For several decades of the twentieth century, the Cadillac, a car made by General Motors' luxury automobile division, was the most enduring symbol of middle-class achievement for status-conscious Americans. Nowhere is the past and somewhat faded glory of the Cadillac sedan more visible than in the affluent suburbs of Detroit, where silver-haired retired automotive-industry executives and their elegantly-coiffed wives, each stylized living relics of another era, can still be seen tooling around in dark-hued Sevilles, while in other such enclaves of prosperity across America, luxury cars from Germany and Japan have long dominated this demographic.

The most popular luxury carmaker in the United States began its history in 1902 in Detroit as one of the many new, independent automobile companies in town. Founded by Henry Leland, who gave it the name of the seventeenth-century French explorer who had founded Detroit, Cadillac earned a devoted following with a reputable and...