1939 Cadillac Lasalle
As seen on Season Six of FantomWorks
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LaSalle was an American brand of luxury automobiles manufactured and marketed by General Motors’ Cadillac division from 1927 through 1940. Alfred P. Sloan developed the concept for LaSalle and certain other General Motors’ marques in order to fill pricing 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 and were marketed as the second-most prestigious marque in the General Motors portfolio.
Like Cadillac, the LaSalle brand name was based on that of a French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
In its final years, the LaSalle once again became more Cadillac-like in its appearance and details. The narrow radiator grille opening was retained and was flanked by additional side grill work. Headlights, which had moved down and been secured to the “cat-walk”, were again attached to the radiator shell. One interesting feature, adopted by LaSalle in these years, was a Sunroof, marketed as the “Sunshine Turret Top”. Sales climbed up from 15,501 in 1938 to 23,028 in 1939.
The final 1940 LaSalles were introduced in October 1939 with, as it had in its first year, a full array of semi-custom body styles, including a convertible sedan. Harley Earl also oversaw this redesign. The LaSalle emerged with a smooth-flowing design, its trademark thin radiator flanked by a series of thin chrome slots, giving it a futuristic look. In its final year sales of the LaSalle reached the second highest level ever at 24,133.
