurious Sixty Special sedan Snapped in the street back in the fifties A good-looking survivor

The Fleetwood Series Seventy-Five

In addition to the models in the "75" Series, Cadillac delivered  2,960 so-called "commercial chassis", Series "86", to independent coach builders, for use as ambulances, hearses, flower cars and the like.

No fewer than twenty of these chassis received identical, special bodies from Hess & Eisenhardt, all ordered by the Saudi Royal household, each one designed to carry six wives of then reigning King Ibn Saud. By my calculation that would make a total of one-hundred-twenty wives!

Details

In addition to automobile production, the Cadillac factory was called upon once more to participate in defense production owing to the new conflict now opposing the United States and North Korea. Between 1951 and 1955, Cadillac built   more than 3,700  Walker Bulldog light tanks [the M-41] in the new  Tank Ordnance plant in Cleveland, OH.

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© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image:  1951 front clip ]