Editing Cadillac (section)

===After World War II and the Great Depression: 1945–1959===
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|image1 = Cadillac (5220691319).jpg
|image2 = Cadillac 1948.jpg|thumb|200px|1948 Cadillac
|image3 = 1959 Cadillac fins.jpg
|image4 = 1959 Cadillac Tail Fins (32464170).jpg
|footer = Top: Cadillac motor car logo, {{Circa|1950s}}, being the coat of arms of [[Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac]]; 1948 Cadillac. Bottom: two images of the iconic large tail fins of the 1959 Cadillac
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Postwar Cadillac vehicles innovated many of the styling features that came to be synonymous with the late 1940s and 1950s American automobile. Incorporating many of the ideas of then [[General Motors]] styling chief [[Harley J. Earl]], these included [[Car tailfin|tailfins]], wraparound [[windshield]]s, and extensive use of chrome. Tailfins were first added in 1948<ref name="pm"/> and reached their pinnacle in 1959. From 1960 to 1964 they decreased each year until they disappeared in the 1965 model year (remaining [[vestigial]]ly only on the limited production 1965 Series 75 chassis, a carry-over from 1964). Cadillac's other distinctive styling attribute was its front-bumper. What had started out after the war as a pair of artillery shell-shaped bumper guards<ref name="GM Heritage Center"/> moved higher on the front-end design as the 1950s wore on. Becoming known as [[Dagmar bumpers]] for their similarity to the buxom 1950s television personality, they were toned down in 1958 and gone the next year.

1956 saw the introduction of the pillarless four-door hardtop sedan, marketed as the "Sedan de Ville"; a year later the feature appeared in all standard Cadillacs. The fledgling automotive magazine ''[[Motor Trend]]'' awarded its first "[[Motor Trend Car of the Year|''Motor Trend'' Car of the Year]]" to Cadillac in 1949 for its innovative overhead valve [[V8 engine]]. While the company initially snubbed the honor, it now proudly references its "Car of the Year" wins in publicity material.{{sfn|Flory|2008|page=190}}<ref name="media.cadillac.com">{{cite web|url=http://media.cadillac.com/media/us/en/cadillac/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2013/Nov/1107-cts-coty.html |title=Cadillac CTS Scores Second Motor Trend Car of the Year® Award |publisher=Media.cadillac.com |date=November 7, 2013 |access-date=July 16, 2016}}</ref> On November 25, 1949, Cadillac produced its one-millionth car, a 1950 [[Coupe de Ville]].{{sfn|Flory|2008|page=255}} It also set a new sales mark of 100,000 cars,{{sfn|Flory|2008|page=255}} matched in 1950 and 1951.{{sfn|Flory|2008|page=323}} 1949 also saw the introduction with Buick of the first mass-produced [[hardtop]] coupe, a closed-body style without a "B" pillar. Marketed as the Coupe de Ville, it would become one of Cadillac's most popular models for many years.

In 1951, Cadillac began production of the [[M41 Walker Bulldog]] army tank, which saw service in the [[Korean War]] and [[Vietnam War]].

In 1953, the "Autronic Eye" was introduced. This feature would automatically dim high-beam headlamps for the safety of oncoming motorists.<ref>''80 Years of Cadillac LaSalle'' by Walter M.P. McCall, Motorbooks International, Osceola WI, 1992, p. 298</ref> In 1957, Cadillac attempted to move further upmarket, creating the hand-built Series 70 [[Cadillac Eldorado|Eldorado Brougham]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cadillacdatabase.com/Dbas_txt/brg02.htm |title=The Cadillac Eldorado Brougham |access-date=January 25, 2015  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226163922/http://cadillacdatabase.com/Dbas_txt/brg02.htm |archive-date=February 26, 2015 }}</ref> It featured [[self-levelling suspension]], "memory seat" function, and an all-transistor signal-seeking car radio that was produced by GM's Delco Radio and which was available as standard equipment for the 1957 Eldorado Brougham models.<ref name="GM Heritage Center">{{cite web|title=1957 & 58 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham|url=http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/1957_%26_58_Cadillac_Eldorado_Brougham|work=Generations of GM History|publisher=GM Heritage Center|access-date=July 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309204448/http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/1957_%26_58_Cadillac_Eldorado_Brougham|archive-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>1956 GM Year-End Annual Report, 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham car model introduction announcement, pg 15</ref><ref>''Radio & TV News'', August 1957, "Delco's All-Transistor Auto Radio", pg 60</ref><ref>The Cadillac Serviceman, Volume XXXI, No.4, April 1957 issue, Pg 34</ref> While the car showed Cadillac's technological prowess, it sold only 904 units.