Cadillac Models & History 1956
The1956 year saw the introduction of Cadillac’s first four-door hardtop Sedan de Ville, which immediately scored almost as many sales as the Coupe de Ville and standard 62 hardtop combined.
1956 Cadillac Fin
Despite an all-new ’56 Lincoln and revitalized ’57 Imperial, Cadillac remained America’s luxury sales leader by far. Combined Lincoln/Imperial volume never exceeded 40,000 cars a year in this era; at Cadillac, that was a good quarterly output.
1956 Cadillac
For 1956, the milestone V-8 was stroked to 101.6mm to deliver 285 bhp standard and 305 for Eldorado.
The lineup remained the same as in 1954. The Series 62 (which included Coupe deVille and Sedan deVille) had a sub-series Eldorado. The Fleetwood name would grace the Series Sixty Special and the limousine Series 75.
HISTORICAL NOTES
1956 Cadillac
1956 Cadillac Notes
- The Cadillac Series 62 Sedan DeVille four-door hardtop and Eldorado Seville two-door hardtop were introduced to the public almost a month earlier than other models on October 24, 1955.
- The remaining cars in the line were introduced the following month on November 18.
- The 1956 Hydra-Matic transmission incorporated changes that increased its size and smoothed out shifting qualities.
- It was developed by GM at a cost of $35 million.
- The 1956 line set records in sales and production moving Cadillac from 10th to 9th position in the American sales race.
- On Aug. 5, 1956 the division announced the purchase of the former Hudson Motor Car plant on Detroit’s east end.
- Don E. Ahrens was general manager
- Charles F. Arnold was chief engineer
- Edward Glowacke was chief designer (Cadillac Studio)
- James M. Roche was general sales manager
- Cadillac production figures
1956 Automotive Notes
- Harlow H. Curtice was president of GM
- Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. was chairman of the board at GM until April until Albert Bradley took over
- U.S. Federal government will pay 90% for a 41,000-mile interstate highway system
- 156-mile Indiana Toll Road opens to create a Chicago-New York superhighway
- Industry output drops to 6.3 million; 80% have V-8
- Ford joins the Automobile Manufacturers Association and Henry Ford II is elected president
- Pushbutton automatic transmission selector installed on Imperial, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Plymouth, and Packard
- Highway Hi-Fi record players offered in Chrysler Corp. cars
- Ford offers seat belts, padded dash, and other safety items; but they are not well received
- Thunderbird sports a continental tire and porthole window in the wide C-pillar
- AMC develops a 250-cid V-8 (4.1 litre) to replace Packard’s V-8
- Continental Mark II is introduced at $10,000 and is separate from the Lincoln line
- Packard Clipper is a separate make, but sales are not as good as hoped
- Packard offers electrically controlled door latches and a limited-slip differential
- Hudson Rambler Cross Country is the first four-door hardtop station wagon
- Studebaker introduces four Hawk models with big Packard V-8 engines
- A quad headlamp system is announced by the Automobile Manufacturers Association for the 1958 models
- Top American Automobile Corporations for 1956
- Top model year production for 1956