olympic Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Here is a photo for members to enjoy. My mother and father standing in front of their 1951 Cadillac that was built in Biel, Switzerland. The car has no hood ornament, projecting ornaments are against the law in Holland. Also has amber turning signals, Marchal electronics, 30 gallon gas tank kilometer speedometer, patent plate was in French. The car initially belonged to the Belgian ambassador to the Netherlands, which is why it had flag holders mounted behind the front bumper in case it was to be used for parade purposes. My parents and I traveled all over Europe in "Matt". Yes, I wish I had it now! Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Great photo and story! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjamin j Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 looks good even in black and white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K8096 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 I'm sure the car was built in Detroit and shipped to Europe for sale. The speedometer in kilometers was a factory option for export cars, and the other modifications were probably done in Europe by the dealer before delivery. I don't believe Cadillac ever assembled cars in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Interesting license plate: "U. S. Forces in Germany." I'm not a license plate expert, but I have never seen one like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 The car was built in Biel, Switzerland. GM had an assembly plant there until 1975. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 The problem with Swiss cars is you can't get them out of neutral 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) 3 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: Interesting license plate: "U. S. Forces in Germany." I'm not a license plate expert, but I have never seen one like that. I was stationed in France (USAF) in the mid 1960s, and we had license plates like those shown below in the upper image. Germany had plates as shown in the lower image. Germany may have been different because it was partitioned. Just my guess. Cheers, Grog Edited July 15, 2016 by capngrog change wording (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 15 minutes ago, CarlLaFong said: The problem with Swiss cars is you can't get them out of neutral LMAO!! Thanks, Carl. The good thing about Swiss cars is that the clocks always worked. I guess the next jokes will be about Swiss Cars and Swiss cheese, but I'll observe the Forum rule concerning one joke per participant and make no further comment. Cheese, Grog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 The problem with Swiss cars is you can't get them out of neutral the advantage of a Swiss car is, if you run out of gasoline, you can always fuel them with chocolate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 GM Oshawa also shipped cars to Europe that were assembled in Oshawa. Then sent to CKD ( complete knock down) in another building to be taken apart and shipped in crates to be reassembled elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Found the U.S. Forces Germany 1960 plate in my garage. Yes, nothing ever gets thrown away. Also, when my dad got the car, the Dutch plates were still with it. One of them now adorns the front of my 54 Citroen Traction Avant. More proof that nothing is ever discarded! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Olympic, I think it's great that you still have the original 1960 plate that is pictured actually on the car. That's great documentation that should stay in your family for generations. Now, do you have any idea what happened to the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john2dameron Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 I spent some time on /Google and verified that GM had a plant in Biel, Switzerland but it doesn't indicate that they ever assembled Cadillacs there although they did assemble Chevrolets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 On 7/15/2016 at 11:23 AM, olympic said: Here is a photo for members to enjoy. My mother and father standing in front of their 1951 Cadillac that was built in Biel, Switzerland. The car has no hood ornament, projecting ornaments are against the law in Holland. Also has amber turning signals, Marchal electronics, 30 gallon gas tank kilometer speedometer, patent plate was in French. The car initially belonged to the Belgian ambassador to the Netherlands, which is why it had flag holders mounted behind the front bumper in case it was to be used for parade purposes. My parents and I traveled all over Europe in "Matt". Yes, I wish I had it now! Dave Can't see above the eagle for stars. Was he a Chief petty Officer, Senior Chief petty Officer or a Master Chief Petty officer? Lots of hash marks too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 My father was an e-7 chief. Eventually he had 8 hash marks. Also, the car WAS built in Biel. The patent plate read "General Motors SA, Bienne Suisse" I don't think a plate like that with all the data etc in French would have been place on a Detroit creation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Yes everything was scheduled and built to that country's safety standards Vin tag and literature in glove box. Still is