Museo Stradale

Dominic's Auto Museum
One man's passionate quest to survey finest motorcars in the world

Photographed: Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance, 2007. Owner: Joseph B. Van Sciver, III

Pierce-Arrow & Me: Up in the Boston suburb of Waltham was a Texaco service station run by a man named John Paino—an avid clock builder, master mechanic, and good friend to my grandfather. If it was any misfortune that my grandfather died before I was born, it was great fortune that Mr. Paino filled that role of doting and encouraging as grandfathers do. His direction was always brief: do well in school, and do what your parents say. The doting, however, had more to do with automobiles than outright childhood virtue.

And so became my first classic car experience—the Pierce-Arrow opera coupe he had in the garage for repairs. Of course I remember sitting in the back, marveling at the utility involved in building a car just to go to the opera, my imagination grasping at a picture of the roaring twenties—and why there were curtains on the windows tied down with tassles. Suffice to say, no classmate of mine understood a word about the experience.

Anyway, the name 'Pierce-Arrow' had a ring about it that hit a pleasant chord with me, and the marque became a sentimental favorite. And from what I've come to learn of the marque, it remains a favorite. Pierce-Arrow's history is strange—and quite volatile.

Trajectory: The George N. Pierce Company quickly rose to the premier seat of America's auto-makers; perhaps only the Locomobile or Twin-Six Packard were a match, with Peerless making a short-lived appearance among them. Pierce-Arrow innovated style and technology, in particular championing the use of aluminum. But this trajectory would fizzle by the mid to late twenties and, very quickly, the Pierce-Arrow became a conservative, underpowered car.

Then came an explosion of sorts: The V-12 Silver Arrow Show Car of 1933 shattered the doldrums, and it wasn't merely remarkable for Pierce-Arrow, but a hallmark of automotive design whose many styling adventures were years ahead of the auto industry at large. This explosion, however, also seemed to implode the marque. The show car's promise was too great, and as the company could not reproduce its incredible shape on volume production lines, the Silver Arrow proved an inept savior. Pierce-Arrow production ended in 1936, as Cadillac and Packard took over the luxury market.

But Where to Begin: Bicycle manufacture is a good starting point for the company, as in the Motorette, where thin bicycle derived tubing is evident. This Stanhope bodied Motorette is one step up from the basic two-person carriage that debuted in 1901, adding a fold-down bench out front (depicted in the down position). Hang a few premium lanterns where you can, drive a sturdy brass tiller through the floor, and employ tried and true leaf springs—we might more fittingly call them cart springs here—and you've got an automobile.

By 1903, Motorettes benefitted from the addition of a reverse gear, although with little more than 600lbs. of heft riding on properly inflated tyres, you and yours could probably roll the contraption as needed without too much fuss. 1903 also marked the first year of a Pierce built motor and, although French De Dion units were still employed, (as in the 15hp Arrow Rear-Entrance Tonneau), Stanhope Motorettes received the new Pierce 5 horsepower unit. Also notable on the Stanhope are wooden artillery wheels, which replace the Motorette's wire variety, another bicycle vestige. On the example pictured, the front wheels are shod with popular Firestone No Skid tyres of the sort on which the words "no skid" actually comprise the tread.

Anatomy: It's quaint, it's rustic, and it's in no way illustrative of the heights the Pierce Company are about to strike. But that is a matter for the next few articles. On the Motorette, the tank immediately behind the upper bench seat is for water, part of the cooling system, and not the petrol tank, which is located underneath the seat. The radiator is mounted horizontally at the front, below boards, and receives water from the tank, which in turn collects water run through the motor. The motor sits just ahead of the rear axle, also below boards.

Throttle is controlled by hand through one of the four tiller mounted levers, with others handling the ignition and transmission settings. Two pedals operate the brakes, (right), and the reverse mechanism, (left). Do note, the Smithsonian Institution has in its American history collection a 1901 Motorette. The Smithsonian example is in stellar condition and has been retro-fitted with a 3 ½ horsepower motor, (instead of the original 2 ¾ horse unit), as well as a reverse gear. Our Stanhope version, however, is completely original and, moreover, still resides in the state of Pennsylvania, where it was first delivered more than 100 years ago.

Sources:

Popular Mechanics, October 2001, Commemorating the Centennial of the First Pierce-Arrow Automobile, Built in 1901 by Gregg D. Merksamer

The Pierce-Arrow Society: 1903 Pierce Motorette

Smithsonian Insititution: A 1901 Motorette resides in the Smithsonian collection, but not in its original configuration

Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance: In 2007, the concours featured Pierce-Arrow, with a particularly lovely selection of veteran cars, representing the company's strongest days.

 

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