Week of July 28, 2025

Key Points for the Week

• The S&P 500 made new highs each day last week.
• The index is up nearly 9% for the year, which is right in line with an average year.
• Market breadth is not weak..
• Markets have shifted their attention from Washington to corporate America.

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Current Trends & News is a weekly financial recap curated by SPC Financial®'s team of wealth management and tax-integrated advisors. We monitor and explore the intricacies of the financial world and share insights into market developments.

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Economic Update

Global economic growth has not always been robust. Until the 1700s, economic growth averaged about 0.1 percent per year and was closely tied to population growth.

"Bigger harvests allowed more mouths to be fed; more farmers allowed for bigger harvests.”

The Economist. Eventually, better-nourished people had ideas about how to improve their lives, and economic growth edged higher.

Innovation, investment, and productivity have helped to accelerate global economic growth. Economists measure economic growth (and contraction) using gross domestic product, or GDP, which is the value of all goods and services produced in a region over a period of time.

During the 20th century, the total amount of goods and services produced exceeded the total amount of goods and services produced in recorded human history.

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“Between the years 1900 and 2000 world GDP at constant prices has increased about 19-fold, corresponding to an average annual rate of growth of 3 percent.”

International Monetary Fund's research department

Some countries' economies grew faster than others. In 2024, the United States had the largest economy in the world (GDP of about $30 trillion). China had the second largest economy (GDP of about $19 trillion, in U.S. dollars), and Germany had the third largest (GDP of about $4.7 trillion, in U.S. dollars).

AI is expected to increase the pace of economic growth, although there is debate about the magnitude of the change.

“Artificial intelligence research is filled with dramatic forecasts. AI will affect almost 40 [percent] of jobs around the world, according to the International Monetary Fund. It will increase global GDP by $7 trillion — or 7 [percent] — over 10 years, predicts Goldman Sachs. Or it will grow between $17.1 and $25.6 trillion annually, if you prefer to go with McKinsey's estimate. And these projections are relatively conservative compared with others...MIT Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu has a more conservative estimate of how AI will affect the U.S. economy over the next 10 years...the GDP boost would likely be closer to 1 [percent] over that period, Acemoglu suggests.”

International Monetary Fund's MIT Management, Dylan Walsh

“My assessment is that there are indeed much bigger gains to be had from generative AI, which is a promising technology, but these gains will remain elusive unless there is a fundamental reorientation of the industry...in order to focus on reliable information that can increase the marginal productivity of different kinds of workers, rather than prioritizing the development of general human-like conversational tools."

Daron Acemoglu, Economist

Last week, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at a new high every day, reported Connor Smith of Barron's. (On June 30, 33 percent of the index was invested in technology stocks.) The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also finished higher. Yields on U.S. Treasuries were mixed over the week.

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This Week in the Markets

The incredible bull market continues, with the S&P 500 closing at a new all-time high each day last week. November 2021 was the last time we saw that feat. For the year, the S&P 500 is now up 8.6%, a long, long way from down 15% back in early April.

With the S&P 500 up nearly 9% so far in 2025, we are already at about your average year, as the average since 1950 has been up 9.5%. The interesting catch—there is no such thing as average when it comes to investing.

Incredibly, the S&P 500 has gained 8–10% for the year only four times the past 75 years. Digging into the historical data, stocks have gained more than 20% 22 times and been lower only 21 times, suggesting the odds of a 20%+ gain are higher than of having a down year.

To see new highs from technology, financials, and industrials is a great sign. Then include that various global stock markets are hitting new highs, and this is a very broad-based global bull market. Sure, some sectors and groups are lagging (like healthcare and consumer discretionary), but there are laggards every year.

The S&P 500 equal weight index just made new highs, another healthy sign. Many claim that only large cap stocks are going higher, but this index is not cap weighted (all stocks count the same), so it shows this rally is anything but top heavy.

Lastly, the S&P 500 has closed above its 20-day moving average for more than 60 consecutive days, another rare and bullish development. Stocks have never been lower three months later after this has occurred. Over the past 50 years we've seen gains of 20%-26% a year later.

