You could say the '43 Cadillac is the highly maneuverable light M-24 tank  (also called the M-24 Chaffee). The tank was equipped with two Cadillac V8s and two Hydra-Matic transmissions, each driving one track of the tank. Proudly stated in every tank  that this was a Cadillac product. The Cadillac Division received the "E" award for excellence in war equipment manufacturing. The most coveted and wanted  award  one factory could win during WWII was the 'E' award  of the Army Navy. Only 4,283 Army-Navy "E" Awards were issued to  the 85,660 eligible factories during the war.  Only 775 other factories won four awards. While only 5% of eligible US factories won the award, 60% of General Motors factories making war products won at least one "E" award.

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The reliable V8 engines were also used on the M-19 anti-aircraft car, and they were also used in the M-5 light tanks, the predecessors of the M-24. Cadillac already had quite a history in warfare and armaments. The Davidson-Cadillac, which could reach 70 mph when the terrain allowed, was America's first military armored car. The modified Cadillacs were used in the military action against Villa Pancho in 1916, and Cadillac was chosen as the standard officer's car by the US Marine Corps in World War I. These cars all had an M in their VIN. None of these cars, which went to Europe as a kit, are left. Most have been cleared for scrap prices. Both in Europe and America. The only one left does not have an M in its VIN but does have a proven track record in Europe. In 1918, 2,500 Type 57s with 314 V8s were built for use by officers from, among others, the American Expeditionary Forces in France where 2,100 went. The rest went to other US bases and to Canada. The surviving car belongs to Marc Lassen and is registered in the National Historic Vehicle Register. The dark blue car was shipped directly to France on August 11, 1917, upon delivery by Dr. John Hopkins Denison who worked for the YMCA and with it the AEF. Denison drove many senior figures in his Cadillac. Denison is unscathed from the battle  arrived, the Cadillac did have to take a German bullet and some dents. All vehicles used for the army had to be given an olive color. Dark blue became olive green and a number US 1257X. It was therefore vehicle 257 and the X indicated that it was a privately owned car that had been impounded. How the car ended up back in the States is unknown and very special. Just after the war, people no longer wanted to see anything that reminded of it. So this 1918 Cadillac is the only one left.

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Sadly, Cadillac founder Henry Leland resigned from the company after  a feud with William C. Durant, the pacifist founder of General Motors. Leland had wanted to make aircraft engines during the 1st World War, but Durant did not allow this. After leaving Cadillac, he started the Lincoln Motor Company to build Liberty engines for war production.

However, there was no hesitation at Cadillac at the start of the 2nd World War. "They shall not want," was the official war slogan of every Cadillac employee.

GM's Allison Division had been involved in the production of the formidable Allison aircraft engine even before the war. With America's entry into the war, Cadillac became directly involved in the further design, development and production of this liquid-cooled engine which was used in P-51s, P-63s, P-39s and in an aircraft the Germans called the Gabelschwanz Teufel. (the fork-tailed devil), the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. It was not clear at the time that the P-38 would have a lasting impact on Cadillac design well after the war. The fins of model year '48 are an example of this. Advertisements during the war referred to the Cadillac powertrain's contribution to the Axis withdrawal. The division's engineering and manufacturing know-how was a key weapon, the advertisements said, in the Free World's battle against the Nazis and Japan, while Cadillac engines and transmissions proved themselves in combat. Perhaps the ads worked a little too well, because after the war, some people tried to adapt the military versions to their cars and other machines - often with little success. Cadillac was only too happy to discourage this. This only really worked with the introduction of the new V8 in 1949.  

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GM's rosse  neighborhood

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Nicholas Dreystadt had accepted a government contract to manufacture delicate aircraft gyroscopes despite 14th-floor grumblings that this work was cutthroat and required skilled hands who were unavailable. The managers became enraged when Dreystadt and his hiring manager, Jim Roche, hired 2,000 black prostitutes from Paradise Valley. Unskilled, untrained but willing workers. Dreystadt also hired the madams and aptly explained why: "They know how to manage the women."

Dreystadt made a dozen gyroscopes himself and then produced a training film detailing the step-by-step assembly process. Within weeks, the women exceeded the quota.  Jokes about Cadillac's "red light district" angered Dreystadt. “These women are my colleagues and yours, they do their job well and respect their work. Whatever their past, they are entitled to the same respect as any of our employees."

Dreystadt knew he would have to replace these women after the war with the returning veterans with a job preference, and the United Auto Workers, a white male stronghold with a southern "orientation" wanted the women out of the factory. "Nigger-lover" and "whore merchant"  Dreystadt fought pleadingly to keep some: "For the first time in their lives, these poor wretches are being paid decently, working in decent conditions, and having certain rights. And for the first time, they have some dignity and self-respect. It's our duty to save them from being rejected and despised again." The union was adamant. When the women were fired, some committed suicide instead of returning to the streets. Nick Dreystadt grieved: "God forgive me. I have failed these poor souls."

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1944

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1944 was Cadillac's second year without production of civilian vehicles.  The factories that once made cars and auto parts now produced tanks, ammunition and troop transport vehicles. The war effort was in full swing and Cadillac was determined to do its part to restore order to the fragmented world. Precisely because of the war production, Cadillac could gain even more popularity. Their engines and transmissions played a vital role in many tanks and armored vehicles, making the soldiers who operated the machines known by the name and the quality that that name implied. Their war effort greatly increased Cadillac's reputation and by the time the war ended, they had added tens of thousands of people who believed in their hallmarks of quality and precision.

