Cadillac - Lasalle Club Museum & Research Center

What Cadillac - Lasalle Club Museum & Research Center does

The Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center (CLCMRC) is a Michigan-based nonprofit founded in 1995 by members of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club to preserve and showcase the heritage of the Cadillac and LaSalle marques. The organization operates a museum on the Gilmore Car Museum campus in Hickory Corners, Michigan, displaying vehicles spanning from 1903 to the present in a building replicating a 1948 GM-recommended dealership design, alongside a separate Research Center in Dexter, Michigan housing archival literature, memorabilia, photographs, and reference materials. Its collection includes historically significant vehicles such as the 1912 Cadillac Touring Car — the first production car with an electric starter — and rotating exhibits of concept and loaned vehicles supplied by collectors and General Motors Design.

The organization's products and services comprise four primary lines: the museum exhibition and collection, the annual Cadillac Fall Festival car show and competition, the Research Center archives, and an e-commerce shop selling Cadillac-themed merchandise (calendars, books, posters, blankets, jackets, grille badges, and lapel pins). Its revenue model is a hybrid of admissions ($20 adult, $12 youth, free for children under 11 and active military), donations and legacy gifts (with tiered recognition up to $250,000+), merchandise sales, and event-based fundraising such as auctions at Grand National meets. Distribution is anchored by the physical museum location (with admissions bundled across the broader Gilmore campus), an online shop, and event programming.

The museum serves classic car enthusiasts, Cadillac & LaSalle Club members, and automotive historians and researchers. Marketing is event-driven and community-led, leveraging the Cadillac & LaSalle Club affiliation, the annual Fall Festival, an email newsletter, and website content. Strategic partnerships — including with the Gilmore Car Museum, the Cadillac & LaSalle Club, General Motors Design, and private collectors such as the Joe Bortz Collection — provide access to rare vehicles and concept cars, while structured donor tiers sustain the operating budget.

Name

Cadillac - Lasalle Club Museum & Research Center

Legal name

Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center Inc.

Website

https://cadillaclasallemuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center is a Michigan nonprofit founded in 1995 that operates a museum and archival research center dedicated to preserving and showcasing the heritage of Cadillac and LaSalle automobiles for enthusiasts, club members, and historians.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums (712110)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vintage & Antique Collectibles Retail (CRALAGAE), Historical & Military Collectibles Retail (CRALAGAM)

Keywords

• Automotive museum services
• Automotive heritage preservation
• Classic car exhibitions
• Automotive archival research
• Museum gift shop merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Hickory Corners

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Revenue from visitor admission fees to the museum located at Gilmore Car Museum campus, including single-day and two-day passes.
2. Donations and Contributions: Cash donations, marketable securities, and legacy gifts from donors. Donors contributing over $1,000 cumulative are designated as Benefactors receiving lifetime free admission.
3. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Cadillac-themed merchandise including calendars, books, posters, paintings, blankets, jackets, and lapel pins through the museum shop.
4. Fundraising Events: Annual museum auctions at CLC Grand National events featuring Cadillac memorabilia, literature, artwork, and collectibles. These are major fundraising activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center operates a physical museum displaying historic Cadillac and LaSalle vehicles from 1903 to present, alongside an archival Research Center containing automotive literature, memorabilia, photographs, and reference materials. It also hosts the annual Cadillac Fall Festival car show and operates an online shop selling branded merchandise and books.

