Mechanix Illustrated’s Tom McCahill is a legend with the MyStar guys.
That’s why Uncle Tom shows up in so many MyStar articles–he represented the best of the classic era for automotive writers.
Jerry Sutherland
Tom McCahill was a blunt-force guy with a sledgehammer sense of humor, so when he took a car for a test, he hammered it to find any weaknesses. That’s what made him such a believable test pilot.
Tom tested a 1956 Cadillac Sedan de Ville in the May 1956 edition of Mechanix Illustrated and you could see he wasn’t star struck by the Caddy name from the outset. He said, “It’s a good automobile, has an excellent engine, but in my opinion, is far from outstanding as a complete unit”.
There’s no mystery why Uncle Tom wasn’t scouted to write Cadillac ad copy.
Tom thought the car’s legendary name came from great marketing that pushed the Caddy name to higher standards than the car deserved. In his opinion, the Cadillac was a product of solid advertising and celebrity status, so Hollywood gave the car star quality.
Uncle Tom wrote during an era when you had to scramble to find a test vehicle, so he borrowed them from friends. The first Cadillac he borrowed from a friend came back because as Tom said, “My friend, being timid of nature, became upset at my tests so I gave up on this run”. In other words, he didn’t like how much Uncle Tom pounded on his car.
McCahill finally found a buddy who let him test his ’56 Sedan de Ville. The owner was a Sports Club of America president who obviously understood what Tom was going to do to his car.
This car was fully-loaded with every option—including the then-rare air conditioning system.
Uncle Tom took the car down what he called a typical route filled with highways, bad secondary roads, and drag strips. He described the ride as “Not exceptionally comfortable and the power steering seemed a bit stiffer than on some competitors”.
He was underwhelmed by the engine too: “In fact, the 305-horse Eldorado engine didn’t seem to have the wallop or dig such a car should have”. For the record, Tom McCahill was a more-power guy long before Tim ‘The Toolman’ Taylor was born.
That’s why he investigated how a guy could make the Caddy do a faster 0-60 time than 11.8 seconds. McCahill consulted Bill Frick, a Cadillac engine specialist and learned that a simple adjustment on the throttle linkage on the automatic transmission. That, plus a timing advance adjustment and more air in the tires dropped the 0-60 time to 9.8 seconds and top end went from 115 to 123 miles per hour—great numbers for a big car back in 1956.
Tom wasn’t thrilled with the Caddy air conditioning because the outlets were on the rear package shelf, so he described it this way: “It comes from two ducts on the back deck and a stream of cold hit the back of my neck liked an iced polar bear rug. I had the feeling that after 200 miles of this, it would take a steam fitter to twist my neck”.
In the end, Uncle Tom conceded that the ’56 Cadillac was a “good car” with a legendary reputation at a level with Rolls Royce and Mercedes. He summed it up this way: “There is a feeling that every American on the way up the ladder must own a new Cadillac at least once”.
In other words, McCahill thought when it comes down to a battle between myth and reality–the myth always wins.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
- CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest
Please re-post this if you like this article.
