New and classic Cadillacs are expected to cruise into Orleans County, Vermont, on August 17 to break the world record for the longest Cadillac parade. 08/10/2011
While organizing the Orleans County Fair in Vermont, Lorie Seadale and other organizers decided that a world record attempt of some kind would be a great publicity stunt to raise interest in the festival. They first considered shooting for the record of most corn husked in one minute, but then Seadale stumbled across a historical marker that introduced her to Henry Leland. The Vermont native founded Cadillac and Lincoln in the early 1900's.
Upon learning this bit of history, the wheels started turning in Seadale's mind. With a bit of research, she discovered that the Netherlands currently holds the title of the largest parade of Cadillacs, a record they set in 2002 with only 102 of the luxury vehicles.
"That sounded quite doable, and we thought it tied into our area and was a great opportunity to honor one of our native sons," she told The New York Times.
Leland's great, great grandson lives in Barton, Vermont, the same town where his great, great uncle spent his years, and he fully supports the gesture, the news source reports.
General Motors, who purchased Cadillac from Leland in 1909, offered to pay the $6,500 adjudication fee to have a Guinness representative in attendance to verify that the record has been beaten, the Auto Blog reports. They are also helping out by promoting the event online and at dealerships nationwide, gaining the county fair more publicity than the residents of Orleans County anticipated.
There are over 3,000 Cadillacs registered in Vermont, but more will be coming from far and wide to participate in the parade on August 17, and a Canadian couple will be trekking down from New Brunswick, Canada, to lead the parade in their pink 1959 Series 62 convertible.