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Tariffs

There may be more tariffs to come, especially a few large tariffs in August on many countries (50% for Brazil), plus sectoral tariffs on things like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductor chips, and electronics. Even those may be postponed (in fact, pharma tariffs may be pushed out to 2027). Yet the latest trade deal with Japan is quite telling with respect to the direction of the administration's trade policies, more so than the deals with the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The shape of the deal tells us that the administration wants to close deals sooner rather than later and be done with all the trade chaos. (We received further confirmation of this over the weekend with a trade deal announced with the European Union and a 90-day extension of the tariff pause with China.) The best way to get there is to lower the tariff rate from Liberation Day rates (with a floor of about 15%), while securing commitments for investment in the US, and/or cutting some export deals. In fact, the US appears to be pursuing this same strategy with China too. The tone has softened a lot in those negotiations, and in addition to the extension of the August 12 deadline, the US is now allowing Nvidia to sell its less advanced H20 chips in China once again.

Deals with Japan, China, Canada and Mexico, are in the books or progressing, and that pretty much covers 80-85% of US trade.

Eighth Time Is the Charm with Japan

It's taken a while for the US and Japan to reach a deal, with the Japanese side slow-walking things. Ultimately, it took eight rounds of talks to get a deal, with President Trump coming in to close.

Things were barreling toward the August 1 deadline, and Japan was facing a big increase in tariff rates. The US was probably feeling some pressure too to avoid yet another deadline pushed further out. The final details are yet to be hashed out, but here's a broad outline.

What the US got was broader market access for American rice and cars. American cars will be built to US safety standards, rather than being subject to additional requirements. Japanese tariffs on US vehicles will be zero (though it was zero already).

Japan also apparently committed to $550 billion in investments in the US, although there's not much clarity about what exactly it's going to be invested in and what the timeline is. We'll have to wait for final terms. The White House says that the funds will be spent at Trump's discretion, which makes things even less clear since there's going to be a question of how exactly it's going to be structured (presumably, Japan would want a say too). On the other hand, the Japanese side says they'll guarantee loans on investments up to $550 billion in areas relevant to their national security, including semiconductors, steel, shipbuilding, aviation, energy, and AI.

What the Japanese got was basically tariff “relief” with a 15% tariff rate on exports to the US. This is especially big for autos. Japanese vehicles currently face a 2.5% tariff when exporting passenger cars to the US, and a 25% tariff on light trucks (like SUVs) and commercial vans. That was slated to go up by another 25% with the administration's special sectoral tariffs on autos. Instead, Japanese vehicles will face a 15% import duty, a very good outcome for Japanese auto manufacturers given what they were facing. Meanwhile, US automakers still face a slew of tariffs on various inputs, including steel, aluminum, copper, and non-compliant USMCA goods (which amount to over 50% of imported goods from Canada and Mexico).

The Japanese ultimately ended up with more tariffs than before all this started, but a 15% tariff rate is far from the worst case, especially relative to the announced Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs. All things considered, their automakers have come out in good shape—there's a reason why Toyota's stock surged 16% and Honda almost +12% on news of the deal.

The Nikkei 225 soared 5.5% after the deal was announced, powered by the automakers, and underlining what a relief this deal was for investors in Japanese stocks. In fact, the Nikkei is once again knocking on the door of all-time highs, hopefully putting any major threats to its 36-year recovery (since the 1989 highs) firmly in the rear-view mirror.

What Did the US Get Out of the Trade War?

The war may be over but there are consequences, and a bit of a hangover. After all, we do have more tariffs than at the start of the year, including 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper (upcoming).

Below is a recap of some of the original rationale(s) for imposing tariffs and use these to assess what the US got out of all this.

• Reshore manufacturing and shrink the trade deficit. To be clear, this would work via tariffs raising prices on imported goods, and so Americans would “buy American.” These goods would be more expensive than before but not as much as imported goods given the big tariff costs.
• Raise revenue. Tariffs increase the revenue to the federal government. But this assumes that Americans continue buying imports without substitution.
• Level the playing field. Have other countries reduce trade barriers, boosting US exports and shrinking the trade deficit (even as US imports continue as before).

One concrete thing the US is getting is tariff revenue, to the tune of $100–$200 billion per year additional revenue from new import duties. That is not nothing, as it adds up to about $1-$2 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years. That offsets some of the cost of the $3.4 trillion tax bill that Trump signed into law on July 4 (the cost will balloon to $4.7 trillion if temporary provisions are made permanent). The original claim was that tariffs would bring in about $700 billion of revenue per year, more than offsetting the cost of the tax cuts over the next decade.

