Prewar Cadillac

• For a brief, shining moment, say between 1938 and 1942, the American automobile reflected a timeless design that shed the Art Deco-inspired 1930s styling for a cleaner, more industrial look. Detroit automakers began integrating headlamps into the front fenders and used chrome trim sparingly. Cars sat lower and running boards began to disappear. Body lines were distinct and more angled. Simplicity ruled the day. The 1940 Cadillac Series 60 Special represented such a car. It featured a V-8 engine, which was rare in the world of straight-eights and -sixes. It had no running boards to provide more inside room and its profile dropped three inches to give it a sleeker look. The four-door sedans had front-hinged doors, which started an industry trend to drop the "suicide doors" styling.
  
  

Series 60 Specs

• The Series 60 came as a sedan, town car and the high-end Imperial sedan. The car's wheelbases were 127, 129, 138 and 141 inches depending on the model. The sedan, for example, sat on a 127-inch wheelbase and weighed 4,070 lbs. A 346-cubic-inch V-8 engine with a 6.25-to-1 compression ratio, a 3.5-inch bore and 4.5-inch stroke helped the engine deliver 135 horsepower and 250 foot-pounds of torque. The 346's carburetor was a Stromberg dual downdraft model. The Series 60's suspension featured semi-elliptic leaf springs. All-wheel 12-inch drum brakes stopped the car.
  
  

Early Postwar Years

• Cadillac offered the buying public warmed-over prewar cars in 1946 and 1947. The Series 60 models were the first off the assembly line once civilian production resumed. Since there wasn't much difference between 1946 and 1942 models, Cadillac made much of its transmissions, the only mechanical component produced during the war years. Cadillac's prewar 185-horsepower 431-cubic-inch V-16 did not make a comeback.
  
  

Series 62 Specs

• The 1947 Series 62 Cadillac typified the early postwar models. Cadillac placed the touring sedan, for example, on a 129-inch wheelbase with a massive overall length of 219 inches and curbside weight of 4,385 lbs. The 346 V-8 got a boost in its compression ratio to 7.25-to-1 to generate 150 horsepower and 274 foot-pounds of torque to move all that weight.
  
  

The Trendsetter

• The dominate theme in the 1948 models was GM's inspiration to mimic the rear tails of the P-38 Lightning fighter plane with modest tail fins. The tail fin became Cadillac's signature style, copied endlessly by competitors. Cadillac's advantage, or curse, depending on one's point of view, was to provide car buyers with something new every model year. Yet technology failed to keep up with buyers hungry for new cars. The 1948 and 1949 models were striking cars, but the 331 V-8 and same braking and suspension system added nothing to what was underneath the glitter. Still, Cadillac continued to add more flamboyant tail fins and chrome embellishments to attract bears to honey.