The Cadillac Model D is an American brass age car that was introduced by

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

in January 1905, and sold throughout that year. It was a larger

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

than previous Cadillac offerings, and their first four-cylinder production model. Priced at $2800 ($ in dollars ),Model D at The Crittenden Automotive Library
/ref> it can be seen as the first luxury car from the company. The engine was a 300.7 in³ (4.9 L)

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

L-head design producing a claimed . The car used a complicated 3-speed

planetary transmission An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) consists of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other. A carrier connects the centers of the two gears and rotates the planet and sun gea ...

and had a governed throttle, essentially a primitive

cruise control Cruise control (also known as speed control, cruise command, autocruise, or tempomat) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a ste ...

. The engine was designed by

Alanson Partridge Brush Brush Motor Car Company (1907-1909), later the Brush Runabout Company (1909-1913), was based in Highland Park, Michigan. History The company was founded by Alanson Partridge Brush (February 10, 1878, Michigan – March 6, 1952, Michigan). He ...

, who left Cadillac shortly afterwards. Cadillac 1907 Model M Coupe

Model H & L

The Model D was replaced for 1906 with the Model H and larger Model L. Both were based on the Model D, though the departure of Brush led

Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln. Early years Henry M. Lelan ...

to begin to purge his patented designs from the cars. Thus, the variable intake valve lift system and hydraulic governor were abandoned for more conventional designs. The Model L used a large 392.7 in³ (6.4 L) engine with 5 in (127 mm) square bore and stroke, rated at . The smaller Model H continued with the 300.7 in³ (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. Cadillac 1908 Model G Limousine

Model G

Model G side entrance tonneau The Model G was a smaller version of the Model H, with a wheelbase of 100 in (2540 mm). It could be purchased as a tourer, roadster or limousine. The engine was a 4" x 4½" 226.2 in³ (3.7 L)

L-head design producing , which was re-rated to 25 for 1908 with no changes made. The Model G eschewed the complicated

used on other luxury four-cylinder cars of the era for a less-complicated sliding gear system. For the 1909 model year, Cadillac introduced the new Model Thirty. This new car was based on the Model G and replaced all 1908 Models. The Model 30 was bodied in various configurations and passenger capacities. See List of Cadillac models

References

{{Cadillac Vehicles D Cars introduced in 1905