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50-641: In 1926, Cadillac began the development of a new, "multi-cylinder" car. A customer requirement was seen for a car powered by an engine simultaneously more powerful and smoother than any other available. Development proceeded in great secrecy over the next few years; a number of prototype cars were built and tested as the new engine was developed, while at the same time Cadillac chief Larry Fisher and GM's stylist Harley Earl toured Europe in search of inspiration from Europe's finest coachbuilders . Unlike many builders of luxury cars, who sold bare chassis to be clothed by outside coachbuilding firms, General Motors had purchased

100-580: A V-16 , and a V-12 derived from it to place the company on equal footing with the few manufacturers producing one. Larry Fisher, Cadillac General Manager, leaked to the press information about the V-12, hoping to keep the V-16 a secret. Owen Nacker , who designed the 45-degree overhead valve Cadillac V-16 engine , also designed the V-12 derived from it. The latter was essentially a truncated V-16, which retained

150-529: A camouflage research and training division at General Motors, one consequence of which was a 22-page document called Camouflage Manual for General Motors Camouflage . A decade before, two former World War I camouflage artists, Harold Ledyard Towle (a U.S. Army camoufleur) and McClelland Barclay (who created the Fisher Body ads, and contributed to U.S. Navy camouflage during both World Wars) had worked as designers at General Motors. Among Earl's apprentices

200-504: A coachbuilder in 1889. The senior Earl eventually changed his practice from horse-drawn vehicles to custom bodies and customized parts and accessories for automobiles, founding Earl Automobile Works in 1908. Earl began studies at Stanford University , but left prematurely to work with, and learn from, his father at Earl Automotive Works. By this time, the shop was building custom bodies for Hollywood movie stars, including Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Tom Mix . Earl Automotive Works

250-573: A boat tail body (engine between #703136 and #703152). It was not until after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that Cadillac announced to the world the availability of the costliest Cadillac yet, the new V-16 Series 452. The new vehicle was first displayed at New York City 's automobile show on January 4, 1930. Despite the bad timing and high retail price, and although sales would later drop off considerably,

300-494: A more sweeping aircraft-inspired look. This decision would prove a wise one as bathtub styling, a concept rooted in late 1930s-early 1940s design trends, quickly became dated. The styling of the 1948 Cadillac would prove far more predictive of 1950s trends and secured GM's place at the cutting edge of automotive design. Inspiration for the fins came from the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , but it extended beyond

350-408: A new standard feature. Sales fell further to 953 cars. The 1934 Series 370D was restyled yet again but this time was mounted on a completely new chassis. The radiator grill slanted rearward with a central bar and five horizontal sections, the windshield sloped even more rearward, headlights were enclosed in new teardrop housings mounted on streamlined supports, the horns joined the radiator cap under

400-486: A semblance of continuity. This practice also ensured that used GM cars had the highest resale values of any American automotive make. Earl also avoided extreme or radical styling choices that would become dated quickly and alienate conservative-minded customers. These ideas are largely taken for granted today, but were unusual at the time. In 1939, the Styling Division, under Earl's instruction, styled and built

450-469: A shorter wheelbase than the Cadillac V-16 , with a choice of 140 in (3,556 mm) or 143 in (3,632 mm), compared to the V-16's 148 in (3,759 mm), but it offered a similar choice of Fisher and Fleetwood semi-custom bodies. It was difficult to tell a Cadillac V-12 from a Cadillac V-16 unless you were close enough to read the figure "12" mounted on the headlight tie bar, but

500-476: A sports car. Design work on "Project Opel" began as a secret project. He first offered the project to Chevrolet general manager Ed Cole . Cole accepted the project without hesitation, and the car was offered to the public in 1953 as the Chevrolet Corvette . Earl retired in 1958 upon reaching the then-mandatory retirement age of 65. His final project was overseeing the design of 1960–62 models. He

