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THE 1957 Cadillac frame is a significant step in design progress toward the ever lower passenger cars demanded by customers and, therefore, car manufacturers. Stemming from tests and experimental designs in process since 1950, this frame combines reduction in height with a slight increase in structural efficiency. It reverses the trend toward the more costly and heavier structures usually associated with lower cars. Mr. Milliken discusses in Part I the steps Cadillac has taken in the last 19 years to reduce the height 9½ in. to 55½ in. The “Tubular Cenrer-X” frame of the 1957 Eldorado Brougham was the latest and most successful answer to the problem. In Part II Mr. Parker describes the A. O. Smith Corp.'s development of the basic idea and the experimental phases and testing which led to the production designs.

PART I of this paper describes the basic research and experimental development program of the air-spring suspension, Part II details the application of the principle to the 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. The authors think that the final design successfully met the development program criteria of cost, size, life, adaptability, and rate characteristics. This design, in turn, offered the features of constant height, smoother ride, and better handling, which appealed to the design engineers working on the Cadillac.