The Fleetwood Metal Body Company began business in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1909 and continued as an independent automobile body builder until acquired in 1925 by the Fisher Body Company, a division of General Motors. The company continued in Fleetwood until 1931 at which time General Motors moved the entire operation to Detroit.

General Motors most notable Cadillac model was the "Fleetwood" until it was recently discontinued. The Fleetwood name was used on the top of the Cadillac line since 1927. In 1946, Cadillac created a special version of the Series 60 called the "Series 60 Special Fleetwood". The Fleetwood name was then used to designate the top of the line trim of the Series 70 and Sixty Special models through 1976. In 1972, Cadillac refocused the Fleetwood name. The Fleetwood Limousine carried on from the Fleetwood Seventy-Five, while the Fleetwood Brougham took over where the Sixty Special was positioned.

For 1993, the Fleetwood name was switched from the Deville's front wheel drive C-body to the newly revised rear wheel drive D-body, being one of the first American front-wheel drive vehicles to switch to rear-wheel drive. This new body was based on the Caprice. The Fleetwood was the largest production car made in the United States until production ceased in 1996. It was replaced by the d'Elegance trim line of the Cadillac DeVille.