Cadillac Was Founded 120 Years Ago Today

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened?

On this day in 1902, the Cadillac Motor Company was founded.

Where The Market Was

The Dow Jones Industrial Average trade at around 64.40 and the S&P 500 traded at 8.85.

What Else Was Going On In The World?

In 1902, J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP) opened its first store. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. became associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. A U.S. carpenter earned $2.75 per day.

Birth Of An Iconic American Auto Brand

Cadillac’s roots actually go all the way back to the Henry Ford Company, which was founded in 1901. Ford left the Henry Ford Company in March 1902 after a dispute with investors, and the assets he left behind were used to establish the Cadillac Automobile Company in August 1902.

Cadillac marketed its first Model A vehicle in 1903 for a price of $850 and produced 2,500 vehicles in its first year of production, a massive number of vehicles at the time.

Ford went on to form Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) in 1903, and Cadillac was eventually purchased by General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) in 1909 for $4.5 million in GM stock. Cadillac remains one of the core GM luxury brands to this day. In 2019, Cadillac sold a record 390,458 vehicles in the global market.

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