Even though Cadillac killed its romantic companion make , LaSalle , after 1940 , introduction of the forties and 1950s Cadillac LaSalle concept cars give a inkling of hope for LaSalle ’s return .
Cadillac ’s LaSalle was one of only two of General Motors ' late-1920s " expansion makes " to survive the Depression . The other , of course of action , was Pontiac . But LaSalle did not pull round the 1940s , despite move downmarket from " near - luxury " next-to-last Cadillac after 1933 to an upper - medium - price mathematical product that enjoyed several dear sales yr .
The intellect for LaSalle ’s eventual demise was as nigh as any Cadillac showroom . By 1940 , LaSalle was near superposable in form , finish , soundbox styles , and performance with Cadillac ’s low - agate line Series 62 , and both were priced nigh to older Buicks , which had its eye on the same market place territorial dominion . For General Motors , it made no sense to cover LaSalle as an in - mansion contender to those better - established brand name .
A more decisive agent was the slow but steady upturn in requirement for high - luxury railcar that accompanied the halting worldwide economic recovery in the years contribute up to World War II . get hold of due note , Cadillac made a strategic decision that would take it to the very top of its class : namely , to abandon the upper - spiritualist playing field and return to nothing but all - out sumptuousness .
This counterpoint with Packard , whose continue over - trust on cheaper models after the warfare cost the make its blue - chip image – and eventually its life . As one executive said later , Packard just " handed the luxury marketplace to Cadillac on a argent platter . " So in the remnant , LaSalle descend dupe to changing time . Today we ’d say it was a recess model that lose its niche .
Yet before its dying , a 1941 LaSalle theoretical account was in the works ( three - year lead times then being the Detroit norm , remember ) . This was a heavy rhytidoplasty of the endearing 1940 design , itself virtually all - unexampled .
Headlamps again nestled firmly within the buffer , and the slim horizontal - bar LaSalle radiator returned per recent tradition . But where the 1940 had curve front - wing " catwalk " aprons , the propose 1941 was more blunted .
big vertical slots again flanked the radiator , but were shortsighted in retain with the industry drift to more horizontal " faces . " The visibility was pure time period GM . Front - pilot trailing edges were newly square off in the manner of Cadillac ’s stylish Sixty Special .
rearward buffer wore fashionable skirts with a circular emblem where the hubcap would have testify had the wheel been endanger ; some output 1941 Caddys had this too .
Chrome trim let in triple strips at the base of all cowcatcher and coruscate appliques along the vestigial running boards . GM Design chief Harley Earl believed this made for a brighter looking at on used - car lots that assist shore up resale values , which is why so many 1941 GM cars had a " lustrous " look .
The 1941 LaSalle went as far as a dyad of full - sizing Series 52 mockups , fastback and notchback , both four - door . With the decision to axe the railway line , Cadillac substituted a new Series 61 of comparable size and monetary value . A decade afterward , it was proceed , too , as the division moved even more resolutely toward luxury - class leadership .
Despite its role as Cadillac ’s less - expensive companion , LaSalle was a keen loss for many GM aficionado , who still thought of it fondly as year passed .
After all , designing the first 1927 LaSalle was what had bring Harley Earl to GM , where he put up the famed Art & Colour Studio as the manufacture ’s first in - house styling section . The 1934 LaSalles were far less prestigious than earlier model , but were remember more for somewhat daring looks than middling price .
Even after all this , some GM designers and executives hope for LaSalle ’s riposte as a specialized Cadillac . carry on on to the next page to learn more about the 1955 LaSalle II concept cars .
For more on concept cars and the production models they forecast, check out:
1955 Cadillac LaSalle II Series Concept Cars
With all this , it ’s not surprising that some GM designers and even executive director extend to have vision of LaSalle ’s eventual reappearance as a specialised Cadillac . Prime among them was Harley Earl , who create two 1955 Cadillac LaSalle Series II construct railroad car for that year ’s edition of GM ’s journey Motorama show .
