Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. 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 BMW and Mercedes since the 2000s. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. It was intended to move to the summer in 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that year and 2021, before returning in September 2022. It is among the largest auto shows in North America. UPI says the show is "regarded as the foremost venue for [car] manufacturers to unveil new products".
LaSalle was an American brand of luxury automobiles manufactured and marketed, as a separate brand, by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. Alfred P. Sloan, GM's Chairman of the Board, developed the concept for four new GM marques - LaSalle, Marquette, Viking and Pontiac - paired with already established brands to fill price gaps he perceived in the General Motors product portfolio. Sloan created LaSalle as a companion marque for Cadillac. LaSalle automobiles were manufactured by Cadillac, but were priced lower than Cadillac-branded automobiles, were shorter, and were marketed as the second-most prestigious marque in the General Motors portfolio. LaSalles were titled as LaSalles, and not as Cadillacs. Like Cadillac — named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac — the LaSalle brand name was based on that of another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the "golden age" of American auto design and American exceptionalism.
Harley Jarvis Earl was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever appointed in design of a major corporation in American history. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as automotive design techniques. He subsequently introduced the "concept car" as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device.
Wayne Kent Cherry is an American car designer educated at Art Center College of Design and employed by General Motors from 1962 through 2004, retiring as Vice President of Design. Cherry worked for General Motors in the United States from 1962 until 1965, when he moved to the United Kingdom to take a position with General Motors' Vauxhall Motors subsidiary, becoming Design Director at Vauxhall in 1975. In 1983 General Motors consolidated all European passenger car design under Cherry and made him Design Director at General Motors' Adam Opel AG subsidiary. Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 and in 1992 became General Motors Vice President of Design. Cherry retired from General Motors in 2004.
Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian multinational giant Mahindra Group acquired 76.06% of Pininfarina S.p.A. for about €168 million.
The Cadillac Sixteen is a concept car first developed and presented by Cadillac in 2003.
The Cadillac Cien is a 2-door rear mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive high performance concept car created by Cadillac, designed by Simon Cox, and unveiled at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show to celebrate Cadillac's 100th anniversary.
The Cadillac Evoq was a concept car designed by Cadillac and unveiled at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show. Many of the Evoq's design features were incorporated into the Cadillac XLR. The vehicle was a project begun under the-then General Manager of Cadillac, John Smith. Intended as a "Statement of Brand Character", it presaged Cadillacs to come afterwards such as the CTS, SRX, XLR and so forth. The Evoq was built by Metalcrafters of California in 1998. Its engine was the first Northstar designed for rear wheel drive use.
The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned version of the Chevrolet Volt's Voltec EREV drivetrain, the ELR's lithium-ion battery pack delivered an all-electric range of 37–39 miles (60–63 km) and a top speed of 106 mph (171 km/h).
The Cadillac XTS is a full-size car built by the American company Cadillac from 2013 until 2019. It is a four-door sedan with seating for up to five passengers. Based on an enlarged version of the Epsilon II platform, it has a front-mounted engine that either drives the front wheels or drives all four wheels.
The Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept (ULC) is a gasoline-electric hybrid, 4-seater, city concept car from Cadillac unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. The vehicle features touchpad screens and projected displays that take the place of traditional gauges.
The Cadillac Ciel is a hybrid electric concept car created by Cadillac and unveiled at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The Ciel has a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter direct injection V6 producing 425 hp (317 kW) and a hybrid system using lithium-ion battery technology. The Ciel is a four-seat convertible with a wheelbase of 125 inches (3,200 mm). It was developed at GM Design's North Hollywood Design Center.
The Cadillac Elmiraj is a concept car created by Cadillac and unveiled at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 15, 2013. It continues the development begun by the Cadillac Ciel concept car. It was named for the Elmira, New York, though some claim it's a dry lake bed that was used for high speed runs.
The Cadillac Aurora is a concept automobile unveiled by Cadillac at the 1990 Chicago Auto Show. It featured a 4.5-liter V-8 engine from the Allanté, 4-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive with traction control.
The Dodge Tomahawk is a non-street legal vehicle introduced in 2003 by Dodge at the North American International Auto Show, initially as a one-off concept, and then later that year as a limited production vehicle when DaimlerChrysler announced they would sell hand-built reproductions on order. The Tomahawk attracted significant press and industry attention for its striking design, its outsize-displacement, 10-cylinder car engine, and its four close-coupled wheels, which give it a motorcycle-like appearance. Experts disagreed on whether it is a true motorcycle. The retro-Art Deco design's central visual element is the 500-horsepower (370 kW), 8.3-litre (510 cu in) V10 SRT10 engine from the Dodge Viper sports car. The Tomahawk's two front and two rear wheels are sprung independently, which would allow it to lean into corners and countersteer like a motorcycle.
The Cadillac Escala is a concept car built by Cadillac for the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The last of a trifecta of concept cars initially conceived in 2007, it is preceded by the Ciel and Elmiraj, which had debuted back in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The Escala previews Cadillac's future design language, being an evolution of the Art and Science design philosophy that has been used on its cars for over a decade.
John Manoogian II is an industrial designer, adjunct faculty member, automotive industry expert and automobile designer — widely known for his nearly 33-year career with General Motors, where he designed for the company's Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac divisions.
Magalie Debellis is an artist and industrial designer who works for General Motors as the manager of Cadillac Advanced Design, where she led the design teams responsible for the Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq.
