History

The LaSalle automobile was bult by Cadillac to fill the wide price gap between General Motors top of the line Cadillac and the next in line Buick. They were manufactured from 1927 through 1940 and consistently outsold the "big brother" Cadillac with sales in 1940 of over 24,000 cars. This was up from just over 7,000 units in 1931.

The LaSalle Company operated from 1927 through 1940 and was a companion marque to Cadillac. Like Cadillac, which named after Antoine de la Mothe the brand name based on that of another French explorer, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur Salle. filled gap in General Motors' marketing segmentation strategy, priced above Buicks but less than Cadillacs. 1941, absorbed line into Cadillac plate.

In both 1934 and 1937, the LaSalle was chosen as the pace car for the prestigious Indianapolis 500 mile race.