Tweedehands Cadillac

Cadillac was founded in Detroit in 1902 from the remains of Henry Ford's second failed company, and named after the French explorer who founded the city. It won the Dewar Trophy in 1908 for proving that its parts were fully interchangeable, and the electric starter it introduced in 1912 changed motoring for everyone.

For most of the twentieth century Cadillac was the Standard of the World, the car of presidents and Elvis, with tailfins in 1959 that have never been bettered for sheer excess. The Escalade made it the badge of hip-hop, and the CTS-V and the Blackwing saloons reminded Europe that Detroit could still build a driver's car.

Now Cadillac is returning to Europe as an electric-only brand, with the Lyriq and Optiq SUVs sold directly online and the Vistiq and Escalade IQ to follow, plus a Formula 1 team from 2026 to give the crest a new audience. A hundred and twenty years on, it is still trying to be the standard of the world.