1950 Cadillac Series 75

In the immediate post-war era, the Cadillac vehicles wore minor styling updates of the pre-war designs before finally receiving all-new sheet metal for 1948, except for the range-topping Series 75. Styling highlights included the tailfins inspired by the Lockheed P-38 fighter plane, a larger bumper that curved around the fenders, and chrome headlamp rims. An all-new overhead valve V8 engine followed in 1949, replacing the previous 346 CID L-head Eight. It had five main bearings, a Carter two-barrel carburetor, hydraulic valve lifters, displaced 331 cubic inches, and delivered 160 horsepower at 3,800 RPM. A manual transmission was standard and the Hydra-Matic automatic was optional.

The Series 75 Fleetwood finally received all-new post-war styling in 1950 bringing its design in line with the rest of the 1950 Cadillac model lineup. The limousine-type body styles had six-window styling, plenty of headroom, and rested on a long 146.75-inch wheelbase. The Hydra-Matic remained optional, however, the power windows were standard equipment. Seven-passenger sedan and the Imperial limousine had jump seats, allowing for seven-passenger seating. The seven-passenger sedan was priced at $4,770 and 716 examples were built. The Imperial Sedan was priced at nearly $5,000 with 743 examples built, along with a single seven-passenger business sedan. Along with the 146.75-inch wheelbase, Cadillac offered a commercial chassis measuring 157 inches. 2,052 of these were built and used for commercial purposes such as ambulances and funeral cars.

Cadillac considered discontinuing the Series 75 in the late 1940s but valued its foot-hold in the ultra-luxury segment including presidential and parade use. Production remained exclusive and represented a small portion of the overall Cadillac production during its long lifespan continuing into the mid-1980s (including a brief production pause from 1977 through 1984).
By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2006