![]() Earl's design even included a nod to the inspirational Hispano-Suiza H6, with the marque's circled trademark "LaS" cast into the horizontal tie bar between the front lights. ![]() Earl was then placed in charge of overseeing the design of all of General Motors' vehicles. Wyoming Road Assembly, Detroit, Michigan, United States īuilt by Cadillac to its high standards but at a dedicated factory at Wyoming Road Assembly, the LaSalle soon emerged as a trend-setting automobile. Influenced by the rakish Hispano-Suiza roadsters of the time, Earl's LaSalle emerged as a shorter, yet elegant, counterpoint to Cadillac's larger cars, unlike anything else built by an American automotive manufacturer. Fisher, conceived the LaSalle not as a junior Cadillac, but as something more agile and stylish. For example, the Ford Model T evolved only slightly over its production run A 1927 Model T was almost identical to a 1910 Model T, while GM made yearly appearance and model name changes across all brands starting in 1908.Įarl, who had been hired by Cadillac's General Manager, Lawrence P. Prior to the 1927 LaSalle, automobile design essentially followed a set pattern, with design changes driven principally by engineering needs. The 1927 LaSalle was designed by Harley Earl, who had a 30-year career at General Motors, eventually gaining control of all design and styling at General Motors. What emerged as the LaSalle in 1927 was introduced on the GM C platform with the Cadillac V8. Note the marque's circled trademark "LaS" cast into the horizontal tie bar between the front lights. Design strategy Įarly LaSalle at the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen. Cadillac, which had seen its base prices soar in the heady 1920s, was assigned the LaSalle as a companion marque to fill the gap that existed between it and Buick. The wide gap between Oldsmobile and Buick would be filled by two companion marques: Oldsmobile was assigned the up-market V8 engine Viking and Buick was assigned the more compact six-cylinder Marquette. Under the companion marque strategy, the gap between the Chevrolet and the Oakland would be filled by a new marque named Pontiac, a quality six-cylinder car designed to sell for the price of a four-cylinder. By the 1920s, certain General Motors products began to shift out of the plan as the products improved and engine advances were made. ![]() Next, (in ascending order), came the Pontiac, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Viking, Marquette, Buick, LaSalle, and Cadillac. The Chevrolet was designated as the entry-level product. Īs originally developed by Sloan, General Motors' market-segmentation strategy placed each of the company's individual automobile marques into specific price ranges, called the General Motors Companion Make Program. In an era when automotive brands were somewhat restricted to building a specific car per model year, Sloan surmised that the best way to bridge the gaps was to develop "companion" marques that could be sold through the current sales network. Sloan noticed that his carefully crafted market segmentation program was beginning to develop price gaps in which General Motors had no products to sell. The LaSalle had its beginnings when General Motors' CEO Alfred P. GM used a European theme in its ads that year in an attempt to build the image that the LaSalle was a worldly vehicle, fashionable in all settings and places. 1927 dealer showroom poster promoting the new LaSalle.
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