Series 328. 85 bhp, 328 cu. in. L-head V-8 engine, three-speed manual transmission, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel mechanical brakes. Wheelbase: 125 in.

• Offered from the collection of George Grew

• America’s first styled car

• CCCA Full Classic

A car so nice, he bought it twice. The LaSalle marque had a special place in George Grew’s heart; earlier in his life he had owned and restored a 1927 LaSalle Convertible Coupe, replete with rumble seat and a golf bag door. Discovery of this LaSalle ranked among the high points in his experience. He found it in the early-1960s in a barn in Westport, Massachusetts. Although it had been sitting for years, just yards from the sea, it had suffered very little corrosion and fired up almost at once. It ran so well that George drove it home. His daughter, Janice Brockman, remembers, “There were mice jumping out of the back seat the entire way home.”

While George was considering how to restore the LaSalle, he had the opportunity to buy a Simplex from Edgar Roy, the nation’s respected expert on the marque. The LaSalle restoration faltered, so when George’s friend John Stinger offered to buy it and have it professionally restored, the LaSalle changed hands. The time eventually came when Stinger was ready to sell, and George happily bought the car back, feeling that it should come home rather than going to a new owner.

Although an older restoration, the car presents well and has recently been recommissioned and detailed. The bright blue color is correct Calais Blue, nicely offset by Galahad Gray belt panels and wheels, and a black canvas top, all in very good condition. A full set of side curtains is included, carried in a locking compartment behind the front seat. The recipient of several AACA awards from Hershey shows, it was invited and displayed at the 2009 Newport Concours d’Elegance in Rhode Island. George would often be challenged by judges about the authenticity of the color, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to pull out the build sheet to demonstrate that it was original to the car.