1940 LASALLE

1940 LaSalle Notes

• Introduced October 1939
• Series 50 model year sales and production: 10,382
• Series 52 model year sales and production: 13,751
• Last year for LaSalle
• Nicholas Dreystadt was general manager
• Ernest W. Seaholm was chief engineer
• William Mitchell was chief designer (Cadillac Studio)
• Don E. Ahrens was general sales manager

1940 Automotive Notes

• Industry production totals 3,692,328 cars and 777,026 trucks
• William S. Knudsen was president of GM until September when there was a lapse until January
• Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. was chairman of the board at GM
• Oldsmobile offers the first true automatic transmission: Hydra-Matic Drive
• Lincoln Continental is introduced
• Last year for the Lincoln K-series
• Last year for Nash LaFayette
• Last year for Buick Century convertible sedan
• Last year for Cadillac Series 72
• Running boards are enclosed on almost all models. Dodge charges $10 extra for them
• Sealed beam headlights ar the industry standard
• Chrysler develops Safety-Rim wheels that keep the tire on even after a blowout
• Heaters and defrosters common on cars
• Willys shows prototype of the Jeep
• Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940) dies
• Hudson introduces front coil springs
• Studebaker offers a Coupe-Delivery (car body front with a truck bed in back, echoed in the Ford Ranchero and Chev ElCamino)
• Top model year production for 1940

  1. Chevrolet	764,616	... increased 187,000
  2. Ford	541,896	... increased 55,000
  3. Plymouth	423,155	... increased 6,000
  4. Buick	278,784	... increased 70,000
  5. Pontiac	217,001	... increased 73,000
  6. Dodge	195,505	... increased 116,000
  7. Oldsmobile	185,154	... increased 58,000
  8. Studebaker	107,185	... increased 21,000
  9. Packard	98,020	... decreased 51,000
  10. Chrysler	92,419	... increased 20,000
  11. Hudson	87,915	... increased 6,000
  12. Mercury	81,128	... increase 6,000
  13. DeSoto	65,467	... increased 11,000
  14. Nash	62,131	... decreased 700
  15. LaSalle	24,130	... increased 3,000
  16. Lincoln	21,765	... increased 600
  17. Willys	21,418	... increased 3,000
  18. Cadillac	13,043	... decreased 500
  19. Graham	2,000	... decreased 3,000
  20. Crosley	422	... decreased 1,600
  21. American Bantam	800	... decreased 400