LaSalle was named after the French explorer who mapped the Mississippi River in 1682. The creation of the LaSalle car was to fill in a price gap between the lower priced Buick and the more expensive Cadillac. Actually, LaSalle was designed and built by Cadillac. The LaSalle was a large luxury car with a V-8 engine. To prove the performance of the car, one was driven continuously on an oval track for 951 miles at an average speed of 95 mph. It’s V-8 engine was of 353 cubic inch displacement. In 1933, 3,500 of these cars were sold. Price was $2,245, or $47,100 today.