[ last update: 02.02.2012 ]

The (new) Cadillac Database©

Photo Pages
Cadillac

1905


Return to The (New) Cadillac Database© Index Page
or go back to the Cadillac photo index page to pick another year
or go to the  La Salle photo index page 

 

Unless otherwise specified all photos and illustrations are from Yann Saunders'
collection of Cadillac photos, advertisements and product catalogs, reproduced
courtesy of the Cadillac Motor Car Division and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.

 

Cadillac single-cylinder Model B

[see 1904]

 

Old Photos

 

Model B [ still current ]

05B-trg.jpg (85053 bytes)

 

 

 

Model C

P05cb.jpg (7680 bytes)
Towards the end of 1904, Cadillac upgraded the remainder of the Model B touring car production by adding the new hood from the 1905 Model E cars. 
the resulting car (above) was designated the Model C.  This obviously retouched photograph  appears to have been taken in front of  the Cadillac
plant buildings; the rear door to the tonneau unfortunately has swung open, spoiling an otherwise perfect photographic record of this rare car

04ModCa.jpg (6771 bytes)    04ModCbS.jpg (7301 bytes)    04ModCeS.jpg (5455 bytes)

04ModCdS.jpg (6501 bytes)    04ModCfS.jpg (7114 bytes)    04ModCgS.jpg (7160 bytes)     04ModChS.jpg (6721 bytes)

04ModCiS.jpg (5905 bytes)    04ModCjS.jpg (6471 bytes)
In the above three rows,  a restored Model C runabout

05OLDPH2.JPG (3677 bytes)    05oldpho.jpg (5747 bytes)
Left: Family outing in 1905, aboard the new Cadillac runabout
Right: Adventurous ladies posing in a photo studio's "dummy" 1905 Cadillac

05oldph4.JPG (5206 bytes)    05OLDPH3.JPG (10269 bytes)
The Cadillac Model F touring car in both civilian and military operation

 

 

 

Model E Chassis

05Chassis.jpg (31820 bytes)

 

 

 

Model E Runabout

05E-rnbt.jpg (38521 bytes)    P05ed.jpg (6147 bytes)    05E-rnbtTop.jpg (30861 bytes)
            (Left) The 1905 Model E light runabout was "a light, powerful machine of the semi-racer type, designed for those
who wish business car with great power and capable of high speed on average roads."
It cost $750, F.O.B. Detroit

(Center)  One of the  attractions at a special showing of the new 1955 Cadillac model line, staged at the renowned Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado, 
was this original Model E 1905 light runabout.   Don Ahrens, then Cadillac General manager, is at the wheel. 
Barely visible, right, is the tail section of the new 1955 Eldorado

(Right) The 1905 catalog calls it the Physician's light runabout or Doctor's Delight.   In 1903-1904 many similar runabouts,
with the protective cape top, had been sold to doctors and business men for practical use as everyday
business vehicles.  The prices for the folding tops remained unchanged from 1902

 

 

 

Model F Touring Car ---Model F Delivery

05F-trg.jpg (42469 bytes)      05Dlvry.jpg (12798 bytes)

 

    05TrgBody.jpg (37734 bytes)   
            (Left) The popularity of the 1904 Model B surrey created a demand from Cadillac for a body with a side door
entrance; the Model F touring car car was a fixed, 4-passenger car,  costing $950; the standard color 
was Brewster green and the was interior beautifully trimmed in hand-buffed, diamond patterned  black leather

(Center) Here is a bird's-eye view of the seating arrangement in the Model F touring car; in this compressed image,
unfortunately the dimensions are illegible; doors were 18" wide, the rear seat 41" and the front one 39"; 
the distance from the rear seat back to the back of the front seat was a comfortable (for 1905!)  36½"

(Right) This Model F Delivery wagon is the first Cadillac ever to be designated as a commercial car;
at $950 it was very popular with  merchants around the country; one buyer calculated that in  just twenty weeks
of use his van had saved him almost $600 over a horse-drawn vehicle; the standard color was maroon

0506Cad.jpg (7079 bytes)
"You lost your front license tag..."

