According to the book “Henry Leland – Mast of Precision,” the assembly of the first Cadillac was completed on this day in 1902. However, this date is disputable as other sources point to October 17, and one account states car number 3 was built on October 16. With that taken into consideration, we will celebrate Cadillac’s birthday today! Cadillac was formed out of the ashes of the failed Henry Ford Company. Henry Ford left his own company following a dispute with his investors. The financial backers called upon engineer Henry M. Leland to appraise the Ford manufacturing plant and equipment in order to sell off the remnants of the company. Leland had a different idea. He persuaded William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen, Ford’s former financial partners, to continue producing automobiles in the plant under the name Cadillac using Leland’s proven single cylinder engine. The company was established on August 22, 1902 and utilized the former Ford factory at Cass Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Detroit. Cadillac was named for French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who also founded Detroit in 1701. Cadillac displayed its first automobiles at the January 1903 New York Auto Show. The company received 2,000 orders after demonstrating precision manufacturing and reliability, showing Cadillac was a much more well crafted automobile than its competitors. PicsCadillac from 1903 – public domain1904 6 ½ hp Cadillac – By Krzysztof Marek Wlodarczyk – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35171312
The best way to support This Day in Automotive History is to become a monthly subscriber on Facebook.
Subscriber benefits include:
- Most importantly, you’re supporting great content about Automotive History
- Early access to content on Facebook
- Discounts on our store
- Special live videos
If you learned something today, please buy me a beer!
POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/August24-2-cadzilla-scaled-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
August 28, 1944 – Hot rod builder Boyd Coddington is born
August 28, 2021
October 21, 1929 – Henry Ford dedicates the Thomas Edison Institute
October 21, 2016
![|](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/first-and-ten-millionth-ford-cars-library-of-congress.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
June 4, 1924 – The ten millionth Ford
June 4, 2022
![||||](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GBCord2.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
January 22, 1990 – Cord & Duesenberg designer Gordon Buehrig dies
January 22, 2022
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/0.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
5 sweet vans for sale on Craigslist under $4K – that run!
April 14, 2021
RECENT POSTS
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-20.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
A Pontiac Pony with a Hollywood Tie
July 25, 2024
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Kaiser_Darrin.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
July 25, 1945 – Kaiser-Frazer is founded
July 25, 2024
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copcar.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/jaguar.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image.psd.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
The Wienermobile Crashed & You Can Help Restore It
July 23, 2024
This Day in Automotive History - the book!
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/BOOK-COVER.webp?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1)
This Day In Automotive History
By Brian Corey
This book tells fascinating tales, bringing individual days to life with short stories, photographs and illustrations.
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cars-copy.png?fit=768%2C768&ssl=1)
This Day in Automotive History
This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content.
We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!
We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!
Related Posts
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-20.png?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1)
A Pontiac Pony with a Hollywood Tie
July 25, 2024
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Kaiser_Darrin.jpg?fit=768%2C576&ssl=1)
July 25, 1945 – Kaiser-Frazer is founded
July 25, 2024
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/copcar.jpg?fit=768%2C443&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/jaguar.png?fit=768%2C551&ssl=1)
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!
Connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter to keep in touch.