Cadillacs, 110 Years and Going…Biking?

Despite recent economic troubles, Cadillac has maintained its cool credibility since its founding in Michigan 110 years ago today. Admittedly, the wheels of yesteryear were not what some hip-hop artists, often informal ambassadors of the brand, had in mind when they made Cadillac the second most mentioned brand (after Hennessy) back in 2004. But we still think they’re pretty neat looking and you can see for yourself at the American History Museum’s “America on the Move” exhibit.

A 1903 advertisement in The Horseless Age tells us the $850 car is “just good all over” and the “ideal motor car for physicians.”

That’s sort of what Snoop Dogg was suggesting when he described the ideal Cadillac passenger as a “millionaire, making that paper stack.”

Trying to claim a foothold in international markets, the car company has expanded its brand a bit. Along with other GM names, Cadillac now sells tricked-out bicycles in Japan. Cruising the streets in your Cadillac could soon only take two wheels.

Leah Binkovitz | | READ MORE

Leah Binkovitz is a Stone & Holt Weeks Fellow at Washington Post and NPR. Previously, she was a contributing writer and editorial intern for the At the Smithsonian section of Smithsonian magazine.