Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
Upon his arrival in America, La Mothe adopted his title after the town of Cadillac, Gironde in southwestern France. The city of Detroit became the world center of automobile production in the 20th century. William H. Murphy and Henry M. Leland founded the Cadillac auto company and paid homage to him by using his name for their company and his armorial bearings as its logo in 1902. Various places bear his name in America, in particular Cadillac Mountain in Maine and the town of Cadillac, Michigan.
Alvan T. Fuller
Enamored by the new automobile, Fuller sold his racing trophies to finance a trip to Europe in 1899, where he learned more about the automobile industry. He acquired two cars (French De Dion-Bouton "voiturette"s), and had them shipped to Boston; they were the first motor vehicles brought in through that port. In 1903 he was awarded the Boston franchise for selling Packards, and later also acquired the local Cadillac franchise.
Fuller was enormously successful in the automobile business, extending his sales reach as far west as Worcester and south to Providence, Rhode Island. He opened his first dealership on Commonwealth Avenue in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, then a largely undeveloped area known by sheer coincidence as Packard's corner, after the owner of a nearby livery yard. He was, however, soon followed by other auto dealers, creating the Boston area's first auto row. Fuller was a significant factor in the success of Packard sales on the east coast, and was in 1920 dubbed the world's most successful car dealer. In 1927 he began construction on a new building at 808 Commonwealth Avenue. Designed by the noted industrial architect Albert Kahn, it became the flagship showroom for his Cadillac dealership. It is now owned by Boston University, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.