1927 La Salle roadster
By the mid 1920s, the more visionary automobile manufacturers were aware that their customers in the rapidly growing market for cars were demanding a great deal more choice, flair and sophistication in the products. It was no longer good enough to have engineers design a new model, almost always focussed on function and ease of manufacture over all other considerations.
New customers wanted style. They wanted bright, bold, shiny and sexy.
Enter Harley J. Earl - son of a coach builder in LA, California. He had cut his teeth designing custom bodies on existing chassis from established manufacturers - most relevantly, Cadillac - for well-heeled wealthy customers in the sunshine state.
His work was spotted and much admired by Cadillac's General Manager, Lawrence P. Fisher, himself from a coachbuilding background. Fisher was charged with the development of the new LaSalle brand - aiming to fill a market price gap between Cadillac at the high end and Buick at the other end of General Motors' range.
Earl conceived the LaSalle not as a junior Cadillac, but as something more agile and stylish. The LaSalle 303 was equipped with Cadillac's 'Ninety Degree V-8', making the car fast, while its smaller size made it sportier and more agile.
This was the first production car in the world to be conceived entirely in the styling department. GM called it their 'Art and Colour section' and Harley J. Earl was its first director.
This illustration can be supplied with the top up or down. Please state preference on the comments section at checkout - or just email me.
This print can be supplied in square or landscape formats in the sizes indicated below, although I would recommend the landscape versions.
Small - 30 x 30cm / 30 x 40cm
Medium - 40 x 40cm / 40 x 50cm
Large - 50 x 50cm / 50 x 70cm