05cad_orig2.jpg (4017 bytes)
An outing in the new Cadillac [Photo:  Internet, 2008]

 

 


Mechanical Details
[drawn from the 1905 product catalog]

05plug.jpg (5349 bytes)    05carb.jpg (4409 bytes)    05trns.JPG (8083 bytes)
(Left) the spark plug; (Center) the carburetor; (Right) the planetary transmission

 

     

 

Model E Survivors
[ runabouts ]

         02-05a.jpg (16512 bytes)
Under the heading 1902 Single-Cylinder Cadillac Still in Use, the factory published this photo
(in fact, a 1905 model E) in its in-house magazine, Cadillac Clearinghouse, circa 1928
[ Photos courtesy "Chris", great grandson of Cadillac mechanic and test driver, the late Gus Bell ]

P05ec.jpg (9947 bytes)
(Left) Nippy Model E runabout  
[ Photo: © 1994, Yann Saunders ]

 

 

 

Model F Survivors
[ touring cars ]

05trgsrv.jpg (6327 bytes)    05trgsv.JPG (7831 bytes)     05trgsv2.jpg (6269 bytes)

    P05fa.jpg (10696 bytes)    05ftrglv.jpg (6424 bytes)     05cad.jpg (4594 bytes)
Left:  Model F touring car (photo: courtesy Katie Robbins, CCCA);
Center: Model F touring car with cape top in position (photo: Internet, 2001);
Right:  color PC (probably a museum photo - Internet, 2008)

Both cars appear to be painted the correct colors, that is Brewster green
for the body and Primrose for the wheels and running gear;
amazingly, many single-cylinder Cadillac models aged ninety years
and more still are giving their current owners the most reliable service

05SVBELG.JPG (8271 bytes)
A survivor in Belgium, formerly of the G. Mahy collection
[ Photo: © 1985, Yann Saunders ]

05SVCUA.JPG (6582 bytes)    05SVCUB.JPG (5524 bytes)
A slightly modified survivor from Havana, Cuba

05Ftrg.jpg (13289 bytes)    05modf.jpg (12625 bytes)
Two more nice survivors; the car on the right has an erroneous color scheme

04MODE.JPG (8603 bytes)    05ModF2.jpg (4121 bytes)
That's not an authentic 1905 color on the left

04MODE2.JPG (8007 bytes)    05SRVS.JPG (9990 bytes)

05SRV3.JPG (7220 bytes)    05SRV4.JPG (5117 bytes)    05SRV5.JPG (6752 bytes)
Above three rows: these survivors were in attendance at the Cadillac-LaSalle Club Inc.'s
100th Anniversary Grand National meet in Detroit, in  2002
[ Photos: © 2002,  J. Scott Harris ]


This cute survivor with surrey top resides in Norway
[ Photo: courtesy Mässing & Nickel Historical Automobile Club, Sweden ]

 

Mässing- & Nickel

05rnbtaa.jpg (6316 bytes)    05rnbtac.jpg (5384 bytes)    05rnbtab.jpg (5974 bytes)
This survivor was offered for sale by Hyman, Ltd., in 2008
[ Photos:  Hyman catalog ]

05rnbt1.jpg (6628 bytes)    05rnbt2.jpg (7249 bytes)    05rnbt3.jpg (4554 bytes)
VIN and patent plate on right

05van.jpg (5921 bytes)
Model F delivery wagon
[ model on right appears to have a custom, side loading door ]

 

Oddity

03-05cad.jpg (9822 bytes)
The car carries a sign that reads "Cadillac 1903"; in fact it's
a customized 1905 photographed at a rally in the mid 20s

 

 

 

Osceola

Osceo_Cpe.jpg (30618 bytes)    05osceol.jpg (9540 bytes)    P05osc.jpg (9291 bytes)    
This early custom job mounted on the single-cylinder Cadillac chassis for 1905 was built around the year's end; it was commissioned from Seavers and Erdman, coach builders in Detroit, for the personal use of Henry M. Leland, founder of the Cadillac Automobile Company in 1902; designed to his own exacting specifications, he named it Osceola, after a respected chief of  the Seminole native American people; the car was 5" taller than it was long  Leland, who drove his cars (and his people) hard, is known to have occasionally flipped Osceola

osceol.jpg (8401 bytes)    osceolg.jpg (10968 bytes)
Repainted blue, Osceola has been on show for some time
in the Historical Collection of the Cadillac Motor Car Division of GM

 

 

 

Cadillac four-cylinder Model D

05ModD.jpg (37336 bytes)      05ModDchas.jpg (109560 bytes)
Like the other, new 1905 models (barring the delivery van) the colors of Cadillac's imposing, new
four-cylinder Model D were Brewster green for the body and Primrose for the wheels and running
gear; following the destructive factory fire of  April 13, 1904, reconstruction included a number
of spacious new premises to accommodate the large-scale production of  this gigantic touring car

05cad_D.jpg (5789 bytes)     P05db.jpg (7654 bytes)

 

 

Return to The (New) Cadillac Database© Index Page
or go back to the Cadillac photo index page to pick another year
or go to the  La Salle photo index page

 

© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image: To illustrate the power and precision of the new, 4-cylinder Model D,
this period ad showed the car using its headlight to drive a pin into a piece of wood! ]