Cadillac helped define advanced engineering, luxury and style in automotive history and would come to be known as one of the world’s finest made vehicles.
Appropriately, the San Diego Auto Museum in Balboa Park will highlight at least 11 different past models of the marque, Sept. 2 through Dec. 2.
Confirmed models, according to education director Kenn Colclasure, are a1957 Biarritz Convertible, 1957 Eldorado Brougham, 1936 V8 Convertible Sedan, 1927 Limousine, 1932 Convertible, 1913 Touring Model 30 and a 1980 Seville. Other possibilities are 1903 and ’06 Runabouts, 1941 series 60s and a 1930 series 452 V16.
Historically, precision manufacturing of interchangeable parts was introduced in 1908, the first production V8 engine in 1914, and Cadillac was the first manufacturer to utilize designer skills to produce a car’s body instead of an engineer (1927).
Innovations included the early development of the automatic transmission, beginning in 1932, production of the V-16 engine from 1930 through 1940 and the independent wishbone front suspension in 1934.
Interestingly, Cadillac was the only American automobile manufacturer to remain profitable during the Great Depression. By 1940, Cadillac sales had risen 1,000 percent compared to 1934, thus saving the company from extinction.
Despite record sales in 1973 and again in the late 1970s with the popularity of the DeVille and Eldorado, Cadillac suffered from the malaise of downsizing brought about by the 1973 fuel shortage.
Its staple DeVille and Fleetwood lines were downsized for 1977 and again for 1985 when the cars also changed to a front-drive configuration. A downsized Eldorado debuted in 1979 with a new bustle back Seville sedan introduced on the same platform in 1980.
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The 10th annual Coronado Speed Festival, Oct. 7-8, will honor the late Richard “Rug” Cunningham, who had founded the event.
The co-owner of Cunningham BMW, one of the oldest BMW dealerships in the country, passed away last February. An avid racer with a passion for automobiles and his dedication to the military, as a retired Coast Guard himself, drove him to be involved in the co-founding of the Speed Festival in 1997. The event is produced by San Diego Fleet Week Foundation and hosted by the Naval Base Coronado and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Program that benefits military personnel and their families.
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Noteworthy ” Championship Off Road Racing announced that the 2007 season finale will be held at the new Las Vegas International Off Road Raceway in Primm, Nevada. Meanwhile, the dirt will fly again Sept. 15-16 at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Calif., and at Chula Vista, Sept. 29-30 … In one of the first developments of its kind, the FIA World Touring Car Championship is set to run on bio-fuel from 2009 after the FIA World Motor Sport Council gave unanimous support for the initiative. Bio-ethanol fuel will be introduced to the FIA WTCC alongside unleaded petrol and diesel in 2008, before a switch to an exclusive bio-fuel powered championship in 2009 … Perris Auto Speedway President Don Kazarian has canceled the remaining 2007 drag race schedule. In the announcement, Kazarian said, “Over the next few months all aspects of the last two years of operations will be analyzed to produce an improved and more competitive strip, should we decide to resume operations.”