At the same time, more tariff revenue means higher prices for goods. After all, someone is paying the tariffs, and it looks like the brunt of it is falling on consumers, rather than foreign exporters or even US businesses. However, the price increases are likely to be a one-time event, which is not a bad thing, although it could show up in inflation data over several months because of how things are measured and how and when companies choose to push costs to consumers. Also, the price increases are not expected to be significant given the level of tariffs we appear to be settling at, or at least nothing like what we saw in 2022 amid the supply chain crisis. It also means there's not much incentive for Americans to substitute purchases away from imported goods to American goods. So, imports are unlikely to fall significantly (unless we go into a recession and demand falls, reducing imports).

In short, we don't expect much reshoring because of tariffs. All in all, the tariff rate is not high enough to make a big impact one way or the other, whether to offset the cost of tax cuts or incentivize reshoring of manufacturing, but it's high enough that consumers will feel it in prices. At least temporarily.

There have been announcements of new investments intended to be made by foreigners here in the US, including Japan and the EU but also from the Middle East. The timeline is very unclear, and the devil will be in the details. But here's the thing—if more capital is flowing into the US, that means the current account deficit (which is mostly the trade deficit) is increasing. There are no two ways around it, as it's a national accounting identity. The current account deficit is the opposite of the capital account surplus. If there's more fixed direct investment (FDI) flowing into the US, that means the trade deficit is likely getting larger, not smaller.

With respect to leveling the playing field, tariffs and non-tariff barriers were never really a problem for US exporters. In fact, US companies that want to sell products abroad make those products abroad (like iPhones, drugs, and even cars). Crucially, the profits accrue to the benefit of shareholders in the US (though not taxes on these profits, thanks to profit shifting).

As an example, American auto makers are not going to make a car in the US and export it to Japan, especially with metal tariffs of 50%. Non-tariff barriers like safety standards are not especially cumbersome to get around if an automaker wanted to. European automakers do it all the time when exporting their vehicles to Japan. Also, most Japanese prefer smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles (gas prices are much higher in Japan), rather than light vehicle trucks (SUVs, minivans) that US automakers mostly manufacture here in the US. Add to that, the US-made vehicles are left hand drive, whereas Japanese cars have their steering on the right. Finally, these large vehicles would hardly fit on Japanese streets—it's not very appealing to do seven-point turns to make a U-turn, let alone finding parking for these relative behemoths.

As for emerging economies, they're simply not wealthy enough to afford goods made in the US. The Vietnamese and Indonesians aren't going to turn around and buy US-made goods, or if they do buy American goods, it's going to be those that are manufactured abroad (and as I noted above, profits on these accrue to US shareholders).

The Real Hangover: Higher For Longer Rates

One of the main impacts from the trade chaos of the last few months is that we have higher rates for longer. Fed Chair Jerome Powell himself admitted that they would already be cutting rates if not for tariffs. Given we're starting to see some tariff impact in official inflation data, we may not see another rate cut until November or December.

There's no question that rates are high, and policy is tight. We're seeing the adverse impact across the board, with the economy expected to grow just 1-2% in 2025, a far cry from the 2.5-3% expected at the start of the year:

• The labor market is still cooling, with aggregate income growth clocking in around 3% annualized in Q2 as payroll growth and wage growth eases.
• Prices for services like airfares and hotels are falling, indicating lower demand amid softer wage growth.
• Households are just about able to keep up with price increases and maintain current levels of spending, but consumption is not growing at the pace it was in 2023-2024.
• Housing is struggling amid the weight of high mortgage rates, with low activity and sales.
• Manufacturing is also struggling amid tariff uncertainty, along with higher costs for raw materials.

This doesn't mean the economy is entering a recession, but there's clearly a slowdown in place. Cyclical areas like housing and manufacturing are weak amid the weight of high interest rates and tariff hangover. On the other hand, one thing going for the economy right now is the AI build-out, which we're seeing in high-tech and equipment manufacturing. That's going to be a positive contributor to GDP (let alone profits for the big tech companies involved in these buildouts).

The average effective tariff rate is currently around 13%, about 10%-points higher than it was at the start of the year. Even though that's high, that was pretty much the “best case” scenario for most analysts before Liberation Day. Goldman estimates that the average US effective tariff rate will rise to 19%, but that's not expected until 2027. There's a long way to go.