Product overview

The Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center is a nonprofit automotive museum and research institution affiliated with the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. Founded in 1995, it offers visitors access to its collection of historic Cadillac and LaSalle vehicles, operates a Research Center with archives of literature and memorabilia, hosts the annual Cadillac Fall Festival car show event, and maintains an e-commerce shop selling calendars, books, posters, and branded merchandise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Exhibits & Collection Physical museum display of Cadillac and LaSalle vehicles spanning 1903 to present day, including historically significant automobiles like the 1912 Cadillac Touring Car and special exhibits, open to visitors at the Gilmore Car Museum campus.
• Research Center Archives Archival facility housing literature, memorabilia, photographs, and reference materials regarding Cadillac and LaSalle marques, accessible to academic researchers, historians, and enthusiasts at the Dexter, MI location (open Thursdays 9 AM - 4 PM).
• Cadillac Fall Festival Annual car show and competition event held at Gilmore Car Museum campus featuring all-GM marques from 1903 to 2023, with vehicle classes, peer judging, special concept car displays, garage sales, collector car rides, and driving tours.
• Museum Shop Online store selling Cadillac-themed merchandise including calendars ($7.50-$20), books and literature ($25-$115), posters, paintings, blankets ($120), jackets ($250), lapel pins ($10), grille badges ($75.95), and other memorabilia.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of contributors have supported the museum since 1995

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gilmore Car MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995The Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum & Research Center is affiliated with the world-renowned Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. The museum is a premier attraction on the Gilmore campus, benefiting from its partnerships with other car museums, outstanding facilities, and beautiful campus with year-round access to collection and exhibits.
• Cadillac & LaSalle ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995Founded in 1995 by members of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club. The club continues to support the museum through memberships, donations, volunteer efforts, and participation in events like the Fall Festival and Grand National meets.
• Joe Bortz CollectionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProviding 8 concept cars from the 1950s and 1960s for display at the 2026 Fall Festival, including 1953 Buick Wildcat, 1953 Pontiac Parisienne, 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special, 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne, 1955 LaSalle Roadster, 1955 LaSalle Sedan, 1960 Pontiac X400, and 1964 Pontiac XP833 Banshee.
• General Motors DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGM Design ambassadors accompany concept cars at events. Provided Cadillac Sollei and 2019 Expressive Coupe concept cars for display at the 2025 Fall Festival.
• Kelsey TireminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold sponsor of the 2026 Cadillac Fall Festival.
• West Michigan CLC ChapterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProviding hospitality tent at Fall Festival featuring snacks and Cadillac-named alcoholic beverages and snacks.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AACA Museum (Antique Automobile Club of America): Hershey, PA museum operated by the Antique Automobile Club of America. Comparable as a marque-affiliated enthusiast club museum with archives, library, and research services for antique vehicle history.
• Blackhawk Automotive Museum: Danville, CA nonprofit specialty auto museum focused on rare and collector vehicles. Comparable as a regional nonprofit auto museum with classic and special-interest vehicle exhibits and donor programming.
• LeMay - America's Car Museum: Tacoma, WA nonprofit automotive museum with collection of 300+ vehicles and event programming. Comparable as a specialty auto museum with active event calendar and donor/visitor engagement model.
• Lane Motor Museum: Nashville, TN nonprofit museum featuring one of the largest European vehicle collections in the US. Comparable as a smaller-scale specialty auto museum with focused collections and enthusiast programming.
• National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection): Reno, NV museum housing the Harrah automobile collection. Comparable nonprofit specialty auto museum with educational programming, archives, and rotating exhibits.
• Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum: Philadelphia-based nonprofit automotive museum preserving rare and significant race and sports cars. Comparable as a nonprofit specialty auto museum with educational programming and rotating special exhibits.
• Gilmore Car Museum: Hosts the Cadillac LaSalle Club Museum on its Hickory Corners campus. Both are specialty automotive museums focused on preserving and exhibiting historic vehicles, sharing visitor traffic and infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Automotive Hall of Fame: Dearborn, MI institution honoring automotive industry figures. Comparable as a heritage-focused nonprofit adjacent to Cadillac's history, though focused on people and industry recognition rather than vehicle preservation.

Broad incumbents

• The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation: Dearborn, MI museum with extensive automotive history exhibits including significant Cadillac artifacts. Comparable as a major automotive history institution in the same state, though it covers transportation broadly rather than a single marque.
• Petersen Automotive Museum: Major Los Angeles automotive museum with broad collection spanning marques and eras. Comparable as a large specialty auto museum, but operates at much larger scale and with broader automotive scope than the Cadillac-focused subject.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cadillac - Lasalle Club Museum & Research Center