1931 LaSalle Model 345A Tourer

Cadillac president and general manager Lawrence Fisher recruited a designer named Harley Earl from Don Lee, the Los Angeles Cadillac dealer. Earl had shown his talents designing cars at Lee's custom body shop. Earl's approach to style was to treat the cars as objects of art.

Harley Earl's original LaSalle design was inspired by the European Hispano-Suiza. The new appearance was picked up by the 1928-1929 Cadillacs. By 1931, the LaSalle and Cadillac V8 were essentially the same, with differences only in details and emblems. The success of LaSalle led to Earl's appointment as head of a new GM section called 'Art & Colour,' the automobile industry's first in-house styling department.

This particular example is a seven-passenger touring model that was delivered new to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It left the factory wearing the same body it wears today. It eventually made its way back to the United States and was given a restoration in this color scheme. Its original design was Pearl Grey and Vermillion. During the restoration, it was converted to left-hand drive.

This LaSalle has wire wheels, wide whitewall tires, a body-hued radiator, and a Goddess mascot.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2017