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Given that tariff rates appear to be settling near the best-case scenario, it shouldn't be a surprise that markets are hitting new highs, especially given the dominant AI theme right now. Earnings expectations are also rising as companies navigate around tariffs.

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Gold Held in an IRA

Concerns about US debt loads, inflation, political turmoil and more have led to a flurry of questions about investing their retirement account in gold or silver.

Just like land investments, the ownership of gold in an IRA is technically legal. But the taxpayer may not touch it, physically keep it or hold it in their own safe because it must be held by an approved trustee and physically maintained in an IRS approved physical depository. The physical storage requirements of gold means that the custodian will charge significant fees, and the IRA must maintain a substantial amount of cash to pay those fees for many years. Annual costs usually run between $250-$300.

The Tax Court held that a taxpayer who self-directed her individual retirement account (IRA) to invest in American Eagle coins through a limited liability company owned by the IRA and managed by the taxpayer, and who then took physical custody of the coins, received a taxable distribution equal to the cost of the coins. The court also found that a statement on the website the taxpayer used to set up her IRA, which indicated that taxpayers could purchase coins with IRA funds and obtain physical possession of the coins without tax consequences, did not constitute a reasonable cause defense to the substantial understatement of tax penalty. (McNulty v. Comm'r, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021)).

Then there are these questions:

1. Where do you find a qualified trustee and a qualified custodian?
2. How do you make RMD's when reaching age 72?
3. What are the fees paid to the custodian?
4. What are the fees paid to the trustee?
5. Where does the cash come from to pay the fees of the custodian and the trustee?
6. Is your investment limited to American Gold Eagles or equivalent 99.9% purity standard bars? (It does or it does not qualify-Krugerrands do not qualify because of the purity requirement)
7. Are you younger than the age of 55? The volatility of gold prices makes the risk unacceptable for an older investor according to every standard of investment advising.
8. You must buy the gold investment from an unrelated seller-you cannot deposit gold that you already own in an IRA.
9. Are you willing to buy an investment that you are paying 20% more than it is going for in the spot market? The spot price needs to go up 25% just to make a net 5% on the investment. Can you imagine paying a 20% commission to buy stock?
10. Are you willing to buy an investment for which you pay a 25% premium over purchase price, then pay another 5-10% premium over spot price to sell it?
11. Does a gold investment really protect you against an economic collapse when you don't physically have it in your possession? How will you access it if the transportation system is down, or the economy collapses?
12. Have you considered that you may be a victim of an investment scam of a self-directed IRA setting up an LLC that keeps the gold in your home or a local safe deposit box? Run from anyone promoting this concept-even the IRS says to watch out for this scam. The “Home Storage Gold IRA” is not legal read the tiny, tiny fine print of the seller! The home storage IRA does not meet the IRS' definition of a trustee because it has not submitted documentation to the IRS meeting the stringent list of regulations including requirements relating to fiduciary ability, fiduciary experience, capacity to account, fitness to handle retirement assets, bonding, audits and net worth. Moreover, the applicant cannot act as a trustee until the IRS provides notice that the application has been approved. Adding an LLC to the mix is ridiculous and transparent to the IRS.
13. Have you considered just owning gold through an investment account investing in a gold ETF trust that avoids all these risks and hassles?
14. Have you considered that if we had a complete collapse of our economic system or electric grid your gold would have already been taken by the entities in charge of the vault? And, if we cannot drive or fly, you would have to walk to New York to get it?

If you have any questions about investing in gold or silver, please contact us.

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Planning Your Vacation? AI Can Help

Some people enjoy travel planning. They read books about the destination, review online publications for restaurant, hotel, and event information, and ask friends (or locals) for tips and suggestions. But travel planning is not everyone's jam. If you love vacations and dread the planning, AI travel-planning apps may prove useful, as long as you understand the limitations.

"Travel has become one of the most popular use cases for AI... While AI agents that can manage the entire process of planning and booking your vacation are still some way off, the current generation of AI tools are still handy at helping you with various tasks.”

Rhiannon Williams, MIT Technology Review

Here are two things to keep in mind when using AI to plan a trip:

Develop detailed prompts. “Prompts” are the questions you ask AI. Detailed and descriptive prompts tend to produce better answers. Don't worry, prompts don't have to be perfect. You can start with the basics like, “What are easy day trips from Rome by train?” Once you have the answer, you can modify your wording and add context, helping AI deliver more detailed and specific information. The more you practice, the better you'll get. AI can:

• Build itineraries,
• Provide packing lists,
• Offer location history and interesting trivia,
• Recommend top restaurants,
• Offer family-friendly and budget-friendly insights, and
• Tailor visits to your preferences.

