1949 Cadillac Coupe DeVille 62k Original Mile Car in Excellent Running Condition

Cadillac was formed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Co when Henry Ford departed along with several of his key partners and the company was dissolved. With the intent of liquidating the firm's assets, Ford's financial backers, called in engineer Henry Leland to appraise the plant and equipment prior to selling them. Instead, Leland persuaded them to continue the automobile business using Leland's proven 1-cylinder engine. Henry Ford's departure required a new name, and the company reformed as the Cadillac Automobile Company. The Cadillac automobile was named after the 17th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, founder of Detroit in 1701. Cadillac helped to define advanced engineering, luxury and style early in Automotive History and would come to be known as one of the world's finest made vehicles. Precision manufacturing of truly interchangeable parts was an award-winning industry first in 1908. Cadillac was the first manufacturer to release cars with a fully enclosed cab as factory equipment in 1910. Standard electric engine starting and lighting was another award winner for 1912. Cadillac introduced the first production V8 engine for the 1914 model year. Cadillac was the first manufacturer to utilize the skills of a designer to produce a car's body instead of an engineer (1927). This gave the public a car that looked as good as it performed. Cadillac's engineers were first to design a manual transmission with synchronizers for increased drivability (1929) and were instrumental in the early development of the automatic transmission, beginning in 1932. Cadillac offered a production V16 engine from 1930 through 1940 and introduced the production independent wishbone front suspension in 1934. The marque introduced tailfins for 1948. From the late 1960s onward, Cadillac offered a fiber-optic indication system which alerted the driver of a failed light bulb.

The Cadillac DeVille was originally a trim level and later a separate model produced by Cadillac. The first car to bear the name was the 1949 Coupe de Ville, a pillarless two-door hardtop body style with a prestige trim level above that of the Series 62 luxury coupe. The last model to be formally known as a DeVille was the 2005 Cadillac DeVille, a full-size sedan, the largest car in the Cadillac model range at the time. The next year, the DeVille was officially renamed the Cadillac DTS.

The name "DeVille" is derived from the French de la ville or de ville meaning "of the town". In French coach building parlance, a coupé de ville, from the French couper (to cut) i.e. shorten or reduce, was a short four-wheeled closed carriage with an inside seat for two and an outside seat for the driver and this smaller vehicle was intended for use in the town or city (de ville). An (unshortened) limousine or (in the United States) town car has a division between the passenger and driver compartments and if the driver's seat is outside it may be called a sedanca de ville or town car.

The first Cadillac "Coupe de Ville" was shown during the 1949 Motorama. It was built on a Cadillac Sixty Special chassis and featured a dummy air-scoop, chrome trim around front wheel openings, and a one-piece windshield and rear glass. The interior was black and trimmed in gray leather, including the headliner, to match the roof color. It was equipped with a telephone in the glove compartment, a vanity case and a secretarial pad in the rear armrest, power windows and highly decorative chrome interior trim. The prototype "Coupe de Ville" was used by GM President Charles E. Wilson until 1957 when he presented it to his secretary.

The Cadillac Series 62 Coupe de Ville was introduced late in the 1949 model year. Along with the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, and the Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, it was among the first pillarless hardtop coupes ever produced. At $3,496 it was only a dollar less than the Series 62 convertible, and like the convertible, it came with power windows standard. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome 'bows' in the headliner to simulate the ribs of a convertible top. In its first year the Series 62 Coupe de Ville only sold 2,150 units.

This exceptional first year Coupe DeVille is a low mile Original Car with only the interior having been redone. The car is excellent in every manner-the paint is very nice, the brightwork is in very good condition, the interior is soft, supple and inviting, and the engine bay and undercarriage are in excellent condition with no corrosion whatsoever. The car is quite show worthy, having been properly stored in a climate controlled environment and used sparingly under current ownership.

Additionally, the car runs and drives without fault and really needs nothing to be enjoyed immediately. Whether you are into Touring or Showing this car will get you noticed where ever you take it.

The '49 Cadillac is a pivotal car, a car of firsts really-the emergence of the tailfins that chacterized the 50's, the Overhead Valve Engine, the first Personal Luxury concept of the Coupe DeVille- this is an important car in the history of the Marque.

This is a truly great car that completely embodies the exhuberance of Post War America like few cars can. If you are looking for an important Cadillac for Touring or Show enjoyment you will be hard pressed to find a better car in today's marketplace.