The Mechanic: standards

1912 Cadillac

The Standard of the World

By Dave Redinger

I must admit I have a soft spot for Cadillacs. We are an immigrant family arriving on these shores almost 60 years ago. My father, a car guy, always aspired to owning the best – “the Standard of the World” – a Cadillac.

Being a mechanic and in the car business, it wasn’t long before he had achieved his goal. By the mid ’50s he was dealing in the famous mark. He never kept them long, selling them on his used car lot and moving on to the next. I grew up with these magnificent cars.

So how did Cadillac become the “Standard of the World”? I did some investigation.

Question: which manufacturer was the first to offer interchangeable parts? Cadillac.

Who was the first to introduce electric lighting? Cadillac.

What car introduced the electric starter, opening up the automotive world to women and small men? Cadillac.

Which car company standardized the pedal arrangement that we still use today – gas on the right, brake in the middle, clutch on the left? Cadillac.

It was through sound engineering and innovation on which the Cadillac brand made its reputation. They weren’t cheap but they were reliable, easy to use and robust. The 1912 Caddy ranged in price from $1,800 to $2,250 in Yankee greenbacks. Compare this to a Ford Model T at $300. Compare this to the fact you could buy a modest house for $600. Most importantly the cars worked and worked well.

In May, 1916, Erwin G. “Cannonball” Baker and Wm. F. Sturm drove a V8 Cadillac Roadster from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 days, 11 hours and 52 minutes. They bettered their previous time, driven in another make of car, by 3 days, 19 hours, 23 minutes.

The folks at GM really knew their cars and how to promote them in those early days. They had laid the ground work for decades of automotive supremacy.

Dave Redinger has more than 40 years’ experience as a mechanic and has run his shop, Doctor H Honda Specialists, in Toronto for the past 26 years. He’s also a radio talk show host and produces several television shows.

Tags: Cadillac, Cadillac Roadster, The Mechanic