Date of Award

Spring 8-1-2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Daniel Clark

Second Advisor

Richard Schneirov

Third Advisor

Anne Foster

Abstract

It came outfighting! is an analysis of the factors that contributed to Cadillac Motor Car Division's ascension to sales leadership in the fine car field in the years following World War II. To do this, I utilized period General Motors publications and period business publications, as well as the works of modern automotive historian. 111 Factors in play during the pre-war years, such as mechanical and styling innovations, advertising concepts, and the redefinition of the luxury car genre were considered. Cadillac's wartime production of aircraft engine parts and tanks hold the real key to postwar dominance. The War Department paid the company to upgrade its facilities and its drive train, allowing Cadillac to avoid many of the financial burdens endured by its primary rival, Packard, during reconversion. This permitted Cadillac to sell an improved product for less cost to the customer than its competitors. This advantage, coupled with the rise of the personal luxury concept and a stream of technological innovations, allowed Cadillac to rule the luxury car market until the close of the twentieth century.

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