The Standard of the World.(Escape Roads)

Byline: LEIGH DORRINGTON

Henry Leland was a New England machinist who learned his trade with various companies, including Colt Firearms, a firm that excelled in precision manufacturing techniques. Precision became a passion for Leland. He helped create a company in Detroit that made gears precise to "0.0005'' and were interchangeable when most parts still required hand fitting.

In 1902, financial backers of the failed Detroit Automobile Company-founded with Henry Ford-hired Leland to appraise the factory and equipment for liquidation. Leland convinced the backers that the automobile had a bright future, and the Cadillac Automobile Company was born.

Cadillac earned the distinction as "The Standard of the World'' by winning the prestigious Dewar Trophy awarded annually to recognize the most important advancement in the automotive field-not once, but twice, in its first decade of manufacture.

Cadillac's high standards were recognized by William C. Durant, the founder of General Motors. Durant bought Cadillac in 1905 for nearly $6 million. Leland later left GM and founded the Lincoln Motor Company.

Cadillac became General Motors' standard-bearer for engineering with ongoing innovations including the first mass-produced V8 engine, the first all-steel body and the first fully automatic transmission. Cadillac also became GM's style leader. Most of the company's newest ideas appeared on Cadillac cars-like the 1938 Cadillac Series 60 Special that predated many styling trends of the postwar years - including the first hard-top convertible body and the introduction of tail fins.

Bill Shanahan of New York City is just the second owner of this featured 1959 Cadillac Series 62 convertible. The Series 62 was delivered new with a 390-cubic-inch V8, with a 10.5:1 compression ratio and 325 hp with one Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor, five main bearings and hydraulic valve lifters. The car weighed in at ...