In 1944, the only Cadillacs available to consumers were those still in showrooms or for sale from their owners.  These models include the Series 75 Imperial Sedan, Cadillac '41 Darrin Convertible, Series 61, Series 62, Series 60 Special Fleetwood, 62 Sedan, Series 75 Town Car, Series 90-67 Sixteen, and the '40 60 Special Fleetwood.

All these models were produced from 1940 to 1942, after which production stopped. Cadillac's reputation for quality and precision served them well, as their vehicles were still in demand across the country, at least as much as a wartime economy would allow. Cadillacs continued to sell well despite the lack of new models on the market and this helped build the brand's reputation for quality and craftsmanship.  In a way, World War II was actually a good thing for Cadillac, although it may not have seemed like it at the time. They would have been successful even without a war, but application of the products for military purposes resulted in greater awareness of their ingenuity and innovation and brought in a whole generation of new admirers. When the soldiers returned home in 1945, they looked at Cadillac in a new way.

1945

When peace returned in 1945, there was a high demand for cars by GIs and a population that was done with the adjustments that had to be made during the war. The demand for Cadillacs was high because many people had broadened their horizons and expectations as a result of the global conflict - and their pockets filled from the many overtime during the war. The prolonged depression that preceded the war had intensified the hunger for cars for many. The problem was that there just weren't enough Cadillacs and other brands out there. Many dealers asked for deposits, but it was never certain whether you would get a car. After a hastily started four-year production run, the last M-24 tank rolled off the Cadillac assembly line on August 24, 1945. Amazing is  that the first '46 Caddy was already produced on October 7, 1945.

But with a revival of the economy in the post-war era, in America came a revival of ethnocentrism that redefined white people as excellent. Something that is also apparent from all Cadillac print and television advertisements from that period. Not one of those hundreds of ads showed blacks, or members of any other minority group,  who bought or owned Cadillacs. Cadillac was not alone in exclusive advertising. Virtually all automotive ads from the 1940s through the 1970s featured whites only. The only blacks who walked into a dealership in the 1940's or 1950's were the cleaners and if you were lucky you were either laughed at or sent to the corner with traders.

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Due to high demand, the '46 Cadillac was a rapid evolution of what Cadillac had offered in 1942, and initially only the Series 62 was  built four-door sedans. The Series 63, 67 and some 60 Special versions were no longer delivered. Cadillac advertisements praised the fact that their "Battle-Proved" engines and transmissions were the only car parts that were produced continuously during the war, and that were improved during start-up. An important change was the introduction of the negative earth. 62 Convertibles and the Seventy-Fives were now equipped with Hydro-Lectric window controls as standard. This was a complicated hydraulic system that required a lot of attention for long-term good operation. Sombrero-style hubcaps were an attractive new option on many Cadillacs.

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Strikes and shortages of materials, especially of sheet metal, were major problems for the industry during the production year '46. For example, some Cadillacs went on the assembly lines with only supports for wooden bumpers, the real ones had to be installed by dealers as they became available later.  Those who managed to get one paid dearly for the privilege because the 61  fastback now started at $2,052, an increase of 41.5 percent from 1942. The Business Imperial 9 seater sedan, the most expensive model in 1946, even cost $4,346, an increase of $1,266 or 41.1 percent. Pricing was a major problem for all automakers in the inflationary days after the war. In these tumultuous days, Dreystadt leaves for Chevrolet to become General Manager there. He was in the running for leadership at GM but unfortunately after two years at Chevrolet he developed throat cancer from which he died at age 58. He was succeeded by chief engineer John F Gordon who had designed the current L-head V8 and was instrumental in developing the new overhead valve V8 for 1949. The other developer of that new engine Edward N. Cole took on Gordon's role. about.

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By the end of the 1947 model year, Cadillac was back to pre-war levels. The number of cars produced reached 61,926 units, more than twice that of '46.  This was not very remarkable. The quantities of raw materials allocated to GM were disproportionately distributed among the brands. It was felt that the brand that was the most profitable should also get the most. And while Packard regularly outperformed Cadillac in the antebellum years (thanks in large part to the cheapest models), beating Cadillac by 1,579 cars in '46, Cadillac defeated Packard by a solid 10,840 cars in 1947. Packard was once again enjoying a lead in '48 and '49, while Cadillac developed its new sensational overhead valve V8. When Cadillac introduced new styling in 1950, it left Packard in the dust and never looked back. The 'Standard of the World' reigned in America and it was not until the late 1980s that  Cadillac again a formidable domestic competitor. This time Lincoln.

For many people, the name Cadillac conjures up images of fins, chrome and luxury in the Fabulous Fifties models. And why not?  

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The pressure to produce was intense. In 1947, there were still nearly 100,000 undelivered orders for what, according to one sales manager, DE Ahrens, "...is one of the most sought-after and scarcest items in the world today." People knew about Cadillac's value and prestige, and that was what they wanted, but due to post-war production problems, only 29,214 customers were able to drive a '46 Caddy home.