1910 Peerless Landaulet, Body by Brewster
(first posted 3/24/2017) Peerless was one of that famous triumvirate of the “Three P’s”: Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and Peerless. These three were among the most revered and sought-after ultra-luxury cars of their times, from their Brass-era beginnings until the depths of the Depression, when two of the three succumbed as car-builders. Their early success was based on an unwavering dedication to building the very finest automobiles possible, with only the very the best materials, technology and craftsmanship; they were built to a standard, not a price; both of which were inevitably very high.
The 1910 Peerless Laundaulet reviewed by Automotive Quarterly (reprinted further down) is a splendid example of Brass-era car building at its finest. As an introduction, I’ve prepared an abbreviated history of the company. It’s old history now, but Peerless and the other long-gone classic marques are an integral part of what shaped the industry, both then and in their aftermath.
Originally known as the Peerless Wringer & Mfg Company in Cleveland, Ohio, manufacturing washing-machine ringers, in 1892 it became known as the Peerless Mfg Company. In 1895 the company moved to new facilities and began soon to manufacture bicycles for the booming bicycle market, as sort of bicycle enthusiast craze taking off in the USA in the 1890’s. By the turn of the century the company was making automotive parts for the nascent, developing automotive market. The company was renamed and re-established as “The Peerless Motor Car Company” in 1900 producing automobiles from 1900 until 1931 when the effects of the “Great Depression” impacted it as well as many other American Luxury brands.
1901 De Dion-Bouton Motorette
Initially in 1900, the Peerless manufacturing facilities were at 43 Lisbon Street manufacturing an auto under license from the French manufacturer De Dion-Bouton, the De Dion-Bouton Motorette. Almost at the same time, 1901, approximately 200 miles to the east in Buffalo, New York, the George N. Pierce ( later known as Pierce Arrow) began its licensed manufacture of the similar De Dion-Bouton Motorette. It is an interesting fact that two of the most early prestigious auto manufacturers (both Peerless and Pierce) began with bicycle production morphing into the production of virtually similar licensed De Dion-Bouton Motorettes from which both quickly evolved into producers of luxury brass era cars.
1901 Pierce De Dion-Bouton Motorette
The 1900 De Dion-Bouton four wheel carriage/voiturette/Motorette had a single cylinder 402 cc (24.5 C.I.D) engine with overhead valves, inlet atmospheric, trembler coil ignition, spinning to an unprecedented 3500 RPM maximum engine speed and usually run at 2,000 RPM, delivering 3 3/4 HP(CV), positioned under the seat (actually a Victorian Era mid engine design) with drive through a 2 speed gearbox with shift on the steering column and a decelerator pedal applied to a transmission brake. An advanced design for 1900 produced by both Peerless and Pierce under license.
1901 Packard
Already begun in 1897, 65 miles to the east of Cleveland, in Warren, Ohio, the Packard brothers had begun production of an auto, essentially an improved Winton with one of the first steering wheels. The Winton Motor Carriage Company had been established in Cleveland in 1897.
Cleveland and Buffalo were already manufacturing hubs and with the addition of Detroit, the Great Lakes region became the epicenter of American auto manufacturing, the early 20th Century manufacturing and wealth generating equivalent of the current Silicon Valley.
From 1905-1910, Peerless experience rapid expansion in size, production numbers, and prestige under the leadership and direction of Lewis H. Kittredge. Peerless began to produce and sell luxurious car models that by 1905 were priced at $3,200, $4000, and $6,000.
As the fame and prestige rose, the focus was on luxury and the carriage trade set, with Clevelander John D. Rockefeller and New Yorker Cornelius Vanderbilt becoming customers. Peerless was quick to innovate, electric lighting in 1911, and along with Cadillac, was an early initial, adopter of electric starting in 1913.
The first production V8 of the 1910 De Dion-Bouton, the inspiration for the Cadillac and Peerless V8’s
De Dion-Bouton introduced the first production automobile V-8 in 1910, followed by the first American productions V8’s by Cadillac in 1915 and by Peerless in 1916 displacing 331.8 C.I.D, with side valves, and built by Herschell-Spillman for Peerless.
The production Cadillac V8 of 1915, followed by the Peerless V8 of 1916.
