Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China. Cadillac models are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles were at the top of the luxury field within the United States, but have been outsold by European luxury brands including BMW and Mercedes since the 2000s. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.

Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, born Antoine Laumet, was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, which stretched from Eastern Canada to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. He rose from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol and furs, achieving various positions of political importance in the colony. He was the commander of Fort de Buade in St. Ignace, Michigan, in 1694. In 1701, he founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit ; he was commandant of the fort until 1710. Between 1710 and 1716, he was the governor of Louisiana, although he did not arrive in that territory until 1713.