Adler

D, 1900 – 1939

(1) Adler Fahrradwerke vorm. Heinrich Kleyer AG 1900 – 1906

(2) Adlerwerke vorm. Heinrich Kleyer AG, Frankfurt/Main 1906 – 1939

This well-known bicycle and typewriter firm had already built components for Benz as well as a few De Dion tricycles when their first car appeared in 1900. This closely resembled the contemporary Renault, with tubular frame, shaft drive, and front-mounted 400cc single-cylinder De Dion engine; suspension was full-elliptic all round and steering was by tiller, but both these archaisms had gone by 1901 when a bigger 510cc power unit was standardized. By 1902 the company were making their own engines, an 850cc single and a 1.7-litre twin, there were four forward speeds, and the lateral radiators continued the Renault idiom.

With the arrival of Edmund Rumpler in 1903 the Adler idiom crystallized, even if this experimental swing-axle suspension did not pass beyond the prototype stage. Characteristics of the new models were side valves in an L-head, dual ignition, pressed-steel frames, and rectangular radiators. Four cylinders were preferred, though singles were still offered in 1905, and twins as late as 1909. By 1905 there were 4-cylinder cars of 2.8-litres, 4-litres and 7.4-litres, this last figuring in Adler’s Herkomer Trophy entry, and attracting an order from Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1907. If the 1906 Kleinwagen, a 1.032cc aiv V-twin with water cooling and steel artillery wheels, marked a retrograde step, by 1907 the company had adopted the unit gearbox, and were experimenting with ioe engines, achieving a 3rd place in the Prince Henry trials. There were also some modest short-stroke fours. A 2-litre 8/15ps was followed a year later by the successful 1.555cc 7/15. This developed into the 1.8-litre 7/15, popular in England as the 12hp. These small Adlers had dual ignition, but foot accelerators were found only on the bigger cars as late as 1913. There was a fast 5.2-litre 76bhp ioe model for the 1910 Prince Henry Trials, and a smaller 3.2-litre version was offered to the public. It evolved into the 15/40 of 1913, with 3.8-litre and 69bhp, used as the basis for Adler’s unsuccessful 1914 T.T. racers. Their Knight-engined 1911 cars did not progress beyond the prototype stage, but very attractive was that year’s new model, the 1.3-litre K voiturette, initially with pair-cast cylinders, but offered in 1913 with Monobloc engine and a choice of side-by-side or tandem seats. Rear suspension was full-elliptic. It did 50mhp and 38mpg, and was well received by Britons, who bought it under the name of Morgan-Adler Carette. There were also some large sv fours, the 4.8-litre 19/45 appearing in 1911, followed in 1912 by a 7.8-litre 30/70, and in 1914 by a V-radiatored 9.1-litre monster, top of a nine-model range. Also new was an enlarged K, the 1.552cc KL with four-seater bodywork and semi-elliptic rear springs.

A selection of the more popular 1914 types reappeared in 1919, and even in 1922 a replacement for the KL, the 6/22PS, retained a fixed head and reverted to a separate gearbox. Adler’s first sixes came in 1925, these boasting alloy pistons, detachable heads, and front wheel brakes. The 10/50 had a 2.6-litre Monobloc engine, but the 4.7-litre 18/80 was of biblock type. Also new was an essay in the American idiom, Becker’s 1.550cc 4-cylinder Favorit. Three years later it had been joined by a 2.9-litre six and a 3.9-litre straight-8, both with hydraulic brakes, these being offered on an enlarged and modernized Favorit in 1929. 

At the Geneva Show in 1932 Adler presented their new 1.5-litre Trumpf with front-wheel drive and independent wheel suspension, a design of H.G. Röhr. This first front-driven car was followed by the 1-litre Trumpf Junior, the 1.7-litre Trumpf and the 2-litre model. The competition versions of these models – very often fitted with aerodynamic bodies – were very successful in the years from their appearance to the outbreak of World War 2. Streamlined Trumpf and Trumpf Junior cars gained 22 international records in 1935 and 1936 on the Avus and the Darmstadt Autobahn. A win in the Leinster Trophy Race of 1934, a Team Prize at Spa in 1936 in the 2-litre class, a 2-litre class win and 6th place overall at Le Mans in 1937 were only a few of the victories. In 1937 Adler introduced a rear-wheel driven model again, the 2.5-litre with 6-cylinder 50bhp engine, aerodynamic body and swing axles. The sports version of this type developed 80bhp.

Production of private ceased in 1939. Some prototypes of the Trumpf Junior were produced after the war and were on show at the Hanover Fair 1948, but production was not taken up. Instead of this, production of motorcycles was resumed, lasting until 1957.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; HON

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Cadillac

US, 1903 to date

(1) Cadillac Automobile Co, Detroit, Mich., 1903 – 1905

(2) Cadillac Motor Car Co, Detroit, Mich., 1905 to date

The ‘Standard of the World’ started humbly as a single-cylinder car selling for $750. Henry M. Leland, its creator, had been associated with Henry Ford and has also built engines for Oldsmobile. The Model-A Cadillac was markedly similar to the early Fords in having a horizontal underfloor engine, 2-speed planetary transmission and central chain drive via a spur-type differential, but Cadillac’s 1½-litre inlet over exhaust power unit had one cylinder where Ford used two. There was no bonnet on the early Cadillac models. This very successful design remained in production until 1908, later improvements including rack-and-pinion steering, transverse front suspension and a dummy bonnet. The Cadillac marque was introduced to Britain by F.S. Bennett, who in 1908 conducted a ‘standardization test’ at Brooklands. Three single-cylinder Cadillac cars were dismantled and the parts mixed up – they were then reassembled and the vehicles run on the track. The R.A.C. awarded Cadillac the Dewar Trophy for this achievement.