In distinction, Cadillac built its V8 in house, not outsourced. Herschell-Spillman’s V8, in its various production versions, would be the only engine option offered by Peerless until the lower-priced Model-6-70 was introduced in 1925
Peerless, Pierce Arrow, and Packard, known as the prestigious 3 P’s, quickly evolved from the single cylinder beginnings into the most storied and prestigious multicylinder luxury cars of the Brass Era, which extended from 1896 to approximately 1916. The Brass era is an American term ( Edwardian or antique in the U.K.) for the early period of automotive manufacturing in which brass lighting fixtures, radiators, horns, engine accessories, etc were made of brass, often ornate in appearance.
The Brass Era came to essentially an abrupt end by 1916 as there was a developing worldwide shortage of copper and brass being diverted to the insatiable demands of the new industrial based command economies producing armaments and machines for World War I. Brass was vital for millions of artillery shells, for the billions of small arms bullets, for bearings, for radiators, and for the new applications in aeroplanes for warfare. The Brass Era brass automotive fittings/accessories were replaced initially with painted steel pressings, and then with Nickel Plating, becoming called the Nickel Era, which in turn was replaced by later Chrome Plating (i.e radiator shell of the 1930 Model A Ford).
1911 Peerless
The pre-WW1 cars, the Brass Era cars like our luxurious subject car represent the zenith and then the twilight of a soon to fade time in history. The 3 P’s had to change and adapt in the post WW1 recession losing some of their glamour in the process to survive in the 1920’s
1920 Peerless, clearly a smaller, less prestigious appearing model compared to the Brass Era models
The six cylinder Model 61 ad with a price, size, and degree of prestige far removed from the Brass Era.
The relentless down market ride in order to remain viable with less expensive 6 and 8 cylinder models.
When it became clear in the late teens with the post World War One recession of 1919-1920 that the market for the large touring cars that Peerless had produced prior to the war was limited, the company lowered its prices and tried to promote medium sized, ultimately less prestigious cars. Even competitor Packard followed this path, eliminating the prestigious twin-six V12 models for less expensive straight eight models. Once the rabbit hole of competing on price was entered, to ultimately compete with the larger volume competitors, the slow process of ultimate doom for these once prestigious brands was sealed. In the 1920’s Peerless went deeper and earlier into this rabbit hole than Packard with lower priced 6 and 8 cylinder models.
1930 Peerless
1931 Peerless
As the boom economy of the 1920’s developed, auto derived profits increased. Starting about 1926 Peerless management planned for a return to the upper luxury market by developing two aluminum intensive prototype V12 engines and a prototype aluminum intensive V16 engine independent of the concurrent V12 and V16 developments of Cadillac and Marmon. More upscale body work was developed for the late 1920’s extending into 1930 and 1931. Plans and engineering were underway for new aluminum intensive chassis and bodies for those new engines. James Bohannon was hired away from Marmon for management. Alexis de Sakhnoffsky was engaged for styling direction. Murphy was contracted for the custom bodywork to restore Peerless to the preeminence it had enjoyed in the Brass Era with Kittredge.
Then the Stock Market Crashed and everything changed.
With the 1929 Crash, and the onset of the great Depression causing great economic changes, the management of Peerless led by President James A. Bohannon ceased auto production on November 4, 1931 to save the company and its existing cash reserves by doing the generally unthinkable, changing their business model ( as in 1895 for bicycles and then yet again in 1901 for auto production) allowing Peerless, of the 3 P’s, to ultimately out survive Pierce Arrow (demise 1938) and then Packard (demise 1957).
Seeing the end of Prohibition, confirmed by the election of FDR on November 8th, 1932 who promised repeal of Prohibition, Peerless bought licensing rights from Carling Brewing of Canada, and in 1933 remodeled the car factory into one of the larger breweries in the United States for Carling Red Cap Ale and Carling Black Label beer (slogan: “Hey Mabel, Black Label”). Because there had been other beers called “Peerless”, and to eliminate confusion, the Peerless name became the American Brewing Company with the same President, Board of Directors, and stock holders as the Peerless Motor Car Company, continually brewing beer until 1979 when the company was bought by Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, which is now owned by Coors.
