ORIGIONAL LA SALLE OWNERS !

[homeonprunehill]

12-02-08
to:Owens of Used,Abused and MIsused Cadillac and La Salles. I can't remember who said it, but, someone did and maybe i don't know how to "search",but, someone said that the manufactory didn't keep the names of the first owners of any cars that were sold by Cadillac ... well am I misinterpiting what is printed on page 321 of the book,"La Salle" Cadillac's  Companion car.  What's to  say that a Grandfather didn't buy his g'son or g'daughter a 1937 to 1940 La Salle, or for that matter there  just might be an origional owner out there somewhere that has owned a 1940 La Salle since new. QUESTION, Wouldn't it be a bit much to ask dealers to keep tract of the customers since it was a Cadillac warrenty? good luck,JIM

[Doug Houston]

lIt's difficult to flatly say that records no longer exist from any dealers who sold LaSalles of any  year, but as we know, anything seems possible.

Many of us know that LaSalle's life was hanging by a thread from the early thirties, though sales didn't ever seem to suffer as a result. It was always a Cadillac at a good price. But Cadillac issued a little ceritificate, eproduced on page 321 of the LaSalle book, stating that, as long as you, the original owner of the car, owned it, Cadillac would supply service parts for it. Little did they realize that some cars did stay in the hands of the original owner for several decades, and worse yet, so did that little certificate!.

Ansel Sackett was a manager in Cadillac's parts department, and anythng pertaining to vintage cars was routed to his office. In 1961, he contacted me, and said that an original LaSalle owner in the Carolinas had one of those certificates, and needed arts for her 1939 LaSalle! They needed a steering wheel, pedal pads, all plastic handles for the dash, and a couple other things that slip my mind. I was able to supply a steering wheel and the plastic pieces, for Cadillac to send to Inland Dividion and have duplicated. There was other correspondence about other things, and Ansel sent one of his fild reps to the dealer to verify the ownership of the car. It appears that the very elderly lady had maintained ownership of record, but that relatives had posession of the car. But whatever the case, Cadillac stuck to their word.