550-623: A sports sedan with unusual cycle fenders and retractable step plates in lieu of running boards (engine #702298, which was successfully shown in various Concours d'Elegance events in Europe before being bought by the young Nawab of Bahawalpur ); both these cars have survived. A third RHD chassis was ordered by the Indian Maharaja of Orchha (Bhopal) and sent to Farina in Italy, in July 1931, for

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600-569: A wheelbase of 154.0 inches (3,912 mm) and a curb weight of up to 6,600 pounds (3,000 kg) these are perhaps the largest standard production cars ever produced in the United States. Combined production for the 1934 and 1935 model years was 150. It was redesignated the Series 90 in 1936 as Cadillac reorganized their model names. Fifty-two units were sold that year, with nearly half ordered as limousines. Hydraulic brakes were added for 1937,

650-866: A wide variety of bodywork. The Fleetwood catalog for the 1930 V-16 included 10 basic body styles; there was also an envelope containing some 30 additional designer's drawings. Research by the Cadillac-La Salle Club, Inc. puts at 70 the number of different job/style numbers built by Fisher and Fleetwood on the Sixteen chassis. Beginning in June 1930, five new V-16s participated in a promotional tour of major European cities including Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Vienna (where they won prizes), Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich, Madrid, San Sebastian, La Baule and Angers. On

700-457: A wider 135° V-angle, twin carburetors, twin fuel pumps, twin distributors, twin water pumps, and a nine main bearing crankshaft (compared to the OHV V-16's five bearing crank) and produced the same 185 hp (138 kW) as later versions of the original V-16. This engine was nearly silent at idle and exceptionally smooth in operation. The wheelbase was reduced to 141.0 in (3,581 mm),

750-440: Is Cadillac's stylistic hallmark, it shared many small details from the classic V-16. The Sixteen is also known to have the steering wheel logo carved out of solid crystal and a Bulgari clock. Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors , later becoming vice president,

800-509: Is an exclusive V-12 powered luxury car that was manufactured by Cadillac from the 1930 through the 1937. Below only the maker's top-of-the-line Cadillac V-16 line, these were powered by the Cadillac V12 engine , furnished with similar custom bodies, and built in relatively small numbers. A total of 10,903 were made in the seven model years that the automobile was built, with the majority having been constructed in its inaugural year. It

850-560: The Buick Y-Job , the motor industry's first concept car . While many one-off custom automobiles had been made before, the Y-job was the first car built by a mass manufacturer for the sole purpose of determining the public's reaction to new design ideas. After being shown to the public, the Y-job became Earl's daily driver. It was succeeded by the 1951 General Motors Le Sabre concept car. In 1942, during World War II , Earl established

900-474: The "Art and Colour Section" was renamed the Styling Section. Sloan eventually promoted Earl to vice president, making him, to the best of Sloan's knowledge, the first styling person to be a VP at a large corporation. After the early 1930s, Earl seldom drew sketches or did design work himself, usually functioning as an overlord who supervised GM stylists, although he would retain ultimate authority over

950-562: The '39 and '40 models, like the V-8, had the Cadillac crest on the button. 315 were sold in the first year, 138 in the next. The production of the 1940 models ended in December 1939. The most expensive model documented was the 1940 Series 90 Town Car by Fleetwood at US$ 7,175 ($ 157,163 in 2023 dollars ) using a 141 in (3,581 mm) wheelbase. The Cadillac V-16 is today recognized as one of

1000-664: The 1960s and 1970s show the extent to which Earl influenced an entire industry and culture. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1986. One of his concept car designs, the turbine -powered Firebird I , is reproduced in miniature on the Harley J. Earl Trophy , which goes to the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500 NASCAR race. Harley Earl was used in a brief advertising campaign for Buick , particularly during its reconstruction period between 2001 and 2002. Actor John Diehl , portraying Earl (or his ghost)