Obviously the Peerless Board knew that during the post-prohibition Depression that beer was a likely savior for the Company and beer did allow it to outlive its long term rivals, Packard, Pierce Arrow, and other independent smaller car companies. Peerless, by having a long standing tradition of adaptability, of being able to change it’s business model as needed, survived by evolving from producing washing machines, then bicycles, followed by auto production, and then ultimately to producing beer. Peerless, proved that truly it was without peer as a survivor by doing the unusual and unexpected for survival.
So you are invited to enjoy a cold one as you read the story of the 1910 Peerless Landaulet written by the outstanding automotive historian, the late Beverly Rae Kimes.
The story was published by the late Gerry Durnell, Editor and Publisher of the no longer published Automobile Quarterly. Gerry was also the photographer for the article. Publication was in the Automobile Quarterly, Volume 41, number 2, second quarter 2001
Above are the delightful Donzes with their family who did the restoration of the 1910 Peerless in their Strongsville, Ohio garage.
Finally, I personally knew both the late Dr. Bill Donze and the late Mrs. Bernice Donze who were absolutely delightful people, who happened to be car enthusiasts, and were owners of this 1910 Peerless. Bill was an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who would drive daily to the hospital with one of his many “old” cars, personally restored by himself and Bernice, and his most frequent favorite was a 1938 La Salle. His patients and families would get drives in his cars delivering many smiles along the way while he delivered many babies for those young families. It was a pleasure to have known both of them, and my life was personally enriched knowing them.
Stillborn 1932 Peerless V16 prototype, Body by Murphy. Aluminum engine and bodywork.
Because the luxury Peerless cars contained between 2 to 3 times the aluminum usually found in other luxury cars of their period, many Peerless cars fell victim to the World War 2 scrap metal drives, so that very few Peerless cars survive to this day.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! The Peerless brand has always fascinated me and it has always seemed to be the most elusive of the Three P’s. I’ve seen very few in my life.
The adaptability of Peerless in changing its business model to stay alive is quite interesting – this is all new information to me. It does make the brain ponder what might have become of other companies had they changed direction.
The Brass Era cars are almost endlessly fascinating as they showcase a technology in its vibrant infancy. There are simply so many things to know about them; sadly, these appear to be all to often overlooked in current times.
Truly a terrific car and your knowing the Donze family makes it all the richer. This is a great way to start a Friday morning.
Thanks for the deep dive into Peerless history. I knew about the “Three Ps” and that Peerless was one of them, but I knew little else about the company. And I had no idea about the Carling beer connection.
What a great name for a car of that era.
A wonderful article, picked up a lot of details about a car company that I was familiar with, but only in bare bones form, and a brand of car I’ve never seen in the metal. I supposed I should go to Hershey one of these years, there certainly will be two or three there.
By the way, when did Automobile Quarterly go out of print? That was one of my favorite car ‘magazines’ (well, I guess by definition it was, although the concept of a hard-bound magazine was kind of unique), and I still have one or two sitting on the book shelf today.
Wikipedia says 2012 was their last publication of the magazine, although their website is dated January 2013.
So it appears to be sometime about four to five years ago for ceasing publication.
Automobile Quarterly was founded in 1962 by the late L. Scott Bailey (1924-2012) in Spring 1962 as a non advertising, subscriber only, book format auto enthusiast publication. The subscriber base was typically small, about only 6,000, of unfortunately aging subscribers, like me, for this publication who eagerly looked forward to its publication and delivery about every three months.
L. Scott Bailey working from offices in New York City was the founding publisher and Editor in Chief publishing AQ in association with the Princeton Institute for Historical Research in Princeton, New Jersey. The initial publication office was in Kutztown, PA using Mead Offset Enamel Paper, color graphics by Lincoln Graphics Inc of Cherry Hill, N.J., with binding done in Philadelphia by the National Publishing Company.
Scott Bailey started AQ calling it the Connoisseur’s Magazine of Motoring Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow. He like saying that it was ” a cross between the New Yorker (magazine) and the Encyclopedia Britannica in the world of auto mania”
In the early years the archivist was no other than the legendary Henry Austin Clark, Jr, (a.k.a. Austie Clark–an amazing enthusiastic collector of early automobile memorabilia and the founder/owner of the now defunct Long Island Automobile Museum).
AQ had employed many of the best of automotive writers, artists, and photographers throughout its publication history including fine contributors such as Beverly Rae Kimes, Griffith Borgeson among the many. The contributors were the best of the best.
