Another major advance at Cadillac in 1912 was the use of Delco electric starting/lighting.
It was an all-in-one system using a dynamo as a starter motor and to charge the battery and supply lights and ignition with electricity. This was of course a great step forward in a world of hand-cranking and kerosene lamps and not surprisingly production made a great leap forward to over 12,000 cars in 1912 and over 17,000 in the following year.
But Cadillac already worked on the next innovation, and announced the first series production V8 for 1915. In the Cadillac Model 51 standardized parts were again used to build engines in large number. The 90° V8 of 316 ci produced 70bhp and a top speed of 65mph (105 km/h). The car was offered in a range of nine different body styles starting at about $2,000 and over the first year 13,000 V8s were sold.
Perhaps because of the departure of Henry Leland there were only few technical advances throughout the 1920s but at least the V8 got a power boost and produced 77bhp. The cars could maintain their position as some of the most powerful cars of their time. And Cadillac also offered bodywork from coach-builders such as Fleetwood or Judkins for the cars.
Cadillac 341 © flickr/Jorbasa
The new Series 341 Cadillacs were available either with mass-produced Fisher bodies or with coach-built Fleetwoods. The Fleetwoods were of course more expensive and you had a choice of 37 styles against a mere seven Fisher bodies. The 341 Cadillacs were named after the 341 ci V8 and sold alongside the smaller La Salles.
Despite higher prices the production rose from less than 20,000 in 1920 to over 56,000 in 1928. But Cadillac still wasn’t a mass-producer like Ford. It was a well established prestige American marque with relatively low production.
As a direct challenge to the aristocracy of American motoring in January 1930 the V16 was launched. To come up with such a car after the Wall Street crash was unfortunate but could not have been foreseen when Owen M. Nacker began to work on the engine in 1927. It were two V8s bolted together sharing a common crankshaft but with their very own fuel and exhaust system. The capacity of 455 ci and 165bhp was enough for a top speed of 90mph.
Both the Fleetwood roadster and the fully coach-built version by Murphy or Waterhouse were extraordinary cars for their time. In the first year 3,000 cars were sold but due to the Depression sales dropped to 364 in 1931. Until production end in 1940 the car didn’t sell too well.