1050-492: The Cadillac V-16 with 5,733 sold in the 1931 model year, versus a mere 363 for the V-16. The appearance of the 1932 Series 370B benefited from a radiator shell that flared on the top, more flaring fenders and curved running boards. Mechanical changes included a stiffer frame, and a Cuno self-cleaning oil filter mounted at the right hand side of the clutch housing. Dual Detroit Lubricator carburetors were used in place of

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1100-521: The Cadillac/Johnson carburetors that had been standard equipment on Cadillacs for 20 years. Largely thanks to the deepening Great Depression sales plunged to 1740 units. Styling changes to the 1933 Series 370C included a V-shaped grill that blended into the painted radiator shell, a radiator cap hidden under the hood, and skirts on the front and rear fenders for a more streamlined look. Fisher no-draft individually controlled vent windows were

1150-534: The V-16's 4" stroke but was bored out to 3.125" from 3". The 45-degree bank angle was less ideal than a 60 degree design. The V-12 was less powerful than the V-16, generating 135 versus 175 horsepower. Both engines featured overhead valves in the first generation. The 1931 Model 370A V-12 was introduced in October 1930. A V-12 roadster was used as the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 . The Cadillac V-12 had

1200-641: The adoption of an oil-bath air cleaner and a pressure radiator cap. Sales were only 478. The Series 85 was discontinued at the end of 1937. As part of the General Motors V-Future program, Cadillac had an overhead cam V-12 slated for production in the late 1960s. The program led to a fiberglass mockup of a V-12 powered Eldorado coupe that remained hidden from public view until an article appeared in Special Interest Autos in 1984. Reports of new V-12 developments reappeared in

1250-450: The body remained 222.0 in (5,639 mm) in overall length. The "Sixteens" (as Cadillac referred to them) were basically series 75 cars with the new V-16 engine although they differed from the firewall forward from the V-8 cars and had several other trim differences. The instrument panels were identical to and changed yearly with the V-8 cars from 1938 to 1940. Only the '38 Sixteens had a horn button which had "Sixteen" in art deco script;

1300-497: The car was designed in the sweeping cabriolet style of the Delahaye built by Figoni & Falaschi for the 1936 Paris Auto Salon. 1930 2,500 1931 750 1932 300 1935 to 1937: 49 each year The V-16 "Series 90" and V-12 " Series 80 and 85 ", were essentially merged for 1938 with the introduction of the new L-head V-16 . The 431 cu in (7.1 L) engine was an in-block valve (i.e. flathead ) design, and featured

1350-518: The coachbuilders Fleetwood Metal Body and Fisher Body to keep all the business in-house. Cadillac rolling stock chassis could be purchased if a buyer insisted, but the intention was that few would need to do so. One Cadillac dealer in England, namely Lendrum & Hartman, ordered at least two such chassis in even rarer right hand drive (RHD) configuration and had Vanden Plas (Belgium) build first an elegant limousine-landaulet (engine #702297), then

1400-452: The establishment of the "Art and Colour Section", American automobile manufacturers did not assign any great importance to the appearance of automobile bodies. Volume manufacturers built bodies designed by engineers, guided only by functionality and cost. Many luxury-car manufacturers, including GM, did not make bodies at all, opting instead to ship chassis assemblies to a coachbuilder of the buyer's choice. The executives at General Motors at

1450-456: The finest automobiles of the prewar era by many authorities. The Classic Car Club of America rates all V-16s as CCCA Full Classics, a rating reserved for only the finest automobiles of the 1925–1948 period. In 2003, Cadillac created a concept car called the Sixteen, which used a 13.6 litre V-16 engine that developed 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS). Even though it used the current "A&S" (Art & Science) style of design that

1500-497: The first top executive ever appointed in design of a major corporation in American history. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as automotive design techniques. He subsequently introduced the " concept car " as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing device. Earl's Buick Y-Job

