Founded by Henry Leland and Robert Faulconer, the Cadillac Automobile Company of Detroit completed its first car in October 1902. The firm's superior manufacturing technology -- precise gear cutting was Leland and Faulconer's specialty -- soon established it as the foremost builder of quality cars in the United States. The company was formed using funds supplied by two of Henry Ford's ex-backers and took its name from Le Sieur Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the great French 17th century explorer who founded Detroit in 1701.