Cadillac 355E

In the 1930s, Cadillac’s offerings grew steadily better with improvements like V-8 growing in power from 95hp to 155hp, closed windshields, fresh air ducts, and more. Unfortunately, the economic effects of the Great Depression meant steadily dropping sales. When the 355 debuted in 1931, almost 11,000 cars were sold. Two years later, sales of 2,096 cars were the Cadillac’s lowest since 1908, just before it merged with GM. In 1934, GM executives increase the number of common parts used across divisions to cut costs. At the same, they assigned designer Harley Earl to give Cadillac more distinctive fastback styling and concealing things like the horn and spare tire inside the body for a more aerodynamic look. After sales rebounded in 1934 and 1935, Cadillac replaced the Series 355 with the Series 70 line which ran from 1936-1987.