Fact-check the answers. Unfortunately, it's not a good idea to accept the information AI provides as fact. “AI models are prone to making stuff up, which means you should always double-check their suggestions yourself,” reported Williams.

For example, Bloomberg reporter Catherine Thorbecke asked AI to recommend “the best beef noodles in my area [Thailand] — with the very specific request that the shop had to accept credit cards.” The restaurant had fantastic beef noodles, but it only accepted cash.

Regardless, Thorbecke found AI to be a valuable travel companion. She wrote, “I found the tool to be incredibly helpful while navigating a foreign city, using it not just to find spots to eat but also to translate menus and signs, as well as communicate with locals via voice mode. It felt like the ultimate Asia travel hack."

Catherine Thorbeck, Bloomberg

It's important to remember that AI may be susceptible to scam travel websites, just like humans are. If an AI travel app directs you to a site for booking, make sure to verify that the site is real. One way to check is by reviewing the web address. Fake websites have URLs that are very similar to those of real websites. The tipoff is usually that the fake address is misspelled, includes strange characters, or has an incorrect domain extension (e.g., .net instead of .com).

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Big Beautiful Tax Law Summary

On July 4th, President Trump signed into law the “Big Beautiful Bill.” This legislation enacts sweeping and permanent changes to numerous tax provisions, extending, enhancing, or terminating various credits, deductions, and rules. It is important to note that if nothing was done, tax breaks that millions of Americans have benefitted from would have expired. Key highlights include:

• Permanent Extensions and Enhancements:

  • Lower individual tax rates are made permanent beyond 2025.
  • Larger standard deductions for single and heads of household taxpayers.
  • Child tax credit increased and made permanent with stricter ID requirements.
  • The Estate and gift tax exemption is raised permanently to $15 million.
  • Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemptions increased and permanently extended.
  • Enhanced childcare and adoption credits.
  • Permanent renewals of Opportunity Zones, New Markets Tax Credit, and Low-Income Housing Credits.
  • Expansion of 529 plan qualified expenses to include postsecondary credentialing.

• New Tax Benefits and Programs:

  • Temporary deductions for tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest (2025–2028).
  • Creation of tax favored savings accounts for children with government contributions for some.
  • New tax credit for contributions to K-12 scholarship organizations.
  • Expanded exclusions for employer-provided student loan payments.

• Limitations and Changes to Deductions:

  • Permanent limitation and adjustment of mortgage interest, casualty loss, and miscellaneous itemized deductions.
  • New limitations introduced on itemized deductions based on income thresholds.
  • State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap raised temporarily but phases down as income exceeds certain thresholds.
  • New floor on charitable deductions for individuals (0.5% AGI) and corporations (1% taxable income).

• Termination of Energy and Clean Vehicle Credits:

  • Credits for new and used clean vehicles, commercial clean vehicles, clean energy property, and various energy efficiency incentives end between 2024 and 2028.
  • Introduces restrictions on foreign ownership and materials for clean energy production credits.

• Other Provisions:

  • Increased limits and indexing on 1099 reporting thresholds.
  • Adjustments to charitable deduction carryforwards.

If you have any questions about the bill and how it may impact your financial plan, please contact us.

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FBI Warns of Suspicious Text Message Scams

The FBI has issued a warning to 150 million Apple and Android users to be aware of malicious text messages being sent to their phones. The text message scam warns individuals of significant consequences if outstanding bills or fines are not paid immediately. The messages currently include unpaid tolls and newer DMV traffic offenses, but will eventually mimic texts from bank and credit card companies, per the FBI. The FBI reported that there was an 800% increase in fraudulent DMV-themed texts in the first week of June alone.

Not only are the cybercriminals impersonating a DMV, but they are also impersonating law enforcement officials, demanding payment for fines or missed court appearances to avoid arrest.

"Scammers always prey on people's fears. They are always opportunistic. They try to ratchet up that sense of urgency so that you do not think about what you are doing and then send the money.”

Spokesperson from the FBI

If you receive a suspicious text message, the FBI and other agencies suggest that you do not click any link the message contains and to delete the message immediately.