L. Scott Bailey retired to England to live in the Cotswolds region in 1986 selling AQ to CBS Magazines. Subsequently CBS resold the publication and publication rights to Kutztown Publishing in 1988. Then in October 2000, AQ was sold to a newly formed company, Automobile Heritage Publishing, LLC, owner by the now late Gerry Durnell (1942-2011) who continued publication from New Albany, Indiana.
Following the death of Gerry Durnell on May 23, 2011 due to his unfortunate battle with cancer, AQ was soon to end publication with the final issue so far published being volume. 52 (1) in the first quarter of 2012. No new issue publications have occurred since 2012.
The website remained open for quite awhile still accepting new subscriptions, but then due to much reported controversy over this matter and without new issues published or delivered, the subscription function of the website was reportedly deactivated after about a year. Additionally some past printed back issues of AQ are reportedly available on Ebay through the AQ website. So AQ lives on in some reported state of limbo, but without new published issues.
The state of print publications is in financial turmoil. If Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car magazine was financially challenged with about 55,000 subscribers and with advertising revenue (and recently announced termination of publication), then try to imagine the financial difficulties for a much smaller publication like AQ with only about 6,000 subscribers and no advertising revenue.
AQ really opened my eyes to another world when I first stumbled into them at the Uof Iowa library in 1971. I was certainly aware of the classic cars, but this was on a totally different level.
I have picked up some here and there along the way, although sadly I sold a bunch back in the early 90s in a fit of “downsizing”. But I still turn to the ones I have from time to time.
I unfortunately sold off my collection back in the late 1980’s (about the same time I sold my ’37 Buick) because it was taking up too much room, and my interest was totally motorcycle by that time.
Something I absolutely regret doing. Especially since it was bought by this bitch from hell (most charitable description I can give to her) who bought stuff for her yard sale business.
The DeDion was French. And was one of the competitors in the 1908 Great Race. from New York to Paris. I read a book not long ago covering the race. Interesting to see the connection between DeDion and Peerless. Makes me wonder why the race team did not use that connection to their advantage a little more. The Thomas Flyer had way more support in the race from their network.
In that era, one did not simply go the dealer and buy a car and drive it home. You bought it and then had the car delivered by a driver/trainer, who stayed at your house (you were rich and had a big house) for a couple weeks and trained you on the operation of your automobile. At least from a couple sources I have read.
Thanks for the article. Always great to learn more.
Very interesting Friday morning reading.
Talk about flexible out-of-the box thinking, this should be a well taught text book example:
“.. the election of FDR on November 8th, 1932 promised repeal of Prohibition, Peerless bought licensing rights from Carling Brewing of Canada, and in 1933 remodeled the car factory into one of the larger breweries in the United States”.
I got a business degree in 1966 and this incident never came up in my studies.
Interesting-I’ll remember this the next time I have a Carling’s. BTW, a couple of railroads did almost the same thing as Peerless did (with some help from Uncle Sam, though.) When the Conrail was formed in 1976, it purchased the railroads operated by Penn Central and Reading Company; these companies used their non-railroad assets to finance expansion into new lines of business. Penn Central became an insurance company, American Premier Underwriters, and Reading became part of a holding company which operates, among other things, the Reading Cinemas theater chain.
Let’s not forget REO Motor Car Company. After exiting the auto market in 1936, they continued making trucks until they sold that line of business to White Motor in the 1950’s. The company changed their name to the Nuclear Corporation of America, and tried to get into the technology business. One of the businesses they bought made steel trusses for buildings and they became successful with that business model. Eventually, a guy name Ken Iversen was running the business and was unhappy with buying expensive steel, so he bought an electric arc furnace to melt scrap and make steel much cheaper than the large steel companies. The company changed their name the Nucor and became the largest steel company in the United States and the pioneer in mini-mills.
