1941 Hydramatic transmission introduction.

[Streamline Smitten]

I have a lot of Cadillac literature from 1941, mostly from the late summer and early fall of 1940. None of it mentions the Hydramatic transmission. Even the Accessories book doesn't mention it.

 

So when was the Hydramatic introduced for the '41 Cadillac? Any idea why there was a delay? 

[thomas gaskins]

i dont know when in 1941 the hydramatic came out . in cadillac it came out in 1940 in the oldsmobile .gm didnt want their flagship brand to get a bad rap if it didnt work out. same with a.c. olds got that in 1953 cadillac i think in 1954. olds was always gms experimental brand .tom

[K8096]

You’re correct on Olds having the hydramatic first, but Cadillac had A/C in 1953 too.  It was the reason they switched to a 12 volt electrical system.    

[Streamline Smitten]

So I bought the 1941 Cadillac Authenticity Manual. It has a copy of the Hydramatic transmission brochure. On the last page, in the lower corner it says, "5M-2-41".  That means they made 5,000 of this brochure (the letter "M" is the Roman numeral for 1,000). "2-41" means they printed it in February of 1941. So, as I wondered, the Hydramatic wasn't introduced in Cadillacs until later later in the model year in 1941.