1908 Cadillac Model M

The Henry Ford Company was not as successful as its investors had hoped, and following a dispute with Henry Ford, Mr. Ford left the company along with several of his key partners in March of 1902. Henry M. Leland of Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company was commissioned to provide assessments of the company's assets and prepare them for liquidation. Along with the assessment, Leland proposed the company remain in business using Leland's single-cylinder engine. The investors agreed, Leland was brought aboard, and the company was renamed the Cadillac Automobile Company, established on August 22nd of 1902. The name 'Cadillac' was after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who had founded Detroit in 1701. In 1905, it merged with Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing, forming The Cadillac Motor Company.

Cadillac built 2,497 vehicles in 1903, 2,319 in 1904, and 4,029 in 1905.

Cadillac automobiles quickly established a reputation for precision engineering. Style and luxury were also paramount and were among the finest in the United States. In 1906, they became the first volume manufacturer to offer a fully enclosed car. The model lineup included the one-cylinder Model K Runabout and the Model M Victoria Tourer and Delivery, priced at $750 for the Model K and $950 for the Model M. The Model L was a four-cylinder vehicle available as a seven-passenger tourer and limousine with prices of $3,750 and $5,000 respectively. The Model H was also a four-cylinder model, but devoid of a limousine, the touring body style had seating for five, and the enclosed coupe.

Cadillac would continue to offer both one- and four-cylinder models through 1908. In 1908, the consolidated production into a single model - the four-cylinder Model Thirty. Cadillac would continue the single model, four-cylinder lineup through 1914. In 1915, they introduced the Type 51 powered by the first mass-produced V8 engine. It was also the company's first V8 automobile and its design would continue through similar Types 53, 55, 57, 59, and 61, lasting until 1923, when the design was substantially updated as the Type V-63.

Cadillac's success and longevity were attributed, partly, to its ability to set the world standard for quality, reinforced when the company won the coveted Dewar Trophy for dependability from the Royal Automobile Club in 1908. When General Motors purchased the company in 1909, Cadillac already had an impressive reputation as one of America's premier luxury car builders. As the decade came to a close, the Cadillac name for building the best was solidified and customers actually waited in line to become a new owner of a Cadillac.

1908 Cadillac
The 1908 Cadillac Model G and Model H were powered by an L-head, four-cylinder engine with a cast-iron cylinder block, copper water jacket, and mechanical valve lifters. The 226.2 CID engine powering the Model G offered 25 horsepower while the 300.7 CID unit in the Model H delivered 30 hp. The Model G used a three-speed sliding gear transmission while the Model H had a three-speed Planetary transmission. Body styles were the same, consisting of a two-door, five-passenger tourer, a three-passenger runabout, and a two-door limousine. The Model G also had a four-passenger runabout. Pricing on the Model G ranged from $2,000 to $3,000, and the Model H ranged from $2,400 to $3,600.

The Model S, introduced in 1907, received a larger 82-inch wheelbase in 1908 and step plates were replaced by full running boards. Body styles included a runabout with or without rumble seats and straight line or victoria styles. The Model T used the same chassis as the Model S with body styles that included a Straight Line Tourer, Victoria Tourer, and two-door coupe. The folding tonneau of 1907 did not return in 1908.

The 1908 Cadillac Model M came equipped with an oil lamp in the back and two oil lamps on the side, near the front. It had a wheelbase that measured 76 inches and rode on wooden 12-spoke wheels. Power was from a single-cylinder engine mated to a three-speed planetary transmission. It was a right-hand drive vehicle with controls located to the right. Its one-cylinder engine, shared with the Model S and Model T, had a cast-iron cylinder, with copper water jacket, two main bearings, mechanical valve lifters, an updraft mixer carburetor manufactured by Cadillac, a 98.2 cubic-inch displacement, and produced approximately 10 horsepower. The copper water jacket and the splash lube system were among the final features from the Brush era.

The Model M, introduced in 1906, was priced at approximately $950.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2009