Cadillac has a new motto — Cadillac, The New Standard. This of course is a historical reference to the Royal Automobile Club of England’s award to Cadillac of the Dewar Trophy in 1908 in recognition of Cadillac’s precision engineering.
As Wikipedia nicely summarizes:
In February 1908, three Model Ks from the 1907 Cadillac production were released from the stock of Frederick Stanley Bennett (UK agent for Cadillac automobiles) at the Heddon Street showroom in London (these were engines Nos. 23391, 24111 and 24118). The three cars, all registered in London under the numbers A2EO, A3EO and A4EO, were driven 25 miles to the Brooklands race track at Weybridge. There, the cars completed another 25 miles before being put under lock and key until Monday March 2, 1908 when they were released and disassembled completely. Their 721 component parts were scrambled in one heap. Eighty-nine parts requiring extreme accuracy were withdrawn from the heap, locked away at the Brooklands club house and replaced with new parts from the Mr. Bennett’s showroom stock. A mechanic – Mr. E.O. Young – reassembled the cars with the help of his assistant – Mr. M.M. Gardner. Sometimes they had to work ankle-deep in water, using only wrenches and screwdrivers. The third car was re-assembled by Tuesday evening, March 10. By 2 p.m. on Friday March 13 the three cars had completed the mandatory 500-mile run with singular regularity. Only one point was lost owing to a broken cotter pin in the ignition lever (promptly replaced from stock). During the event, it was reported that one of the sheds where the parts were stored became partly flooded during a heavy storm and some parts became rusted. Only oily rags could be used to remove all traces of the immersion. On completion of the test, one of the cars was placed under lock and key where it remained until the start of the 2000-miles Reliability Trials, several months later. It came out the winner of the R.A.C. Trophy! Parts interchangeability could not have been demonstrated in any more convincing way.
It was after this proof that Cadillac took on the “Standard of the World” title, and well earned.
The new campaign appears to be re-introducing people to the fact that Cadillac is once again making world class vehicles by a variety of approaches.
A US released video, Race and Tow, shows an Escalade racing a Mercedes C300. A Cadillac Arabia video shows a V-Series Coupe in the form of a tornado.
There is also a new Cadillac website, New Standards. “We’re putting next generation technology into this generation of vehicles” — I think that is a strong statement. It is the right goal for Cadillac, and conveys to Buyers what they can expect from the marque.