A strong argument could be made that Packard didn’t go out of business either but merely changed their business model too. After the ill-fated merger (actually buyout) of Studebaker, the last real Packards in 1956 and Studes rebadged as Packards in 1958, the company was still named “Studebaker-Packard” as late as 1962 before being renamed just Studebaker. But despite only Studebakers rolling off assembly lines through 1966, the company itself was more closely related to the pre-merger Packard than pre-merger Studebaker, and their board of directors (mostly the same as the pre-merger Packard board) had determined by the late 1950s that their only hope of survival was to divest their way out of the automotive business. So the profits they made from the early Larks were poured into buying numerous other companies like Gravely tractors, Onan generators, STP and Wagner auto parts and accessories, Franklin and Hamilton appliances, and many more. Studebaker merged with Canadian HVAC manufacturer Worthington in 1967 and Studebaker-Worthington continued under that name until being bought out by McGraw-Edison in 1979, which itself was bought out by another company in the ’80s. Little pieces of what used to be Packard and Studebaker continue to this day, although those companies have been subject to so many mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures that it’s hard to trace where they are now.
So Peerless started out as a washing-machine company. Weird how many car companies dabbled in the appliance business, or in Maytag’s case the other way around.
“Brass Era” – how wonderfully, appropriately descriptive! BTW, I think the first car designed specifically as a V8 (as opposed to using an aviation V8) may have been the 1905 Rolls-Royce Legalimit. *cowers under desk and prepares to be shot down in flames by Don Andreina*
The important matter in this discussion regarding auto V8’s is who was the first manufacturer of serial and volume production of V8’s, not one-off’s, prototypes, or a handful of produced cars, De Dion-Bouton has been the acknowledged first volume producer of production auto V8’s beginning in 1910.
Granted, these production volume numbers were not what we came to expect later with the term as applied to Ford Model T production numbers after mass production assembly line techniques were introduced about 1912 by Ford.
Cadillac converted from 4 cylinder volume production (i.e Model 30) to the use of the V8 as its sole engine configuration in its production cars beginning in 1915. Peerless followed in the footsteps of De Dion-Bouton and Cadillac, albeit quickly with their V8 model introduced in 1916.
The actual production numbers of Cadillac and Peerless were dwarfed in comparison to Ford engine production numbers.
Once auto mass production began, profitable auto production morphed over to a system requiring rapid capital intensive growth and industrialization for profitability which ultimately doomed the smaller manufacturers, including the very high end small bespoke producers like Peerless.
Another important aspect about V8s is that prior to Ford’s 1932 V8, all of the previous ones were not monobloc, meaning they had a separate crankcase with two cylinder assemblies bolted to it. Ford’s monobloc casting, which was very problematic at first, really revolutionized the V8. Cadillac switched to monobloc V8s in 1936.
I believe the Legalimit was a complete flop, mainly due to the design being set up to stay within the then legal speed limits in Britain at the time. The engine was built for smoothness, not power.
Vic, thank you for this long-overdue and most welcome look at a car maker that has barely been mentioned here. I know this was a challenging undertaking, but you have given us a peerless trip back in time when the automobile industry was so drastically different than today.
I’d forgotten how much I’d forgotten about Peerless, in that it went down market well before Packard did, and as such, was a foreshadowing of Packard’s woes to come.
I’m in the midst of reading “The Fall of the Packard Motor Car Company”, which IIRC it was you that recommended it. Fascinating details of the struggle to sustain and perk up a firm that had been falling behind for so long. I hope to do a book review on it soon.
I know this isn’t your first post here at CC, but with this ambitious step, you’ve joined the CC Contributor’s Club in a very definitive manner.
Paul, the past is a wonderful world to visit and explore, because the stories and challenges people and manufacturers had “back then” are often times as fascinating as anything today. Fiction, as we learn many times over, is less surprising than reality where the real surprises reside.
The involvement of Studebaker in the ultimate failures of both Pierce Arrow in the 1930’s and then Packard in the 1950’s should be an interesting story to be told (hint for myself, for the future) worthy of a business school case management study.
Another fascinating story to be told is about Clare MacKichan (who you say?), a.ka. “Mac”, Corvettes, John DeLorean’s Banshee, Opel, the Opel GT, tire pressures, and GM’s aversion to oversteer due to the Corvair. Soon to come to a theatre near you? Perhaps. If so, then perhaps plan on getting some popcorn and a cold Carling’s beer ( or as available now in Cleveland, a Great Lakes Brewery Commodore Perry IPA-not bad, so to say) in the future.
Other fascinating stories, like Ned Nickles, the mystery man of Buick and the Corvair, beg to be told.
While Studebaker didn’t do much for Packard, it did initially help Pierce-Arrow. The company was basically moribund when Studebaker took over, and provided a desperately needed infusion of cash and new thinking.
