Cadillac Model T Classic Cars for Sale

The Cadillac Model T was a turning point in the brave new world of automobile manufacture in 1908. The Cadillac Model T appeared just before Cadillac Automobiles was acquired by General Motors, and it marked the end of the production of single-cylinder motor-cars.

Turn-of-the-century motoring: the Cadillac Model T

The Cadillac story started in 1701, not the car-making story, just the name. It is an evocative name that everybody associates with the streamlined, somewhat flashy, high-impact automobiles that, mid-century, represented the American success story. The name goes back much further: Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, leading a party of French explorers, founded the town of Detroit in 1701. Fast forward to 1890: Henry Leland, with Robert Faulconer, started building technically advanced, high-precision machinery and engines. The company merged with a failing car-making company and founded a new, successful brand: Cadillac, named in honour of the Detroit founder. The first motor-cars had an adventurous, pioneering, picturesque look, and the Cadillac Model T fitted perfectly around the turn-of-the-century intrepid traveller.

The series that led to the Cadillac Model T

The first Cadillacs used the Leland and Faulconer 10hp single-cylinder engine. After the first prototype was launched in 1903, a new version shortly followed, called Model B (the preceding model, consequently, was A), then slight variations were introduced in a long line of models. Differences between the models were small, most were single cylinder and the main variation, apart from diverse bodywork design and accessories, was in the wheelbase length which varied from 72 to 102 inches. There were over a dozen different models and Cadillac used most of the alphabet to name them, ending in 1908 with the splendid Cadillac Model T.

The classic Cadillac Model T: the last single-cylinder

In 1908, two models were launched together: the Cadillac Model T and Model S. They were almost twins, with small differences in bodywork and accessories. The Cadillac Model T coupé was the first all-enclosed Cadillac with versatile windows: front and rear windows could be lowered and side windows were completely removable, as was the closed body which could be exchanged for an open two-seater or four-seater body, niftily converting into an airy runabout for summer. Other versions, both geared to passenger comfort and easy handling, were the Cadillac Model T straight-line, four-passenger Touring Car and the Cadillac Model T Touring Victoria Tonneau. The Cadillac Model T was the very last single-cylinder built, it marked the end of a line. Some 16,000 single-cylinder Cadillacs were produced and several hundred are still around. The Cadillac Model T is one of the rarer collectors' items, however, with a value of around $45,000.