page_title: LaSalle (automobile)
section_title: 1934–1938
hierarchical_section_title: LaSalle (automobile) / 1934–1938
caption_attribution_description: English: LaSalle Roadster, built 1936, seen at Concours d'Élégance in Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg.
context_page_description: LaSalle was an American brand of luxury automobiles manufactured and marketed, as a separate brand, by General Motors' Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. Alfred P. Sloan, GM's Chairman of the Board, developed the concept for four new GM marques brands - LaSalle, Marquette, Viking and Pontiac - paired with already established brands to fill price gaps he perceived in the General Motors product portfolio. Sloan created LaSalle as a companion marque for Cadillac. LaSalle automobiles were manufactured by Cadillac, but were priced lower than Cadillac-branded automobiles, were smaller, and were marketed as the second-most prestigious marque in the General Motors portfolio. LaSalles were titled as LaSalles, and not as Cadillacs.
  Like Cadillac - named after Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac- the LaSalle brand name was based on that of another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
context_section_description: Beginning with the 1934 model year, a significant portion of the LaSalle was more closely related to the Oldsmobile than to senior Cadillacs.  This was marked by a shift to the Oldsmobile- and Buick-based B platform. Again, Earl's work with the LaSalle resulted in a graceful vehicle, led by an elegant and thin radiator grille. Earl's other contribution was the modern, airplane-styled, semi-shielded portholes along the side of the hood. All bodies were now made by Fleetwood.
  This new LaSalle was now priced $1,000 below the least expensive Cadillac. Its mission was not to fill a price gap, but to keep the luxury-car division out of the red. But as the economy began to recover, the LaSalle did not, at least not commensurate with the economy. Sales were 7,195 in 1934, 8,651 in 1935 and 13,004 in 1936.
  Meanwhile, the Packard One-Twenty had been introduced in 1935 and was very successful. The LaSalle had additional competition from the Lincoln-Zephyr, introduced in 1936. For 1937, Cadillac made the LaSalle its own again, giving it the 322 cu in (5.3 L) monobloc V8 of the Series 60, new styling, a lower price range, and a heavy promotion emphasizing that the car was completely Cadillac-built. It was too late. Model year sales of 32,000 LaSalles was a great improvement, but it remained far behind the Packard.
  A 1934 LaSalle Model 350 was chosen as the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500, and a 1937 LaSalle Series 50 convertible also served as an Indy 500 Pace Car.
caption: LaSalle Roadster, 1936
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