Pierce-Arrows had been viewed as outdated and stodgy next to Packards and even Lincolns by the mid-1920s. (The firm had stuck with six-cylinder engines long after the main players in the prestige field had moved up to eights.)
The result was the 1929 models, which featured a new straight-eight engine and were initially a success. Their success was cut short by the Great Crash and resulting Great Depression. When Studebaker went into receivership in 1933, Pierce-Arrow was sold for quick cash. But if Studebaker hadn’t bought the company in the first place, it probably would have expired around 1931 or 1932.
I read that book which is an excellent acount of Packard’s downfall. I remain amused that it’s author has almost the same name as Packard’s founder.
An excellent book, but very polite about the management failures of Packard from 1945-52. Its telling that no one wanted to run the company after they fired Christopher and it took over two years to convince Nance to take the job. The internal talent pool of the company was non-existent. While reading the book I wondered why no ambitious executive at Ford or Chrysler couldn’t have been tempted to take the job.
Ah Beverly Rae Kimes, I have her book “Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942” It is a well written exhaustive tome about thousands of defunct automobile makers. Even ones that incorporated but never produced a vehicle.
I assume that the box on the running board of the 1910 Peerless in the top pic is for the carbide light generator?
I think the box is actually a battery box for the ignition system. Apparently magnetos had a hard time producing enough spark to get a large displacement engine turning over fast enough catch by mere human arm strength, so a battery provided extra electrons to get things running and was then switched off. I have no idea where the acetylene gas generator is in this behemoth, but on Henry’s Model T it was on the left running board, looking somewhat like an oversize thermos jug.
Well then, thanks for a history of a car I had no idea about, and I always appreciate a Canadian beer connection. Who would’ve thought, but beer is definitely is a more stable market with better margins and lower development costs.
Carling Black Label is still available here, but like OV and Labatts 50 it has a reputation as being beer for factory workers in the 1970’s. No idea who drinks it today… EDIT I guess nobody does, rates a 1.86 out of 5 on ratebeer.com
I used to live two blocks away from a tavern called Bentley’s, which many years earlier was an auto parts store called Bentley’s that was foundering, so its owner decided to get a liquor license and become a bar instead. Evidently, beer is more profitable than cars; I should go there and order a Carling to complete the circle…
floundering not foundering
Foundering works, look it up.
Now, if you had a fishing vessel that was going after flounder, and it couldn’t catch any, then sank, I’m not sure if that would be floundering, foundering, or perhaps a floundering flounder founder.
Very interesting article. Thank you! It reminds me of how much I miss Automobile Quarterly. I have a few issues at home. They pop up for sale at the big Hershey Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) fall meet and various Carlisle events.
You noted the similarity between the first Packard and the contemporary Winton. The Packard Motor Car Company was founded when James Ward Packard suggested improvements to his new Winton to the owner of the company, Alexander Winton.
Mr. Winton replied that, if Mr. Packard wanted a better car, perhaps he should build one himself. Which he promptly did.
Packard really pulled away from Peerless and Pierce-Arrow with the introduction of the “Twin Six” V-12 in 1915. That was a blockbuster of a car for the time.
Peerless, Packard and Pierce-Arrow really had no choice but to figure out ways to increase volume and lower prices. The Ford Model T was putting downward pressure on everyone’s prices, and the demand for huge, cumbersome touring cars was evaporating in the wake of World War I, as you noted.
Packard successfully responded to downward pressures on new-car prices, and the need for increased volume to pay for modern manufacturing facilities, with the “Single Six,” followed by the Single (straight) Eight. While not as expensive as their predecessors, they were easier to handle, which was what even prestige customers wanted at the time. Packard sold many six-cylinder models, but the expensive straight eights – particularly the ones with custom coachwork – maintained the marque’s prestige.
In some respects, today’s successful prestige marques follow the Packard model. They produce and sell high-price models that maintain the marque’s glamor – such as the Mercedes S-Class – while selling a fair number of lower price models that really pay the bills and make it possible to maintain an strong dealer body that isn’t limited to a few large cities.
Speechless. Amazing article, much appreciated.
Thank you so much for the article about a make (as others have said), that I know very little about!
