Birth of Cadillac

[Clewisiii]

Ok so Cadillac was really born from an investor rip off of Henry Ford.  They wanted to liquidate and brought in Henry Leland as a consultant.   

He said no this is a viable product and company. So they had Henry Leland manage it. 

My question. Was the 1903 Cadillac meant to be a luxury vehicle.  Or was the push for luxury, interchangable parts and tolerances all Henry Leland after 1903. Or had some of that existed under Ford

[Kevin M. Parkinson]

According to 80 Years of Cadillac, by Walter M. P. McCall, Henry Leland was already known for precision parts interchangeability before he was asked to appraise the assets of the failed company after Henry Ford's departure. He advised that the assets (machinery and tools) were useful for automobile production. The engine, transmission, and steering gear for the first Cadillacs were supplied by Henry Leland's machine and tool company, designed and in use before he was asked to become involved with Ford. Luxury came later.

[V63]

I believe quality and durability were the focus at the time.

What I find most interesting given the poor exclusion of rain and weather that the original leather upholstery was rather doomed

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Leather was about the only material that was available back then for outdoors upholstery.   Cloth immediately soaked up moisture, and canvas was hard to sit upon.   The only other way would have been to have removeable cushions to put on the timber benches.

Bruce.

[bctexas]

My question. Was the 1903 Cadillac meant to be a luxury vehicle.  Or was the push for luxury, interchangable parts and tolerances all Henry Leland after 1903. Or had some of that existed under Ford

I found the answer to this in a book called "The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World" about the history of precision engineering.  Up until the Model T, Fords were still built by gangs of men fitting individual parts using files.  Precision manufacturing was instituted by Ford around 1908 for the Model T to speed up production.  There were still issues of proper measurement, but that is a bit of a long story....

So, it was Leland who brought the concept of interchangeable parts to the former Ford plant.  To learn more about Leland and the origin of Cadillac, get a copy of "Master of Precision: Henry Leland" by Mrs Wilfred Leland.  Its an interesting read.

[Carfreak]

Henry Leland's engines were more powerful due to their close tolerances.  Leland & Faulconer were 'the best engine builder' at the time and were supplying components for the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. I heard the story a little different but here's someone's explanation: 

"In late 1900, to keep up with demand (for their Curved Dash Oldsmobiles), Olds contracted with the Dodge Brothers for engines and Henry M. Leland, head of Leland and Faulconer Co., for transmissions. These were some of the first large component orders made by an auto maker to outside suppliers.

Olds continued contracts with Leland and Dodge in June 1901 to make thousands of engines and transmissions for the curved-dash Oldsmobile.

When Ransom E. Olds turned down an improved engine design offered by Leland (Olds didn't want to pause production on the Oldsmobile line long enough to re-tool for a new engine), Leland siezed upon the opportunity presented to him by the officers of the failing Henry Ford Company (formerly Detroit Automobile Company). Leland founded Cadillac in 1902 out of the ashes of the Henry Ford Company. Cadillac, named for Detroit founder Le Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac."