Museo Stradale

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

Photographed: Saint Michaels Concours d'Elegance, 2011. Owner: Bill Alley

The MuseoStradale Mission: Here at our humble home, we've a soft spot for Pierce-Arrow that stretches back to childhood. There aren't too many places on the nets dedicated to Pierce-Arrow, so I feel I owe the grand old marque a fair slice of the world wide web, and try to finish up every vintage example we run across.

It's also worth pointing out this Model 36-UU is the first entry completed in 2012, appropriate as the car will be 100 years old.

For Lucky Passengers: Bill Alley is a well known Pierce-Arrow advocate, and our thanks go to him for taking the time to travel the country and bring these cars to the public. (Here you can find his 1906 Great Arrow.)

The Model 36 joined the standard Pierce-Arrow line in 1910 (possibly earlier), all of them 6-cylinder cars. Models 48 and 66 represented bigger, potentially more opulent versions. Predictably, the Model 36 appears frequently in either a runabout or touring car configuration, the latter in various forms ranging from a Victoria or Mini-Tonneau to the standard car shown here. Output is right about 36 horsepower, and a four-speed transmission drives the wheels, all of which is rather high performance for a standard touring car fresh out the twentieth century's first decade.

The 36 (soon to become the 38), 48, and 66 models continued through the Great War, the conclusion of which marked the demise of all but the 48, which formed the basis for a new generation luxury Pierce-Arrow.

Morphology: With an emphasis set squarely on robust mechanicals and durable materials, notably aluminum, the picture of a Pierce-Arrow doesn't change too much from year to year. What we see between 1909 and 1912 isn't dissimilar. However, where we might expect some of the carriage trade trim to fall from favor over the years, these superfluous details will be carried through, such is the old guard opinion of the company. Thus, the running gear and door panels are prime for two-tone liveries, brought to light in this lovely cream and green example.

Sources:

Automobile Quarterly's World of Cars, Automobile Quarterly, Inc., New York, New York, 1971, Pierce-Arrow: The American Aristocrat, pages 208-211; adapted from the edition of the same name by Maurice D. Hendry

The Pierce-Arrow Society, online at pierce-arrow.org.

 

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