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A Reminder About Scams

Scams usually start with a phone call, email, text, or another form of communication. The person typically claims to be from an agency or organization you know – or one that sounds like it might benefit you, such as the National Sweepstakes Bureau or a lottery.

The person may know your name and address. They may give you their official title or an identification number. No matter how official they seem, you can be confident it is a scam if the person contacting you:

• Indicates there is a problem with your benefits.
• Asks you to pay to receive a prize.
• Suggests that paying will increase the chance of winning.
• Requests financial information, such as a bank account or credit card number.
• Pressures you to act immediately.
• Tells you to pay using a specific method, such as a gift card or cryptocurrency.

If this happens, remember that the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Medicare, and your bank do not call, email, or text to ask for money or personal information. They do not demand that you pay immediately, and they do not accept payment by gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, or another untraceable form of money transfer.

When you suspect a scam:

• Hang up or close the message. Do not respond in any way.
• Remain calm.
• Think back over the call. Write down any personal information you may have inadvertently shared.
• Report the scam. Contact the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You may also want to report the incident to your state's attorney general or your local consumer protection agency.
• Share your knowledge. Talk with family, friends, and neighbors about your experience so they know what to look out for.

When you receive a digital message, no matter how official it seems, do not click on any links. Do not give or confirm any personal information, including your name, birth date, phone number, address, email address, place of birth, driver's license, passport, or Social Security numbers, bank or other account numbers, and PIN numbers.

Being skeptical can keep you safe. Remove yourself from the situation. Do not share information. If you feel anxious and need to confirm that it was a scam, contact the organization using a method provided on their official website.

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IRS Shifts to Electronic Payments

On March 25, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14247 — Modernizing Payments to and From America's Bank Account. The order requires all payments made from or to the IRS to be conducted via electronic funds transfer (EFT).

The purpose of the Executive Order is to combat unnecessary costs, delays, risk of fraud, lost payments, theft and inefficiencies. For Fiscal year 2024 issuing paper checks was estimated to cost taxpayers more than $657 million.

The phaseout of paper check disbursements and receipts is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2025. Payments such as fees, fines, loans and taxes must be made electronically where permissible under existing law.

A few exceptions will remain at the discretion of the Treasury secretary:

1. Individuals without access to banking services or electronic payment systems;
2. Emergency payments where electronic disbursement would cause undue hardship;
3. National security- or law enforcement activities where non-EFT transactions are necessary or preferred;
4. Other circumstances as deemed necessary by the secretary.

Heads of federal agencies must submit implementation plans within 90 days of the order. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has 180 days to submit an implementation report detailing progress under the order.

Taxpayers should prepare for the shift to electronic payments ahead of the Oct. 15 filing deadline.

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Did you Know? This Week in History

July 29, 1909: General Motors Buys Cadillac

On July 29, 1909, the newly formed General Motors Corporation (GM) acquired the country's leading luxury automaker, the Cadillac Automobile Company, for $4.5 million.

Cadillac was founded out of the ruins of automotive pioneer Henry Ford's second failed company (his third effort, the Ford Motor Company, finally succeeded). When the shareholders of the defunct Henry Ford Company called in Detroit machinist Henry Leland to assess the company's assets for their planned sale, Leland convinced them to stay in business. Leland introduced the first Cadillac—priced at $850—at the New York Auto Show the following year.

In its first year of production, Cadillac put out nearly 2,500 cars, a huge number at the time. Leland, who was reportedly motivated by an intense competition with Henry Ford, assumed full leadership of Cadillac in 1904, and with his son Wilfred by his side he firmly established the brand's reputation for quality. Among the excellent luxury cars being produced in America at the time-including Packard, Lozier, McFarland and Pierce-Arrow-Cadillac led the field, making the top 10 in overall U.S. auto sales every year from 1904 to 1915.

Over the years, Cadillac maintained its reputation for luxury and innovation. In 1954, for example, it was the first automaker to provide power steering and automatic windshield washers as standard equipment on all its vehicles. Though the brand was knocked out of its top-of-the-market position in the 1980s by the German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz, it sought to reestablish itself during the following decades and remains a leader in the luxury car market.

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Weekly Focus

“The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the circumstances of your life, to be a stranger, to make a friend, to experience an exotic landscape, to risk the unknown.”

l,Paul Theroux, Author

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

l,Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States

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