1550-620: The hood was four inches (102 mm) shorter, and the headlights and horns smaller than a V-16's. More significantly, the V-12 cost about $ 2,000 less for each bodystyle, starting at $ 3,795 ($ 76,033 in 2023 dollars ). The Cadillac V-12 might have been lower in prestige than the Cadillac V-16, but it joined a select group of 1930s cars with multicylinder engines, namely those manufactured by Auburn , Franklin , Hispano-Suiza , Horch , Lagonda , Maybach , Packard , Pierce-Arrow , Rolls-Royce , Tatra , Voisin , Walter , Marmon and Lincoln . Moreover, thanks to its lower price, it immediately outsold

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1600-535: The hood, the spare tire was concealed under a new beaver tail deck on most models and the whole car sat approximately 2 inches (51 mm) lower. Significant mechanical advancements included dual X-frame chassis construction, " Knee-Action " front coil spring suspension that greatly reduced unsprung weight and Hotchkiss steering. The 1935 Series 370E saw the addition of the Fisher Turret Top on Fisher bodied cars and an increase in horsepower to 150. Sales over

1650-504: The last year of production, in which fifty vehicles were produced. In 1937 Cadillac built fifty of their most expensive Series 90 V-16 chassis, and all but two were bodied in-house by Fleetwood. This chassis was delivered to Lausanne, Switzerland, to be bodied by Carrosserie Willy Hartmann per an order by local resident Philippe Barraud, a wealthy paper mill heir and playboy of the 1930s. Barraud wanted an outrageous, bespoke automobile to suit his stylish lifestyle. Stretching 22 feet in length,

1700-471: The late 1980s. Cadillac showed the fully working Cadillac Solitaire concept in 1989, equipped with a Lotus-designed 6.6 liter DOHC 48-valve V-12 with multiport fuel injection. A Northstar -based V-12 was featured in the Cadillac Cien concept car of 2001, and tested by Cadillac engineers as an engine for a Cadillac Escalade with somewhat improved performance. An AutoWeek report in 2007 claimed

1750-485: The launch "exceeded Cadillac’s fondest aspirations." The Cadillac V-16 was distinguished by its pioneering V-16 engine, a narrow 45° V angle OHV Series 452 displacing 452 cu in (7.4 L). Upon its introduction the new car attracted rave reviews from the press and huge public attention. January production averaged a couple of cars per day, then ramped up to twenty-two. By April, 1,000 units had been built, and by June, 2,000 cars. These could be ordered with

1800-403: The rest of the decade with a mere 50 units being built both in 1935 and in 1937. 1940 was only marginally better with a total of 51 units. Not surprisingly, Cadillac later estimated that they lost money on every single V-16 they sold. The 1930 Town Brougham was listed at US$ 9,200 ($ 167,799 in 2023 dollars ). Production of the original V-16 continued under various model names through 1937. The body

1850-513: The return journey from Spain, the V16 caravan stopped also in the town of Cadillac , in south-western France, although that city bears no relationship to the marque, other than its name. After the peak in V-16 orders in mid-1930, production fell precipitously. During October 1930, only 54 cars were built. The lowest figures for the 452/452A cars of 1930–31 were August 1931 (seven units) and November 1931 (six units). Minimum production continued throughout

1900-419: The styling department until his retirement in 1958. Harley Earl and Sloan implemented "Dynamic Obsolescence" (essentially synonymous with planned obsolescence ) and the "Annual Model Change", tying model identity to a specific year, to further position design as a driver for the company's product success. At the same time, Earl was careful to not depart too radically from the previous year's styling to maintain

1950-432: The time, including engineers, division heads, and sales executives, viewed Earl's conceptual ideas as flamboyant and unfounded. Earl struggled to legitimize his design approach against the tradition- and production-oriented executives. As head of the newly formed "Art and Colour Section" in 1927, he was initially referred to as one of the "pretty picture boys", and his design studio as being the "Beauty Parlor". In 1937,

