This Model B Cadillac was built very soon after the founding of the company late in 1902 – but was already a logical development of the original 1903 model first built in the last quarter of 1902.
The first Cadillacs were 2-seater “horseless carriages” powered by a 10 hp single-cylinder engine developed by Alanson Partridge Brush and built by Leland and Faulconer Manufacturing Company of Detroit, of which Henry Leland was founder, vice-president and general manager.
Reformed as the Cadillac Automobile Company in August 1902, it began manufacturing the runabouts and named them “Cadillac” after the city’s founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, born Antoine Laumet, a French explorer and adventurer in New France, which stretched from Eastern Canada to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. In 1701, he founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit (which became the city of Detroit); he was commandant of the fort until 1710. Upon his arrival in America, La Mothe adopted his title after the town of Cadillac, Gironde in southwestern France. The Cadillac company paid homage to him by using his name for its company and his self-created armorial bearings as its logo in 1902.
The 1904 Model B was a refinement of the 1903 model and while still a mid-engined, single-cylinder car, it now had an extended front and transverse front suspension. With the introduction of the Model B, the 1903 style became known as the Model A. Both the Model A and B were available as a two-passenger runabout or four-passenger rear tonneau. Catalogues also show a light delivery vehicle. The single-cylinder Cadillac continued to be offered until 1908 in the runabout, tonneau or delivery bodies under a variety of model designations.
The single-cylinder engine in the Models A, B, C, E, and F had a capacity of 1,609 cc rated from 6.5 to around 9 hp depending on model. The cylinder was horizontal, pointing rearward, and was cast from iron with a copper water jacket. Bore and stroke were square at 130 mm. The engine was named by its manufacturers, Leland and Faulconer, “Little Hercules”.
1905 saw the introduction of the Models C, D, E and F: C was very similar to Model B but was short-wheelbase and a sharper bonnet and radiator which it shared with the new Model F. Model E was also similar but lighter in weight. But Model D was very different. It was a larger car than previous Cadillac offerings, and its first four-cylinder production model. Powered by a 4.9-litre side-valve four-cylinder engine with a claimed power output of 30 hp and priced at $2800 ($97,990 in 2024 dollars), it can be seen as the first luxury car from the company.
Image displayed with the kind permission of the Haynes Motor Museum.
The photo accompanying this description is a Model F Cadillac which like the Model E was first sold to the public early in 1905. The Model B was also continued that year. This particular car, AP 957, was first registered to Emily Freeman of Hardwick Road, Eastbourne on 31st October 1905. I can forward a photo of a Model B tonneau with canopy top taken on the Brighton Run in 2007 if required.