Fleetwood Metal Body
Fleetwood Metal Body was an automobile coachbuilder. The name derives from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, home of the company at the start, and lived on for decades in the form of the Cadillac Fleetwood and various Fleetwood trim lines on Cadillac cars.
The company was formed on April 1, 1909. It was a top-tier producer of metal and wood automobile bodies. Fleetwood bodies graced cars owned by Royalty of India and Japan, American presidents, and screen stars like Rudolph Valentino. Fleetwood produced bodies on chassis from Bentley, Cadillac, Chadwick, Daniels, Duesenberg, Fiat, Isotta Fraschini, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Reading, Rolls Royce, SGV, and Stutz.
Fleetwood was purchased by Fisher Body in 1925, moved to Detroit, and integrated into General Motors in 1931. Similar to LeBaron, Fleetwood continued to build bespoke bodies for several years, mainly for Cadillac. In the early 1930s Fleetwood bodied Cadillacs often wore a sweep panel across cowl and hood. After 1934 and before Fleetwood was made a model name of Cadillac, it was responsible for elaborate detailing on expensive Cadillac with standard bodies.