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1934 LaSalle Series 350

General Motors created the LaSalle marque as a less expensive alternative to the top-of-the-line Cadillac. Cadillac had been named after a French explorer, and so did the LaSalle, after René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Produced from 1927 through 1940, they were manufactured by Cadillac but were titled as LaSalles and not Cadillacs.

1934 LaSalle Series 350 photo
Convertible Coupe
Chassis #: 2105681
View info and history
Auction entries : 1
The LaSalle was designed by Harley Earl and built by Cadillac to its high standards. The success of LaSalle earned Earl a promotion, overseeing the design of all General Motors vehicles.

A full range of body styles was offered on the LaSalle, including Fisher and Fleetwood Metal Body-built custom designs. Wheelbase sizes ranged between 128- and 134-inches, and power was supplied by Cadillac's 'Ninety Degree V-8.'

When introduced, the LaSalle had been built on the GM C platform with Cadillac. Beginning in 1934, the LaSalle was built on the Oldsmobile and Buick-based B platform, making the LaSalle vehicles more closely related to the Oldsmobile than to senior Cadillacs. Once again, Harley Earl created graceful bodies with an elegant and thin radiator grille and modern, airplane-styled portholes along the side of the hood. All bodies were now built by Fleetwood.

1934 LaSalle Series 350 photo
Convertible Coupe
View info and history
A 1934 LaSalle Model 350 was selected to pace the Indianapolis 500 race, and a few years later, a 1937 LaSalle Series 50 convertible also served as an Indy 500 Pace Car.

During the early 1930s, LaSalle had helped boost sales for General Motors, and it was hoped that with the new design, sales would remain strong and keep the luxury car division out of the red. Priced $1,000 less than the least expensive Cadillac, just 7,195 examples were sold in 1934. A year later, 8,651 were sold, followed by 13,004 in 1936. By this point, the economy had begun to recover and other lower-priced alternatives (such as the Packard One-Twenty and Lincoln-Zephyr) were providing competition.

LaSalle failed to improve upon its past success as the years progressed, and by 1940 GM made the decision to shut its doors for good. The LaSalle name had remained in production for 14 years and had provided General Motors with strong sales during the Great Depression. It had been used to test new designs periodically and provided filled a price gap between Cadillac and Buick. With the Packard One-Twenty consistently outselling the LaSalle from 1935 through 1940, GM retired the LaSalle name.


by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2020

Related Reading : LaSalle Series 50 History

During the first two decades of the 1900s, Cadillac was the leader in the U.S. luxury car market. It wasnt until around 1925, when Packard Automobiles began replacing Cadillac as Americas new favorite in the premium automobile market, that Cadillac realized that it needed to step it up. With the bottom-end Cadillac priced at %243195, many consumers were unwilling to spend such a significant amount....
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1934 LaSalle Series 350 Vehicle Profiles

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1934 Series 350
$1,695-$14,000
1934 LaSalle Series 350 Price Range: $1,595 - $1,695

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Series 350

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Year
Production
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119.00 in.
8 cyl., 253.00 CID., 95.00hp
$1,595 - $1,695

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LaSalle Model