[ last update: 11.06.2014 ]

The (new) Cadillac Database©

Photo Pages
Cadillac

1949


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

 

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

 

The year 1949 was marked by notable technical rather than styling innovations.  This was the year when Cadillac introduced the all-new, light-weight, overhead valve V8 engine. 

Production of the new models fell a little short of 100,000 units (92,554).  The best sales year until now had been 1941, with 66,130 units built and sold.  Remember that U.S. industries were picking up slowly after the second world war.  Automobile production had ceased in the USA from 1942-1945.

Changes in styling were minor.  The year's easy ID feature is the front grille extensions that wrap around the sides of the front fenders, reaching almost to the front wheel openings.

 

49frt.jpg (5092 bytes)    4962rr.jpg (6197 bytes)

49grl.jpg (7596 bytes)    49rrclp.jpg (6746 bytes)
Front and rear clips of the 1949 Cadillac models.   Optional, rectangular fog lamps
often replaced the small, round parking lights below the headlights. 
Standard equipment in 1949 included a single reversing light on the LH side;
however, most buyers ordered the optional second light for a more balanced look

 

 

1999 is the fiftieth anniversary year of the 1949 models.  Much has been written already about them.  Database users are recommended to refer to the June 1999 issue of the Self Starter magazine of the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc. (CLC) for the full, illustrated story of the 1949 Cadillac.

Many of the artist's drawings below are from the small, 9 x 9 inch color catalog of new Cadillac models for 1949.  Although quite rare and, therefore, a desirable addition to any Cadillac sales literature collection, the size of this catalog and the particular style of graphics used set it apart from the usual high-quality merchandising catalogs to which the company had got potential buyers accustomed.  The publication date on the catalog is September 1948. 

In addition to the full-line, color catalog, there were also a couple of "specials".  One was devoted to the new engine, the other to the equally new "Coupe de Ville". 

The new, 1949 models were classified into the following groups (in ascending order of value):  the series "Sixty-One", "Sixty-Two", "Sixty Special" and "Seventy-Five".  That is the order I have chosen to follow in this photo presentation.

Additional information on the 1949 models and the related sales literature may be found  in The (New) Cadillac Database© sections entitled "Descriptions and Specifications of Cadillac Cars 1946 - 1950" and  "Cadillac and La Salle Sales Literature 1946 - 1949".  Further recommended reading includes:

(a)   Roy Schneider's superb "Cadillacs of the Forties" published in 1976 by Automobile Heritage Publishing Co., Post Office Box 7, Temple City, CA 91780 [ISBN #0-917104-01-3], and

(b) "Standard Catalog of Cadillac, 1903-2000" edited by James T. Lentzke, © 2000, published by Krause Publications, Inc., 700 E. State Street, Iola, WI 54990 [ISBN #0-87341-925-1, Library of Congress #91-61301].

 

The Series 61

 

4961cpfl.jpg (8641 bytes)
Series Sixty-One coupe, style 61
6409 units were built

 

49fstbk.jpg (10583 bytes)
A fine survivor photographed by the author,
in Georgia, in 1997

 

 


A superb survivor
[ Photo: Internet, 2014 ]

 

 

 

4961sdin.jpg (5757 bytes)
"Plain" best describes the interior
appointments of the Series 61 sedan

 

4961sdfr.jpg (9096 bytes)
The Series Sixty-One sedan, style 6169
15738 units were built

 

The Series 62

 

4962cpfl.jpg (8621 bytes)
The Series Sixty-Two coupe, style 6207
7515 of them were built

 

4962fstb.jpg (9054 bytes)    49_62Fbak.jpg (12676 bytes)
Factory publicity shot
of the same car
 

 

 

 

 

 

49cdvRR.jpg (19570 bytes)
The all new, Series Sixty-Two Coupe de Ville, style 6237
2150 of them were built

 

49cdv4a.jpg (9215 bytes)
Here is an interesting, bird's-eye view
of the special roof line on this new model

 

 

4962sdin.jpg (5310 bytes)
Despite the plain design of seat and seat back,
"62" interiors are attractive

 

4962sdfr.jpg (9174 bytes)    
The Series Sixty-Two sedan, style 6269
37617 were built [this is the most prolific of the '49 models]
 


A fine survivor

 

 

 

4962cvfl.jpg (7530 bytes)
The Series Sixty-Two Convertible Coupe, style 6267X
8000 units were built

 

4962cvin.jpg (7787 bytes)
Rich, red leather interior features broad piping
to offset square design on door panels

 

49cvAS.jpg (19971 bytes)     49cvBS.jpg (19457 bytes)     49cvCS2.jpg (75089 bytes)

49cvCS.jpg (11486 bytes)     49cvDS.jpg (12796 bytes)

    
Three survivors (the one on the right, below, was sold at a Gooding car auction in Scottsdate, AZ, in Jan. 2013


Another lovely survivor


Cropped photo of a parade in Urbana, IL, in 1950
[ Photo: Internet ]

 

 

The Fleetwood Series Sixty Special

 

4960s.jpg (9568 bytes)
The Sixty Special sedan, style 6069; 11399 were built.
[ N.B. the first Coupe de Ville was built on the "60S" chassis ]

 

4960sin.jpg (5096 bytes)
Rear seat of the Sixty Special sedan,
the height of Cadillac luxury

4960SSRV.JPG (9005 bytes)    4960sRR.jpg (6582 bytes)
The survivor at left is owned by Ron Kucharski of Flushing, NY
[ Photo: © 2000, Richard A. Wright ]

 

 

The Fleetwood Series Seventy-Five

 

4975lifl.jpg (8819 bytes)
The Series 75 by Fleetwood
This model was available as a 5-pass sedan [style 7519X - 220 units built],
a  9-pass. business sedan [style 7523L - 35 built], a 7-pass sedan
[style 7523X - 595 built], a 9-pass. business limousine with division
[style 7533L - 25 built], a 7-pass limousine [style 7533X - 626 built]

 

4975lim.jpg (10831 bytes)    49-75.jpg (9697 bytes)
Two fine survivors
This was the last year for the pre-WW2
pontoon-style fenders on the "75" series.
In 1950, the "75" models would adopt the same styling
features as all the other models in the range
 

 

 

 

4975p5in.jpg (7914 bytes)
Gray and taupe (tan) were always the favorite interior colors
for the large family sedans and the more formal limousines. 
Above is the spacious interior of the 5-pass. sedan, style 7519X

 

4975p7in.jpg (8352 bytes)
The 7-passenger cars, in both sedan and limousine configuration
had two, fold-away occasional seats. Interior design and hardware
in these cars remained almost unchanged from 1941 to 1949

 

Details

 

49inspnl.jpg (6424 bytes)
Gone, in 1949, was the unique
"horseshoe" panel of 1948

 

49featur.jpg (5214 bytes)
Hydraulically-operated window lifts were standard equipment on styles 6267X, 6237X, 6037X, 6069X, 7519X, 7523X and 7533X;  yes, you guessed it, cars with the new feature got an "X" in the styling code

 

 

49engn.jpg (7816 bytes)
The all-new, light-weight,
overhead valve V8 engine

 

CRS49BX.JPG (5343 bytes)
Cadillac's traditional "V" and crest
looked particularly dazzling in 1949

 

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

 

© 1996, Yann Saunders and the Cadillac-LaSalle Club, Inc.
[ Background image:  1949 Cadillac grille features ]