The GM D platform (informally, D-body), was a
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
automobile platform
A car platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components, over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of cars, often from different, but somewhat related, marques. It is pract ...
designation, used in two series (1936-1984 and 1985–1996) for large
body-on-frame
Body-on-frame, also known as ladder frame construction, is a common motor vehicle construction method, whereby a separate body or coach is mounted on a strong and relatively rigid vehicle frame or chassis that carries the powertrain (the engin ...
rear-wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
automobiles. For the majority of its existence the D-Body represented the largest
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 ...
, either the
Fleetwood Series 75 or the
Fleetwood Limousine.
In 1985 GM downsized and redesignated its traditional large car
rear wheel drive GM C platform as the new much smaller and lighter
front wheel drive GM C platform. It also shifted its traditional, D platform Fleetwood limousine to the new C platform, ending production of the historic D platform. In turn, it redesignated the former RWD C platform the new D platform, and maintained production of a few RWD holdovers on it.
The original D platform was closely related to GM's other two rear-wheel drive large car platforms: the mainstream
GM B and the upscale C platforms. But save for the limited production top-of-the-line 1936-1942
Buick Limited
The Limited was Buick's flagship limousine between 1936 and 1942 and, during model year 1958 during GM's Fiftieth Anniversary, the halo car for Buick. After the vehicle was retired in 1959, Buick has intermittently used the "Limited" name for sev ...
, the original GM D-platform was exclusive to Cadillac, GM's most luxurious brand. As GM's largest, the "new" D platform designated in 1985 was reserved to Cadillac through the end of its production in 1996.
Model History
1936-1984 original D-Body
During most of the 20th century the D-Body represented GM's largest and most exclusive car platform. The D-body was used for the
Cadillac Series 85 from 1936 through 1937, for the
Cadillac Series 90 from 1936 through 1940, for the
Buick Limited
The Limited was Buick's flagship limousine between 1936 and 1942 and, during model year 1958 during GM's Fiftieth Anniversary, the halo car for Buick. After the vehicle was retired in 1959, Buick has intermittently used the "Limited" name for sev ...
from 1936 through 1942, for the
Cadillac Series 72 in 1940, for the
Cadillac Series 67 from 1941 through 1942, for the
Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 from 1936 through 1976, and for the
Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine from 1977 through 1984.
1985-1996 former RWD C-Body
![1993-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood -- 11-20-2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/1993-1996_Cadillac_Fleetwood_--_11-20-2011.jpg)
In 1985 GM reassigned the name of its traditional large car
rear wheel drive GM C platform to its new much smaller and lighter
front wheel drive GM C platform. Most of its large cars made the downsizing shift with it. However, the former C platform continued in limited use, being redesignated the "D platform" and employed by the 1985-1986
Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
The Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was a luxury car manufactured by Cadillac from 1977 through 1986. In 1987, the Fleetwood Brougham name was shortened to simply Brougham, with production continuing through 1992 with only minor updates.
Cadillac ...
, its direct successor 1987-1992
Cadillac Brougham
The Cadillac Brougham was a line of full-size luxury cars manufactured by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors from the 1987 through 1992 model years and was marketed from 1977 to 1986 as the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The opt ...
, and 1993-1996
Cadillac Fleetwood
The Cadillac Fleetwood is a model of luxury car that was manufactured by the Cadillac division of General Motors between 1976 and 1996. The "Fleetwood" name was previously used as a prefix on several of Cadillac's models dating back to 1935. F ...
, which reverted from being front-wheel drive 1985–1992 to rear-wheel drive.
Compounding the confusion, the
Cadillac Series 70
The Cadillac Series 70 (models 70 and 75) is a full-size V8-powered series of cars that were produced by Cadillac from the 1930s to the 1980s. It replaced the 1935 355E as the company's mainstream car just as the much less expensive Series 60 wa ...
Fleetwood limousine, which had been built on the venerable original GM D platform (that traced its origins to 1936), was replaced in 1985 by the dramatically downsized C-platform
Cadillac Series 75
The Cadillac Series 70 (models 70 and 75) is a full-size V8-powered series of cars that were produced by Cadillac from the 1930s to the 1980s. It replaced the 1935 355E as the company's mainstream car just as the much less expensive Series 60 w ...
. This marked the end of the original D platform. Two years later the C platform Series 75 was discontinued, bringing to a close the Cadillac limousine era.
Production
Early designation D-bodies (1936-1984), with the exception of the
Buick Limited
The Limited was Buick's flagship limousine between 1936 and 1942 and, during model year 1958 during GM's Fiftieth Anniversary, the halo car for Buick. After the vehicle was retired in 1959, Buick has intermittently used the "Limited" name for sev ...
, which was produced in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
, were all produced at
Detroit Assembly
Detroit Assembly (also known as Detroit Cadillac, Cadillac Assembly or Clark Street Assembly) was a General Motors automobile factory in Detroit, Michigan on Clark Street, south of Michigan Avenue ( U.S. Route 12). It began operations in 1921 and ...
,
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. Since all Fleetwood Broughams were being produced in Detroit prior to the name change, initially all late designation D-bodies (1985-1996) were built there as well. During the 1988 model year production of D-bodies was shifted to
Arlington Assembly
Arlington Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory located in Arlington, Texas. The plant has operated for more than 60 years and today manufactures large SUVs from GM's divisions Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac.
History
The Arlington pl ...
,
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...
where it remained until the last D-bodied car was built in 1996.
Production ended in 1996, leaving GM without a rear wheel drive luxury sedan. Later Cadillac introduced smaller cars on the
Sigma platform. The spiritual successor of the D-Body Fleetwood is the Sedan de Ville d'Elegance which was later replaced by the Sedan de Ville High Luxury.
Models
* 1936–1937
Cadillac Series 85
* 1936–1940
Cadillac Series 90
* 1936–1942
Buick Limited
The Limited was Buick's flagship limousine between 1936 and 1942 and, during model year 1958 during GM's Fiftieth Anniversary, the halo car for Buick. After the vehicle was retired in 1959, Buick has intermittently used the "Limited" name for sev ...
* 1940
Cadillac Series 72
* 1941–1942
Cadillac Series 67
* 1936-1958
Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75
* 1959-1964
Cadillac Series 6900 Fleetwood 75
* 1965-1976
Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Sedan & Limousine
* 1977-1984
Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine & Formal Limousine
* 1985-1986
Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
The Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was a luxury car manufactured by Cadillac from 1977 through 1986. In 1987, the Fleetwood Brougham name was shortened to simply Brougham, with production continuing through 1992 with only minor updates.
Cadillac ...
* 1987-1992
Cadillac Brougham
The Cadillac Brougham was a line of full-size luxury cars manufactured by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors from the 1987 through 1992 model years and was marketed from 1977 to 1986 as the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. The opt ...
* 1993-1996
Cadillac Fleetwood
The Cadillac Fleetwood is a model of luxury car that was manufactured by the Cadillac division of General Motors between 1976 and 1996. The "Fleetwood" name was previously used as a prefix on several of Cadillac's models dating back to 1935. F ...
* 1936-1996
Cadillac Commercial Chassis
The Cadillac Commercial Chassis is a chassis that was built by the Cadillac division of General Motors. Produced from 1931 to 1979, the Commercial Chassis was constructed as an incomplete vehicle intended for use by coachbuilders for final asse ...
* 1992-1996 Buick Roadmaster
* 1991-1996 Chevrolet Caprice
References
List of GM VIN codes{{General Motors platforms
D