Both wore erect - slot grilles echoing the aborted 1941 , flank by erect bumpers bearing big " slug " guard and wrapped around to the sides . There were also " LaS " emblems as used in LaSalle ’s last year .
Still , these concepts were dissimilar to each other . One was a brassy two - seat roadster of the Corvette stripe , with elliptical bodyside incurvature like those destined for the production 1956 ' Vette .
Stubby rear fenders were abruptly hack off to leave the wheels exposed ( something like the Brooks Stevens handling for the front of the stillborn 1956 Gaylord ) . Chassis side rail housed the exhaust fumes pipes , which exited just in front of the back roulette wheel .
The other 1955 LaSalle II was a hardtop sedan with rear - hinged back room access , one of the few throwback touch Earl indulged in . ( The product 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham would have them too . ) Seating for six was provided despite a compact 108 - inch wheelbase .
Overall length was just 180 inches , height a simple 50 column inch . That dispiritedness was partly reach with 13 - inch tire , rarefied for even menstruum Detroit showmobiles . prognosticative features let in unit construction , a big compound - curve windscreen alike to 1959 production innovation , and an data-based small - mental block Al V-6 that GM was toying with at the time .
Concave bodyside ellipses , again finish in a darker hue , were shared with the two-seater ( as was V-6 tycoon ) , but rear wheel were only semi - exposed in " jet tube " buffer a la the 1953 Corvette .
GM publicity describe the LaSalle II hardtop as " a newfangled construct of passenger sedan styling directed to retake the typical exclusiveness and in high spirits timbre of craftsmanship of the original LaSalle . " But to many , it just looked goofy .
It also depend much like other late Earl " dream cars " including several Cadillac concepts , the 1955 Chevy Biscayne , and the 1956 Impala Sport Coupe .
The LaSalle II roadster was n’t really fresh either , having been foreshadowed by the 1954 Buick Wildcat II , Olds F-88 , and Cadillac La Espada / El Camino – not to advert the 1953 Corvette . But then , both LaSalle IIs were strictly for show and never intended for saleroom .
Although the LaSalle name repeatedly resurface at GM , its return was just not in the notice . Continue on to the next pageboy to read more about how the LaSalle name finally come to an end .
LaSalle in Limbo
The thought of resurrecting the LaSalle name has frequently resurfaced at GM , but production planner have choose to keep LaSalle in oblivion .
product was definitely on GM ’s mind when the LaSalle name resurfaced a few years later in connection with the project that produced the 1963 Buick Riviera .
At first , this Thunderbird - beater was project as a raw personal - sumptuousness Cadillac logical argument called LaSalle , and several dead body types were spring up , include convertible and hardtop sedans .
The four - room access droptop would have been quite seasonable against Lincoln ’s then - new Continental model , but Buick ’s poor sales agreement in that time period dictated some added production assist , so the gondola was assigned to Flint and offered only as a hardtop coupe . Thus ended the first chance for a new LaSalle since 1940 .
But the name go forward to exert considerable thaumaturgy within the GM halls of power , and another fortune came in the early 1970s . Cadillac was planning a new belittled saloon , and there were serious thoughts of calling it LaSalle , though " Leland " was also in the track ( honor Cadillac ’s founder , Henry Martyn Leland ) .
LaSalle , however , was all but assured – until a sectionalization executive director came across an clause that characterized the original line as " Cadillac ’s only failure . " That was enough for the sales force , which voted for a newer , more distinguish name with some winner behind it : Seville .
Reportedly , LaSalle was also meditate for what became the subcompact Cimarron of 1982 - 1988 , but given that elevator car ’s dysphoric disc and " loser " trope , this third - time rejection was a definite charm .
multitude still babble about LaSalles , but they ’re now mostly historians and previous - Cadillac fancier . Will the name ever be recreate ? likely not , though you could never can tell .
lease ’s just hope that if Cadillac ever does see fit to bring it back , it will be for a car sincerely desirable of the quixotic original , lest the name be constantly sullied . Otherwise , LaSalle is probably best left in limbo . As they say , some things just ca n’t be duplicated .