2000-407: The two years combined totaled only 1098. The Cadillac V-12 was renamed the Series 80 and 85 in 1936. The Series 80 and 85 featured a 131-inch and 138-inch wheelbase respectively. All V-12s were then Fleetwood bodied and had Turret Tops. A total of 901 V-12s were sold in 1936. In 1937 the Series 80 was dropped leaving only the long wheelbase Series 85. The only significant mechanical changes were

2050-553: The war, during the age when space rockets captured the popular imagination in the 1950s and 1960s. The style caught on throughout Detroit and eventually led to competition between Harley Earl and his counterpart at Chrysler , Virgil Exner , over the size and complexity of tailfins, culminating with those on the 1959 Cadillac models. Influenced by the English and European sports cars being raced on road racing circuits after World War II, Earl decided that General Motors needed to make

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2100-466: Was 75 years old. He is remembered as the first styling chief in the United States automobile industry, the originator of clay modeling of automotive designs, the wraparound windshield, the hardtop sedan, factory two-tone paint, and tailfins . He said in 1954, "My primary purpose for twenty-eight years has been to lengthen and lower the American automobile, at times in reality and always at least in appearance." The extremely low and long American cars of

2150-413: Was Cadillac's first, and is to date, Cadillac's only standard production V-12 automobile. In the mid to late 1920s a number of luxury car manufacturers began work developing extravagant V-configuration engines, with more cylinders delivering more and smoother power than the then upper-end straight-8 and V-8 engines being produced. Not to be outdone, Cadillac began work on an engine to top all others,

2200-623: Was English designer David Jones, who worked at its British division at Vauxhall Motors and served in the camouflage section of the Royal Engineers during World War II. Harley Earl authorized the Frank Hershey design for the 1948 Cadillac, which incorporated the first automotive tailfin. Many of the new 1948-49 cars such as Hudson, Nash, and Lincoln adopted fastback or ponton "bathtub" styling. Although Earl considered this for Cadillac, he ultimately decided against it and went for

2250-433: Was bought by Cadillac dealer Don Lee , who kept Harley Earl as director of its custom body shop. Lawrence P. Fisher, general manager of the Cadillac division who was one of the brothers who started Fisher Body , was visiting Cadillac dealers and distributors around the country, including Lee. Fisher met Earl at Lee's dealership and observed him at work. Fisher, whose automotive career began with coachbuilder Fisher Body ,

2300-457: Was impressed with Earl's designs and methods, including the use of modeling clay to develop the forms of his designs. Fisher commissioned Earl to design the 1927 LaSalle for Cadillac's companion marque. The success of the LaSalle convinced General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan to create the “Art and Colour Section” of General Motors, and to name Earl as its first director. Prior to

2350-477: Was redesigned in 1933 as the model 452C. Innovations included Fisher no draft individually controlled ventilation (I.C.V. or vent windows). For 1934, the body was redesigned again and denoted as 452D, and as 452E in 1935. The V-16 now featured the Fisher Turret Top all-steel roof, though the cars were still built by Fleetwood . This same basic design would remain virtually unchanged through 1937. With

2400-550: Was succeeded as vice-president with responsibility for the Design and Styling Department by Bill Mitchell , under whose leadership GM design became less ornamental. Before Earl retired, General Motors became the largest corporation in the world, and design was acknowledged as the leading sales factor within the automotive industry. Harley Earl suffered a stroke and died in West Palm Beach, Florida , on April 10, 1969. He

2450-533: Was the first concept car. He started "Project Opel", which eventually became the Chevrolet Corvette , and he authorized the introduction of the tailfin to automotive styling. During World War II , he was an active contributor to the Allies' research and development program in advancing the effectiveness of camouflage . Harley Jarvis Earl was born in Hollywood, California . His father, J.W. Earl, began work as

2500-555: Was used to symbolize the importance of design in Buick's cars, or as the advertisements put it, the "Spirit of American Style". A fedora was often used as an Earl icon in these advertisements. In a December 1999 special section in the Detroit Free Press , Earl was ranked the third most significant Michigan artist of the 20th century, behind Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder . Cadillac V-12 The Cadillac V-12

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