During the late nineteenth century, a number of the fledgling automobile companies had been originally carriage manufacturers. The history of Pierce-Arrow, however, starts in 1865 with a company which was known for making delicate, gilded birdcages. In 1872, George Norman Pierce bought out his partners in Heinz, Pierce and Munshauer and changed the name of the company to George N. Pierce Company. In 1896, the company expanded to bicycles. In 1900, the company made its first venture into automobiles with a steam-powered car. The venture failed.
In 1901, Pierce brought out the Motorette, powered by a single-cylinder, two speed engine licensed from de Dion, a French automobile manufacturer. The car did not have a reverse gear.
In 1903, Pierce brought out the Arrow, a two-cylinder car. The following year, the company brought out the Great Arrow, a larger, more luxurious car for an upscale market. The four-cylinder car was successful and had a reputation for reliability.
In 1907, Pierce sold all of his rights to the company and in 1908, Pierce Motor Company was renamed the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company. Pierce died in 1910. Herbert Dawley joined Pierce-Arrow in 1912 and designed most of the new models until the company’s demise in 1938.
One of the side ventures of Pierce-Arrow was the Pierce Four, the first four-cylinder motorcycle produced in the United States. It featured an in-line four-cylinder engine with a drive shaft and was promoted as “vibrationless.” The motorcycle was produced from 1909 until 1914 during which time only about 500 were produced.
Headlights on typical American cars were placed on either side of the radiator. In 1914, Pierce-Arrow moved the headlights into flared housings molded into the front fenders. This gave the Pierce-Arrow a distinctive look and at night the car appeared to have a wider stance.
A 1915 Pierce-Arrow is shown above.
The 1919 Pierce-Arrow Model 48-B 7-passenger Touring car is shown above.
By 1920, Pierce-Arrow offered models in about 60 combinations of body styles and chassis. Colonel George Mixter, president of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, trimmed the offerings back to one chassis with ten factory body styles. Leon Rubay and James Way designed the bodies and the steering wheel was moved to the left side.
In 1922, the Series 33 was introduced which became Pierce-Arrow’s flagship model. It was powered by a Dual-Valve Six engine. This system used two spark plugs per cylinder with switches on the dashboard which allowed the car to be run on either the right or left side set of spark plugs. For maximum power, both sets could be used simultaneously. It had a top speed of 75 miles per hour and fuel consumption of about 12 miles per gallon. During the next five years, 6,000 of these cars were produced with prices ranging from $6,500 to $8,000.
The Pierce-Arrow was a luxury automobile and as such it was a status symbol that tended to be owned by Presidents, royalty, business tycoons, and Hollywood stars. The Pierce-Arrow became one of the first official cars at the White House when President William Howard Taft ordered two of them in 1909 to be used for state occasions.
In 1924, Pierce-Arrow brought out the Series 80 which was less expensive than the Series 33. Series 80 cars were smaller and simpler in design and were powered by an L-head six-cylinder engine. The cars were priced from $2,895 to $4,045 and outsold the Series 33. In comparison, the 1924 Ford Model T Roadster sold for $265.
In 1928, the Studebaker Corporation gained control of Pierce-Arrow. The acquisition of Pierce-Arrow made Studebaker the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. However, the engineering departments of the two automakers continued to function independently. With Studebaker control, Pierce-Arrow gained a dealer network as their cars could be sold through Studebaker dealerships.
Under Studebaker, Pierce-Arrow dropped their six-cylinder engine and introduced a straight-eight engine. The 1929 Pierce-Arrows were long, low, and very successful: nearly 10,000 cars were sold.
The 1929 Pierce Arrow is shown above.
A 1930 Pierce-Arrow is shown above.
Shown above is a 1931 Pierce Arrow Model 41 Limousine on display at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.
In 1932, Pierce-Arrow added two new twelve-cylinder engines. To promote the new engine, an unofficial 24-hour run was made on the Bonneville Salt Flats with an average speed of 112.91 miles per hour. Among the features introduced in 1932 was a ride-control that allowed the shock absorbers to be adjusted from the instrument panel.
Pierce-Arrow sales did not do well and in 1933 Studebaker sold Pierce-Arrow to a group of Buffalo, New York businessmen for $1 million. Studebaker had spent $5.7 million to acquire Pierce-Arrow.
The Silver Arrow, a radically streamlined automobile was unveiled at the 1933 New York Auto Show. Intended for the ultra-wealthy, the Silver Arrow carried a price tag of $10,000. It was the height of the Great Depression and while the car got rave reviews, only five were initially sold.
The Silver Arrow is shown above.
In 1934, the Pierce-Arrow models featured more rounded bodies with less chrome. The tail lights were formed into the rear fenders, similar to the Pierce-Arrow headlights. Pierce-Arrow offered ten body styles with both eight and twelve cylinder engines. In 1934, Pierce-Arrow made only 1,740 cars.
The 1934 Series 84 is shown above.
By 1934, Pierce-Arrow was losing money and the company was reorganized with a loan from New York bankers. In 1936, the company brought out its last all new model. Pierce-Arrow declared insolvency in 1938. The company’s chief engineer, Karl Wise, assembled the final Pierce-Arrow a few months later from parts obtained from the company’s receivers.
In 1957, , the Pierce-Arrow Society was founded to promote the preservation of Pierce-Arrow products. The Pierce-Arrow Society sums up the legacy of the Pierce-Arrow this way:
“For 38 years, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company in Buffalo, New York, produced some of the finest automobiles made. At the time, Pierce-Arrows could be found anywhere the rich and powerful worked and played. For over 20 years, Pierce-Arrow supplied cars to the White House for the use of the President. They also sold cars to the royal families of Japan, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Belgium.”