Pierce Arrow
Brief History
In 1878 George Pierce, after being associated with several companies, formed his own company, the George N. Pierce Company. The first production Pierce automobile of 1901 used a single cylinder, 2 hp engine.
By 1905, the George N. Pierce company was producing some of the biggest and most expensive automobiles available. The mainstay of 1905 was the Model 28-32NN, with about 200 made. Available in four body styles, the 28-32NN had a four cylinder engine mounted on a 109 inch wheelbase. The 28-32NN was priced from $4000-$5000.
in 1908 The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was officially launched.
Pierce-Arrow's prestige continued to grow in 1909 when President Taft ordered two Pierce-Arrows, a Brougham and a Landaulette, for the White House. President Taft was the first President to use an automobile for official occasions. This tradition would continue into the Roosevelt administration, when the last Pierce-Arrows, 1935 models, were ordered by the White House.
For 1910, the Pierce-Arrow line was established in a form that would continue for the next decade. All cars now had six cylinder engines. Prices ranged from $3850 for the 36hp runabout to $7200 for the 66hp landau.
For 1913, the cars now offered electric headlights, although the trademark fender-mounted headlights did not appear until 1914. The 1913 cars also had a self-starter of the compressed air variety. An electric starter was used in 1914. The Series Three cars of 1915 added a pressure fuel system to replace the gravity system of the earlier cars.
The Series Four cars appeared in 1916 and were continued into 1918. There were minor changes between the Series 4 cars and the earlier Series Three cars. While the passenger cars being produced appeared to change only slightly, there were many changes happening at Pierce-Arrow. The company was quite successful, with profits of $4 million annually. In 1916, the Company began an expansion effort on it's Elmwood Avenue factory and offered for sale $10.7 million in public stock. This was the first public offering of Pierce-Arrow stock. It was also this year that Pierce-Arrow president George Birge retired, selling approximately half of his Pierce-Arrow stock for $7 million.
Throughout World War 1, the Pierce-Arrow commercial line was busy turning out two and five-ton trucks. These trucks were ordered by the hundreds by both the French and English governments.
After the War, the Series Five passenger cars were introduced in 1918. Still a refinement of the earlier cars, the Series Five cars had a dual-valve engine.
The 1920's ended for Pierce-Arrow with another overhaul of the product line and renewed optimism based on financial soundness. While rumors about mergers with companies such as General Motors, Lafayette and Rolls-Royce circulated in the 20's, none came true until controlling interest of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was purchased by the Studebaker Corporation in 1928. While the two companies maintained independent engineering and manufacturing operations, Pierce-Arrow's future was influenced by its major stockholder, Studebaker.
Studebaker was one of the major automobile companies in America and the acquisition of Pierce-Arrow put Studebaker in the number four position, behind General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Unfortunately, the optimism of the 1929 sales did not continue forward and sales at Pierce-Arrow dropped. Studebaker eventually declared bankruptcy in 1933 and sold Pierce-Arrow to a group of Buffalo businessmen for $1 million.
Pierce-Arrow was losing money in 1934. A one million dollar loan from New York bankers required a reorganization of the company. The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was reorganized as the Pierce-Arrow Motor Corporation. The dealerships, which had been owned by the Pierce-Arrow Sales Corporation, were sold; all Pierce-Arrows were to be sold by independent dealers. The terms of the loan also regulated the number of cars Pierce-Arrow could produce. Not surprising, the 1935 models were very similar to the 1934 cars.
Pierce-Arrow brought out their last all-new model in 1936. The bodies were redesigned, with still more rounded styling. The 1936-38 cars have a distinctive arrangement of four "headlights" . An overdrive transmission and vacuum-boosted brakes were standard equipment. The 1936 Pierce-Arrows were among the finest cars the company had produced. The 1937 and 1938 cars were minor modifications of the 1936 design.
In 1938, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Corporation was declared insolvent and liquidation was ordered by the court. The Elmwood Avenue Corporation was established to dispose of the company's assets. Parts and service would continue to be available through 1942. The remaining parts and tooling at the factory were scrapped for the war effort in 1942.