today but there no longer is a CKD as the cars are shipped how they come off the line. But there still is places like Kerr Industries that does some minor changes that would involve manpower on the assembly line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Olympic, 4 hours ago, olympic said: My father was an e-7 chief. Eventually he had 8 hash marks. Also, the car WAS built in Biel. The patent plate read "General Motors SA, Bienne Suisse" I don't think a plate like that with all the data etc in French would have been place on a Detroit creation. The GM assembly plant in Belgium was just barely back in production in 1953 after having been destroyed during WWII. While it is possible your parents' Cadillac was produced there, it is more likely that it was assembled in the Biel, Switzerland factory where 230,667 GM cars and trucks were produced between 1936 and 1975. The first car produced at Biel was a Buick, and only 26,858 Chevrolets were produced of the total GM vehicles assembled at the Biel factory. It is likely that many Cadillacs were produced at Biel, and with the patent plate that you cited above, I don't think that there's much doubt that your parents' Cadillac was assembled at the Biel, Switzerland factory. While stationed in France in the mid 1960s, I became a fan of the Citroen Traction Avant, and wanted to bring one home with me, but that wasn't quite possible on and E-3's pay. We called them "gangstermobiles" since they evoked the Capone-era cars. The only thing they lacked was the running board for hanging outside the car while shooting the ol' Thompson submachine gun at the pursuing Feds. Anyway, yours looks like a beauty. Do you drive it regularly, and can you get parts for it? A Traction Avant was for sale on ebay this past winter, in the Sebring, Florida, area as I recall. I don't recall the selling price, but I think it brought a good sum. Cheers, Grog Edited July 19, 2016 by capngrog added a missing word (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter123wallace Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Awesome pic mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympic Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 To answer some questions, I have no idea what happened to the 51 convertible. My father traded it in on a 65 Rambler Ambassador station wagon. The Caddy probably wound up going to China as scrap. The 54 Citroen is a fine driver, I don't take it on Interstates because people are all driving well over the speed limits. My mother and father and I rode around Paris in Traction Avant taxis, but I always liked the design. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Stories like this make this forum worthwhile for me. Thank you for generously sharing your great history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
414TATA Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Olympic Great photo and story. In that I have been to Europe a few times just thinking of the fuel that Caddy burned on those trips around Europe must have been pretty pricey. Must have turned a lot of heads especially when filling that 30 gallon tank.. I am thinking of shipping my '41 Buick to Italy if we move there. At least I can get some "real" gas or should I say "benzina" with out the added Corn farmers subsidized ethanol. Thanks for posting. Wayne 41 Super 51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterc9 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 In the sixties US military personnel in Germany could buy gas on base for their personal vehicles at US prices. This was a huge savings over local prices. I don't know if the military still does this or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 E-7, huh, if all my rate changes had been advancements I would have been around that rank. Is he left handed? Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 (edited) On 18.07.2016 at 9:46 PM, olympic said: My father was an e-7 chief. Eventually he had 8 hash marks. Also, the car WAS built in Biel. The patent plate read "General Motors SA, Bienne Suisse" I don't think a plate like that with all the data etc in French would have been place on a Detroit creation. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the cars assembled in Switzerland. Your 1951 Cadillac was definitively assembled in the US as the sole Cadillacs assembled in Switzerland were 12 units in 1938, 6 units in 1939 and again 6 for 1940. In 1951, GM Bienne assembled Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks next to Opels and Vauxhalls. The emblem "General Motors Suisse SA" does not means that the vehicle was assembled by GM Suisse, just that this company imported it. The cars assembled in Bienne had a similar emblem on which was: "Montage Suisse" written in French. The plate you are refering was installed by law on each car or truck imported/assembled By GM Suisse. Another hint about the Swiss assembly: all cars coming out from the Bienne factory had the letters "SS" followed by a sequence number. I also should add that GM Bienne did not assembled convertibles as their sales volume was too low. I had the chance to work for GM Bienne from 1970 to 2002. Edited July 21, 2016 by Roger Zimmermann comment added (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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