The Cadillac Model Thirty was an American

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

introduced in December 1909 by the

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

Division of General Motors, and sold through 1911. It was the company's only model for those years and was based on the 1907 Model G. The 1912 Model 1912, 1913 Model 1913, and 1914 Model 1914 were similar, but used larger engines. This platform used Cadillac's L-head

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 categoriz ...

engine. The 1912 Model 30 was the first production car to have an electric starter rather than a hand crank, spring, or other early method. The Model Thirty was replaced in 1915 by the Cadillac Type 51, Cadillac's first V8 vehicle.

Engine and bodies

The 1910 model was available with a closed body, the first time a US automobile manufacturer had offered this type. The engine was the same

L-head design used in the Model G, and that model's simple sliding-gear transmission was also adopted. The engine was bored out to 255.4 in³ (4.2 L) for 1910 and 286.3 in³ (4.7 L) for 1911 and 1912. The engine was reworked with a longer stroke for 1913, giving 365.8 in³ (6.0 L) of displacement. This same engine served in 1914.

Self starter

The 1912 model was awarded the

Dewar Trophy The Dewar Trophy is a cup donated in the early years of the twentieth century by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, MP, to be awarded each year by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) of the United Kingdom "to the motor car which should successfully complete the m ...

for its electrical system, including its electric starter.

References

30 Cars introduced in 1909 {{Brass-auto-stub