Dream Cars – Cadillac Concept Cars Mild, Medium, Hot & Wild

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance displays a variety of themes each year. The themes this past year included GT40s, the racecars of Sam Posey, Miller racecars and Cadillac concept or “dream cars.”  Cadillac takes Amelia Island seriously. The concept cars were arrayed in front of the permanent-looking, enclosed, air-conditioned Cadillac corporate facility.  The array included two of Cadillac’s most recent concepts and two of its older Motorama cars from the General Motors Heritage Collection; several more privately owned Motorama cars; two cars on which Cadillac had done some fiddling; and a 1949 prototype, perhaps the most significant of the concepts because of its impact on production. Unveiling concept cars to the public started long before shows like those in Detroit, Los Angeles and Geneva became de rigueur for automakers. The ’49 prototype was first shown at the General Motors Transportation Unlimited Exhibition at the Waldorf Astoria, and had such an impact that it helped sow the value of the shows—the Motoramas—around the country.

In 1623, Ben Jonson wrote in his eulogy of William Shakespeare that he was “not of an age, but for all time.” Each of these concept cars represents its age, but each is also unique, which makes it timeless and important. Starting with the most recent of the cars and working back, each of the concepts will be considered for the impact it has had or has not had on Cadillac production. A subjective view of the appearance of these cars could result in their being first classified as mild, medium, hot or wild.