When engine designer Alanson Brush left Cadillac, his successor Henry Leland didn't keep the departed man's clever patented features — he deliberately stripped them out of the next cars, the Model H and Model L, in favor of more conventional designs.
Lead trim: Model H 300.7 cu in four-cylinder (30 hp) · up to 40 hp
Cadillac Model D1906–1908
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Cadillac Model D yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactWhen engine designer Alanson Brush left Cadillac, his successor Henry Leland didn't keep the departed man's clever patented features — he deliberately stripped them out of the next cars, the Model H and Model L, in favor of more conventional designs.
The Model D was replaced for 1906 with the Model H and the larger Model L, both based on the Model D, though the departure of Brush led Henry Leland to purge his patented designs (the variable intake valve lift system and hydraulic governor were abandoned for more conventional designs). The Model L used a large 392.7 cu in (6.4 L) engine with a 5 in square bore and stroke, rated at 40 hp; the smaller Model H continued with the 30 hp 300.7 cu in (4.9 L) engine size used in the Model D. Both came in two or more body styles; the Model H continued in production through 1908 while the Model L was cancelled, and a Limousine was added as a body style.
Collectors Spotted in the Cadillac Model D Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Cadillac Model D yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model H 300.7 cu in four-cylinder (30 hp) | 1906–1908 | 4.9 L Inline-4 | 30 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| Model L 392.7 cu in four-cylinder (40 hp) | 1906–1907 | 6.4 L Inline-4 | 40 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Most luxury four-cylinder cars of 1907 used a fussy planetary transmission. Cadillac's smaller Model G skipped it for a plain sliding-gear box instead — simpler engineering on a car meant to impress.
When engine designer Alanson Brush left Cadillac, his successor Henry Leland didn't keep the departed man's clever patented features — he deliberately stripped them out of the next cars, the Model H and Model L, in favor of more conventional designs.
The 1905 Model D had a governed throttle acting as a primitive cruise control — but its engine's designer, Alanson Partridge Brush, left Cadillac shortly after the car debuted.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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Only two SSJs were built — one for Gary Cooper, one lent to Clark Gable — and the two movie stars used to race each other through the Hollywood Hills in them.
The 1916 Type 53 quietly invented the modern car's cockpit: center-mounted gear lever and handbrake, key-start ignition, and the clutch-brake-throttle pedal order every car still uses today.
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This Duesenberg beat every other production car to the punch: it was the first to put hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, years before the rest of the industry caught up.
Once Packard's new straight-eight arrived in 1924, the once-flagship Six got bumped down market — repositioned to compete with the Buick Master Six and, later, the Chrysler Six.