A 30hp 4-cylinder Cadillac car with separate cylinders and copper jackets was announced for 1906 and 75.000 of this type Cadillac were sold before it was discontinued in 1914. The original planetary transmission gave way first to a conventional 3-speed box, and finally in 1914 to a 3-speed box with 2-speed back axle. Cadillac was one of the firms organized into the General Motors group in 1909 by W.C. Durant, and in 1910, when a 4-cylinder Cadillac tourer could be bought for $1600, the company was claiming that tolerance on 112 parts of the car were accurate to one-thousandth of an inch. 1912 saw a most important Cadillac innovation: the standardization of the Delco system of electric lighting and starting on the Cadillac, now of 5½-litres capacity and capable of 60mph. The first left-hand drive Cadillac of 1915 was also the first of the company’s V8s, to become as much a hallmark of the breed as were Buick’s overhead valves. Inspired by the De Dion Bouton of 1910 it had 5.1-litre engine and sold for $2700. 13.000 V8 Cadillac  cars were sold in the first year of production and the model was widely used by the U.S. Army in World War 1. Cylinder heads were detachable from 1917 on, and 1924 Cadillac versions had Duco cellulose finish and front wheel brakes.

In 1927, when 47.000 Cadillac cars were sold, a less expensive companion make, La Salle appeared, and the cars were restyled in 1928. The synchromesh gearbox made its world debut with the 1929 Cadillac models, which also featured chromium plating and safety glass, with a price range from $3.295 to $5.995. 1930 saw the advent of the ohv Cadillac V16 of 7.4-litres, which gave 185bhp and had a wheelbase of 12ft 4in. This sold at an average rate of 500 Cadillac cars a year for eight seasons in the $6.000-$9.000 price backet. It was joined in 1931 by an equally impressive ohv 6-litre V12 Cadillac for sale. Improvements over the next few years included power brakes (1931), ride control (1932), no-draught ventilation (1933), Dubonnet type independent front suspension (1934) and ‘turret-top’ all-steel bodies (for sale in 1935). 1938 Cadillac models had column change as standard, a year ahead of other GM products, while the V12 and V16 were dropped in favour of a side-valve short-stroke Cadillac 16-cylinder model which was made until 1940. Another new model for Cadillac in 1938, the 8-cylinder Cadillac Sixty Special, anticipated GM’s 1940 styling with its absence of running boards and 4-light sedan bodywork. 5.7-litre side-valve V8s in three wheelbase lengths made up the 1941 Cadillac range, on which Hydramatic transmission was optional for the first time.

The post-war era was to see Cadillac outstrip all its competitors in the top-price class and become an international symbol of wealth. Sales climbed from 66.000 cars in 1941 to 103.857 Cadillac cars in 1950, and to a new record of 165.959 Cadillac cars in 1964. Tail fins made their first appearance on Cadillac’s 1948 fastback coupé, and in 1949 Cadillac, along with Oldsmobile, adopted overhead valves and oversquare cylinder dimensions, their new 5.4-litre engine developing 160bhp. Cadillacs were raced at Le Mans in 1950 by Briggs Cunningham and the Cadillac engine was also used in export editions of Britain’s J2. Allard. Power output increased steadily: 190bhp in 1952 (by which time manual transmission was no longer offered), 210bhp in 1953 (when a 12-volt electric system was standardized), and 230bhp in 1954, the year when panoramic wrap-around windscreens and power-assisted steering became standard on the Cadillac for sale.

The expensive Cadillac Eldorado Brougham of 1957 (it cost over $13.000) was the first car to have air suspension (dropped after a few seasons) as standard equipment, while Cadillac, along with Lincoln, started the fashion for four headlamps, that later became universal in the USA. 1966 Cadillac cars featured GM’s perimeter-type chassis frame, a 340bhp 7-litre engine, variable-rate power steering, full air conditioning, electric door locks and seat controls, a time switch for the headlamps and a six-position steering wheel. Prices started at $4.650. In 1967 Cadillac set a new sales record of 213.161 cars, bettered in 1969 with 266.798/ They introduced a fwd car on Oldsmobile Toronado lines, the Fleetwood Cadillac Eldorado with torsion-bar ifs, self-levelling suspension, and front disc brakes, these last being applied to the more expensive Cadillac Fleetwoods with conventional drive, and to all the 1969 Cadillac range. Capacity of the Cadillac V8 engine was increased – to 7.735cc in 1968 and to 8.2 litres in 1970, but otherwise there were no major changes. In 1973 Cadillac were one of the few firms offering a nine-seater limousine: the Cadillac 75 with a wheelbase of 12ft 7½in and an overall length of 20ft 8in.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com