LaSalle Series 50

Overview

The Series 50 was a LaSalle passenger-car model series built by General Motors’ Cadillac division. This record covers the 1935–1940 model years, from the straight-eight cars to the final V8 range. It included several closed and convertible body styles; “50” was a series designation, not an engine size or a single body style. The 1935 catalogue record explicitly uses Series 50.

Its origins lie in the 1934 Series 350, which some histories also call Series 50. The Cadillac Database identifies that earlier car separately as Series 350, whereas Mac’s Motor City Garage uses Series 50 in discussing the 1934 redesign. The scope here follows the annual catalogue headings while acknowledging that alternative terminology. 1934 catalogue; straight-eight history.

LaSalle occupied a lower price position than Cadillac while retaining its own marque identity. Series 50 therefore belongs under LaSalle, alongside earlier models such as the Series 303. Companion-marque history.

Development and manufacture

The Depression forced GM to reconsider LaSalle’s cost and market position. The 1934 redesign combined a conspicuously narrow grille and streamlined fenders with greater use of Oldsmobile-related engineering. Sharing components helped reduce cost while Cadillac continued to market the car on its manufacturing association. This programme supplied the foundation for the subsequent Series 50. Development history.

Manufacture was centred on Cadillac’s Detroit operation in Michigan, United States. The Detroit Historical Society places Cadillac production at Clark Street from 1921, encompassing the Series 50 period. Exported cars and chassis require separate identification from the domestic finished-car range. Cadillac factory history.

The straight-eight cars, 1935–1936

For 1935 the Series 50 used an Oldsmobile-derived 248-cubic-inch L-head straight-eight, rated at 105 bhp at 3,600 rpm. The catalogue dates its introduction to March 1935. Its listed Fisher body range comprised a coupé, two- and four-door sedans and a convertible coupé, on a 120-inch wheelbase. Closed bodies adopted Fisher’s steel Turret Top construction. Independent Knee-Action front suspension and hydraulic brakes accompanied the narrow grille and separate streamlined headlamps. 1935 specifications and body catalogue.

The 1936 Series 36-50 retained that displacement, output and passenger-car wheelbase. Changes included revised hood ventilation beneath a long horizontal moulding, a redesigned instrument panel and repositioned handbrake. Fixed-roof coupés and two- and four-door sedans remained available alongside the convertible coupé. The surviving price-list reference is dated October 1935: a model-year designation should not be read as an exact calendar production date. 1936 specifications and price-list notes.

Cadillac V8 power, 1937–1938

The 1937 Series 37-50 returned to V8 power with Cadillac’s 322-cubic-inch, 90-degree L-head engine, rated at 125 bhp at 3,400 rpm. Regular Fisher passenger bodies used a 124-inch wheelbase; a separate 160-inch commercial chassis was also catalogued. A reinforced X-member frame, hydraulic brakes, independent front suspension and hypoid rear axle formed part of the specification.

The range included a coupé, two- and four-door sedans, a convertible coupé and a four-door convertible sedan. Styling brought a more upright egg-crate grille and lower headlamps. These were 1937 model-year cars introduced in late calendar 1936. 1937 catalogue and introduction notes.

For 1938, the 322-cubic-inch V8 and its 125 bhp rating continued. The grille widened, the headlamps moved farther out and down, and a rear-hinged one-piece hood changed access to the engine compartment. The catalogue records a steering-column-mounted gear lever. It also distinguishes exports of completed body styles from chassis shipped to Australia in completely knocked-down form; this does not establish that all export cars shared one body or equipment specification. 1938 specifications and export entries.

The 1939 revision

The Series 39-50 retained the 322-cubic-inch V8 and 125 bhp rating, but the regular passenger-car wheelbase shortened to 120 inches. A very narrow central grille, additional grille openings on the front fender aprons and revised hood-side detailing distinguished its appearance.

Body choices continued to include coupés, sedans and convertibles. Sunroof versions of the two- and four-door sedans appeared as separately identified body offerings, rather than a new generation. The convertible coupé replaced its rumble seat with interior auxiliary seats. An open two-door 1939 LaSalle therefore cannot simply be assigned the seating arrangement of an earlier convertible. 1939 specifications and body-style record.

The final 1940 range and Series 52

The 1940 model year, introduced in October 1939, offered the regular Series 40-50 alongside the more expensive Series 40-52 Special. Mac’s Motor City Garage identifies the 50 with GM’s B-body shell and the Special with the newer torpedo-style C body. Series 52 was a parallel series, not a replacement name for every 1940 Series 50. Final-year history.

The 1940 engine remained a 322-cubic-inch L-head V8, now quoted at 130 bhp at 3,400 rpm. Headlamps were integrated into the front fenders, while the narrow central grille remained a LaSalle identifier. The Series 50 catalogue lists a coupé, two- and four-door sedans, convertible coupé and convertible sedan. Commercial and export chassis appear separately from those passenger bodies. 1940 specifications and body catalogue.

Identification and legacy

Annual prefixes such as 37-50 and 40-50 identify model-year series. Body-style numbers, seating, wheelbase and engine specification must then be checked against that year’s documentation. Annual styling changes and the 1937 engine change are described here as developments within the model series, without imposing undocumented generation names.

The compiled catalogue contains conflicting production totals, and its 1940 wheelbase and body-platform headings are internally inconsistent or differ from the specialist history. No reconciled production total or universal Series 50 dimension is asserted here. The 1940 B/C-body distinction above is attributed specifically to Mac’s Motor City Garage. 1940 catalogue; specialist comparison.

LaSalle production ended in 1940. Although styling proposals existed for a 1941 car, Cadillac Series 61 took its former market position instead. Series 50 records both the cost-conscious straight-eight phase and the return to Cadillac V8 engineering before GM abandoned this companion marque. Discontinuation history.

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