1930 LaSalle Model 340

The LaSalle was the 'companion' to Cadillac, was introduced in 1927, and remained in production until 1940. It was priced below Cadillac but retained many of its styling cues, build quality, and prestigue. The 1930 model was called the LaSalle Series 340, and it was similar to the prior year's 328 model.

LaSalle
A $1,000-plus price gap existed between the most expensive Buick and the least expensive Cadillac, and this was costing General Motors sales. Long-serving General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan found success during the 1920s by developing a pricing hierarchy, separating the various brands within the GM brand portfolio and aligning them with their own companion brands. Buick had Marquette, Oldsmobile had Viking, and Oakland had Pontiac. Mr. Sloan decided that Cadillac would benefit from a companion marque that offered similar prestige and quality but at a more realistic price for upper-middle-class buyers. The new LaSalle marque, introduced for 1927, resolved the price gap between Buick and Cadillac, giving GM buyers a vehicle for every price point. The company was named after the seventeenth-century French explorer René-Robert-Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and styling was penned by Harley Earl, who bestowed them with a European flair, inspired by such legendary marques as the contemporary Hispano-Suiza. Cadillac and LaSalle shared the same chief engineer, Ernest W. Seaholm, and both utilized much the same chassis and drivetrain technology. LaSalle had a younger, chicer image, which quickly found favor with the American public, and after a couple of seasons, had become the more popular of the two.

Equipped with Cadillac's V8 engine and installed in a smaller and lighter chassis, the LaSalle was more sporty than its larger sibling. Sales were initially strong, but like other companies, the Great Depression hampered sales. Marquette and Viking were discontinued by 1930, but La Salle soldiered on until 1941.

Although sales were affected by the Great Depression and the poor economy, LaSalle consistently outsold Cadillac. This ultimately led to its demise, being shut down to protect Cadillac's reputation as a leader in the market.

LaSalle Series 340
Launched in September 1929 for the following model year, the LaSalle Series 340 was given styling and mechanical changes similar to the Cadillac. All bodies rested on a 134-inch wheelbase which was six inches shorter than its Cadillac 353 stablemante but shared many of the same styling cues. Most bodies were pre-wired for an optional radio. Total LaSalle production for 1930 was 11,005 units.

Body Styles
Catalog bodies included six closed bodies by Fisher, plus a convertible coupe. This was a decrease over the prior year's offerings. The Fleetwood semi-custom line increased to six, plus three other body styles which were built to order.

Engine
Power was from a 90-degree L-head V8 'flathead' engine displacing 340 cubic inches and offering 90 horsepower at 3,000 RPM. (The engine's displacement, in cubic inches, was the source of the vehicle's name.) The engine bore increased by 1/16 inch, making the displacement size the same as the Cadillac Series 341-B. It had a 3.3-inch bore, a 4.9-inch stroke, and a 5.05:1 compression ratio (with 4,92:1 compression optional).

Mechanical Specification
The transmission was a three-speed synchro-mesh unit and braking was via safety-mechanical brakes on all four wheels. The drums remained at 15 inches, and the standard final drive remained at 4.54:1. The 6.50 x 19 were wrapped around wooden artillery wheels or optional 7.00 x 18 wheels could be put on metal rims.

2-Door Fisher Body Styles
- Coupe (2/4 passenger) $2,490
- Convertible Coupe (2/4 passenger) $2,590
- Coupe (5 passenger) $2,590

4-door Fisher Body Styles
- Town Sedan $2,590
- Sedan (5-passenger) $2,765
- Sedan (7-passenger) $2,775
- Imperial (7-passenger) $2,925

2-Door Fleetwood Body Styles
- Fleetcliffe Roadster (2/4 passenger) $2,450 (302 units built)

4-Door Fleetwood Body Styles
- Fleetshire Phaeton (4 door 4 passenger) $2,385 (398 units built)
- Fleetway All-Weather Phaeton $3,995 (250 units built)
- Fleetlands Tourer (7-passenger) $2,525 (239 units built)
- Fleetwind Sedanette Cabriolet (5-passenger) $3,725 (42 units built)
- Sedanette (5-passenger) $3,825
- Brougham (5-passenger)
- Stat. Transformable Town Cabriolet
- Transformable Cabriolet

Sixty-six examples were built as bare chassis.

The ladder frame chassis was suspended by semi-elliptic leaf-sprung suspension with the rear being underslung. Safety-mechanical four-wheel 15-inch drum brakes provided the stopping power.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017