I’m also a HUGE fan of the so-called ‘brass era’ cars. They’re beautiful, and many were wildly idiosyncratic.
I was fortunate enough to visit the Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation museum in Cleveland, OH. several years ago. That facility has one of the loveliest early 30’s closed cars that I’ve ever laid eyes on, a one of a kind 1932 Peerless prototype V-16 sedan designed by Frank Hershey.
This link will take you to several images of it:
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11517/Peerless-V-16-Prototype.aspx
This was absolutely awesome! Thank you for making my Friday worthwhile. (Work certainly didn’t)
Thank you so much for having educated me on this legendary American automaker. It was (by a long shot) the one “three P” I had the least info on.
The decision to switch from luxury cars to beer has to be the weirdest lateral move anyone has ever made — and a very shrewd one, at that. Especially when one sees the fate of Pierce-Arrow and others (Hupp, Marmon, Graham, De Vaux, Cord…) who tried to keep at it for too long. Someone mentioned REO and their focus on trucks after 1936; there was also Franklin, who also turned away from cars after their bankruptcy and just built air-cooled engines for decades thereafter.
All the same, when one sees that ’32 Peerless prototype, it seems a pity that such a great-looking classic never got built. Ah well, we can always drink to that.
PS: Why does the term “Brass Era” always makes me think of female undergarments? 🙂
Agree that this is an awesome write-up on a beautiful car.
It is truly remarkable how purposely impractical some early auto design was. Rolling art, a car to be seen in on a glorious day, but garage bound in the event of inclement weather – and I realize it was designed to torture the hired help, but the driver isn’t much help if he can’t see or feel his fingers and toes.
Interestingly in the Brass Era, some owners ordered two separate bespoke bodies for the purchased chassis- a summertime open body and a winter closed body with a seasonal lift-off and exchange of one body for the other. During the winter both the chauffeur/driver and the passengers sat inside an enclosed body, typically in period, without interior heat for any and all.
Amazing the things virtually unlimited wealth made possible for some, especially before the March 15th, 1913 passage of the 16th U.S. Constitutional Amendment permitting an income tax. Up until that amendment passage, a tax on income was not constitutionally permitted. The new income tax was initially 1.0% but rapidly increased so that by the end of WW1 in 1918 the highest tax bracket was 60%. So in effect in 5 years the country went from no income tax to a tax of 60% on the income of the wealthy.
The income tax also had predictable effects on the down market pricing trend for the luxury car producers to stay alive. The Income Tax was a true Game Changer. The War and the Tax consigned the ultra expensive Brass Car to history.
The income tax had some effect but remember old money doesn’t rely heavily on wages for income. And the rates really were negligible until the New Deal.
In any case, they make more money on capital gains, which are taxed at a different, usually lower, rate. There certainly was a cap on higher-end wage earners like executives, but the super-rich didn’t have to worry as much. The big problem was the Depression, where not only did fewer people have lots of money to throw around, but driving around in something overly ostentatious was bad for the public image.
For European high-end manufacturers, the deal-breaker was World War II and yes, higher taxes. French marques like Delahaye and Delage didn’t last long after the war, while Alfa Romeo survived by becoming a volume manufacturer.
What a pleasure to read such an exquisite piece of writing by Miss Kimes. I do enjoy CC, but once in a while you have to climb the taller mountains…
Wanna know what impresses me most about de Dion-Bouton? The de Dion axle dates back before 1900. This one, an 1898 model, is on display at Montreal’s Chateau Ramezay, the Q1 being the very first registration issued to a car in Quebec. When most manufacturers were using chains several years into the 20th century, de Dion had a sophisticated rear suspension in the 19th.
I know the 1910 Peerless as I visited Dr. Donzes home many times in the 1960’s while the Peerless was being restored.
Also Dr. Donze delivered 3 of my 6 children — 1962, 1963, and 1966. Robert Lade
A major reason luxury cars went downmarket after WWI was the top income tax rate rose from 6% to about 80% during the war and a few years after. Then there was a sharp recession about 1920-1 after war production ended. Top tax rates dropped during the Harding and Coolidge administrations, down to 25% in the late 20s boom years, which explains the development of super-expensive multi-cylinder cars. Hoover doubled them in ’31 to try to keep Federal revenues up, then FDR raised them again in ’34 and ’37, to over 90%. And the tax attorney was born.