1951 Cadillac Series 75

The Cadillac Automobile Company of Detroit was founded by Henry Leland and Robert Faulconer, completing its first car in October 1902. The Olds Motor Works had contracted for the supply of Leland-built engines in 1901, and when unforeseen complications frustrated the plan, the engines were ultimately used for the Cadillac, formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company with financial backing from William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen. The firm's superior manufacturing technology and the precision gear-cutting specialty of Leland and Faulconer soon established it as the foremost builder of quality cars in the USA. Its innovation kept it at the forefront of the industry, and its price, exclusivity, and superior quality placed it at the pinnacle of the luxury car segment.

The Series 75 chassis was reserved for Cadillac's largest models and often clothed in limousine coachwork by General Motors' in-house prestige coachbuilder, Fleetwood. Body styles included an eight-passenger sedan priced at $5,200, an 8-passenger Imperial sedan priced at $5,400, and an 8-passenger business sedan. A bare chassis was also available, often clothed for commercial purposes such as ambulance, hearse, or other professional services.

The 1951 Cadillac lineup included the entry-level Series 61 resting on a 122-inch wheelbase and offered as a sedan priced at $2,920 and a club coupe at $2,800. Mid-way through the model year, Cadillac discontinued the Series 61 due to slow sales. Next in the pricing scheme came the Series 62, with a 126-inch wheelbase and prices that ranged from $3,430 to nearly $4,000. They were the company's bread-and-butter model accounting for nearly 75-percent of the company's 1951 production. Above the Series 62 was the Series 60 Special Fleetwood resting on a 130-inch wheelbase and priced at $4,140. They came standard with a Hydra-Matic transmission, power windows, and eight vertical chrome louvers on the rear fenders. Over 18,600 examples were built in 1951.

All 1951 Cadillacs were powered by a 331 cubic-inch V8 engine with overhead valves, 7.5:1 compression, hydraulic valve lifters, five main bearings, and delivered 160 horsepower at 3,800 RPM.

The Series 75 came standard with hydraulic window lifts. Jump seats were standard in the Imperial limousine and eight-passenger sedan. The Hydra-Matic transmission was optional.

Styling
Cadillac models had received all-new post-war styling in 1948 (although the Series 75 continued to wear the previous 'Turret Top' styling), a new overhead-valve V-8 engine in 1949, and styling updates year-over-year. Mild updates were applied in 1949 with more extensive changes occurring in 1950, with longer rear decks, sleek contours, a one-piece windshield, a swooping tailfin design, and a Cadillac ***** applied on the sides of the front fenders. The Series 75 received postwar styling bringing it inline with other Cadillac designs, with the previous 226-inch wheelbase replaced by a 146.75-inch platform. Design cues included a one-piece windshield, six-window styling, a high roofline, and smooth bodysides devoid of running boards. The jump seats continued to be offered in 7-passenger vehicles including the Imperial sedan, business sedan, and sedan.

Minor styling updates were applied in 1951 including larger, bullet-shaped style bumper guards (dagmars).

Production
Cadillac produced just under 1,300 Series 75 Fleetwood models in 1949, accounting for less than three percent of its total production that year. Consideration was made to drop the model due to slow sales but ultimately decided to keep the model to retain its foothold in the exclusive ultra-luxury segment and commercial sector. Sales were better in 1949, with nearly 3,400 units built accounting for nearly four-percent of production. Despite all-new styling for 1950, sales of the Series 75 remained steady, with 3,512 examples built. In 1951, Cadillac built 5,165 examples of the Series 75 accounting for just under five percent of total production. Sales would continue to be in the three to five thousand range through most of the 1950s and 1960 (with sales much closer to the three-thousand range). The final (eleventh) generation of the Series 75 used the front-wheel-drive General Motors c-body unibody platform and a wheelbase of 134.4 inches. It was built through 1987, then continued on limited on-demand production through 1992.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2021