LaSalle Series 303
LaSalle's original 1927–1928 model series, combining Cadillac manufacture, a 303-cubic-inch V8 and Harley Earl styling in a lower-priced luxury range.
Overview
The Series 303 was the original LaSalle model series, covering the 1927–1928 model years. Its name referred to its 303-cubic-inch engine. It encompassed several bodies, rather than identifying a single roadster or trim. The Cadillac Database’s early LaSalle catalogue groups these two years together.
Cadillac’s Motor Car Division manufactured the car in Detroit, Michigan. The Henry Ford records that origin for its surviving 1927 roadster. LaSalle occupied a lower price position than Cadillac, while retaining a separate marque identity. Museum vehicle record.
Development and design
In 1926, GM president Alfred P. Sloan sought a less expensive companion to Cadillac and brought custom-car designer Harley Earl to Detroit for the project. The resulting 1927 LaSalle made styling central to a production-car programme. The Henry Ford credits Earl with its design; his role should not be confused with authorship of every mechanical component. Development history.
An April 1927 advertisement preserved by the museum explicitly associated the new marque with Cadillac households. It shows that the relationship with the established luxury brand was part of LaSalle’s launch message, rather than a later collectors’ description. Period advertisement.
Engine and body range
The Series 303 used a 90-degree L-head V8. Fisher offerings included roadsters, phaetons, coupés and sedans, with longer-wheelbase sedans and limousines also available. Fleetwood supplied semi-custom coachwork. The catalogue lists 125- and 134-inch wheelbases; neither dimension describes every Series 303. Engine and body catalogue.
The Henry Ford’s 1927 roadster provides a documented example, not a specification for every body:
| Item | Museum roadster specification |
|---|---|
| Engine displacement | 303 cubic inches |
| Output | 75 horsepower at 3,000 rpm |
| Transmission | Three-speed manual |
| Wheelbase | 125 inches |
These figures follow the museum’s technical record. Body weight, seating and overall dimensions need their own body-specific evidence.
Production chronology and identification
The 1928 cars continued the 303 designation with revisions: the catalogue distinguishes twelve broad hood louvers per side for 1927 from twenty-eight narrower louvers for 1928. Its Victoria coupé entries also change from style 7390 to 8130. Canadian-built examples appear in the catalogue footnotes, but those notes do not establish a complete Canadian specification or assembly location. Conflicting annual production totals remain unresolved here. 1927–1928 identification notes.
The Series 328 succeeded the 303 for the 1929 model year, with a larger 328-cubic-inch V8. The Cadillac Database dates its introduction to August 1928: a calendar-1928 introduction therefore does not make that successor a 1928 Series 303. It also assigns Synchro-Mesh transmission and other improvements to the 1929 range; those specifications should not be transferred backwards to the earlier car. 1929 successor record.
Identify an individual car through its series, model year and body-style evidence together. A registration year alone cannot resolve these distinctions, and a body name such as “coupé” is insufficient to establish chassis length or seating. The GM Heritage Archive lists separate 1927 and 1928 LaSalle information kits under Cadillac for further documentary research.
Historical significance
The Series 303 established LaSalle’s identity and helped change how GM organised vehicle design. The Henry Ford links the original LaSalle’s success to the creation of GM’s Art and Colour Section, with Earl as director. That institutional development is its clearest lasting contribution: styling became an organised corporate function alongside the engineering and manufacturing work required to build the cars. Museum interpretation.