Peerless Motor Car Corporation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peerless Wringer and Manufacturing Company
Peerless Manufacturing Company
Peerless Motor Car Company
Peerless Motor Car Corporation
legal form Corporation
founding 1869
resolution 1930s
Seat Cleveland , Ohio , USA
Branch Motor vehicles

Peerless Motor Company factory, circa 1910s
Peerless Model 56 Touring Car (1917)
Peerless truck
Peerless Truck and Motor Company shares dated February 27, 1922

The Peerless Motor Car Corporation was an American company based in Cleveland , Ohio . It became known in particular for its luxury vehicles .

history

In 1869 the Peerless Wringer and Manufacturing Company was founded. At first it made washing machines. In 1891 it became the Peerless Manufacturing Company . Bicycles were also created . From 1900 the company manufactured De Dion-Bouton engines and automobiles with these engines under license . At the time, Cleveland was a thriving center of the American automotive industry. Peerless employed Barney Oldfield to drive the "Green Dragon" racing car; in the early races, Peerless proved the reliability of its products and set many world speed records. Peerless was (unlike most other US manufacturers) known for using crankshafts with a 180 ° crank angle. In 1902 the name was changed to Peerless Motor Car Company . Another source states that it became the Peerless Motor Car Corporation in 1925 .

In further development, Peerless became known together with Packard and Pierce-Arrow as the "Three P's of Motordom" (top vehicles) of the United States.

From 1911 to 1919 the company also manufactured commercial vehicles. However, a picture of a share shows the name Peerless Truck and Motor Corporation .

According to a source, Peerless merged with the New York General Vehicle Company in 1915 and the "Peerless Motor Company" became a subsidiary of the newly formed Peerless Truck & Motor Co.

Peerless delivered during the First World War, some 12,000 military truck to the armed forces of the Entente , especially the armies of the United States , France , the United Kingdom and Russia . After the war, the US commercial vehicle market changed dramatically. On the one hand, there were no arms orders from the government, on the other hand there was a large supply of new and newer army trucks that were no longer needed, and finally, other specialized commercial vehicle manufacturers pushed onto the market. For many small manufacturers like Peerless, the commercial vehicle business has become too unprofitable and too risky. Peerless drew the consequences early on and again limited itself to upper and luxury cars .

The reason for the decline of Peerless was the high quality of their vehicles. In the 1920s, conservatively styled cars were made that lasted ten or more years. Those who had already bought a Peerless stayed with them; luxury car buyers were more attracted to brands like LaSalle , Packard and Studebaker .

In 1930/31 Peerless commissioned the Murphy Body Works in Pasadena ( California ) to design the model for 1933. Frank Hershey took on this task. Hershey's work impressed with its clear lines and elegance; the car should be equipped with the new V16 engine.

Just as the car was about to be sent back to Cleveland, the management of Peerless decided to no longer deal with automobile construction, but with brewing. The beer brand Carling Black Label was now produced.

Hershey's prototype for Peerless was parked at the factory, where it remained until the end of World War II . It now belongs to the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland.

Hershey himself designed the 1949 Cadillac and other American classics.

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase
Type A "Motorette" 1900 1 cyl. 2.75 bhp (2 kW)
Type B "Motorette" 1900-1902 1 cyl. 2.75 bhp (2 kW)
Type C "Motorette" 1900-1902 1 cyl. 3.5 bhp (2.6 kW)
Type 4 1902-1903 2 cyl. 16 bhp (11.8 kW)
Type 16/22 HP 1904 4 cyl. 22 bhp (16.2 kW) 2184 mm
Type 7 1904 4 cyl. 35 bhp (25.7 kW) 2591 mm
Type 8 1904 4 cyl. 24 bhp (17.6 kW) 2642 mm
Model 9 1905 4 cyl. 24 bhp (17.6 kW) 2591 mm
Model 10 1905 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 2642 mm
Model 11 1905 4 cyl. 35 bhp (25.7 kW) 2642 mm
Model 12 1905 4 cyl. 60 bhp (44 kW) 2718 mm
Model 14 1906 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 2718 mm
Model 15 1906-1907 4 cyl. 45 bhp (33 kW) 2896 mm
Model 16 1907 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 2769 mm
Model 18 1908 6 cyl. 50 bhp (37 kW) 2997 mm
Model 20 1908 6 cyl. 50 bhp (37 kW) 3366 mm
Model 19 1909 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 3099 mm
Model 25 1909 6 cyl. 50 bhp (37 kW) 3454 mm
Model 27 1910 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 3010-3099 mm
Model 28 1910 6 cyl. 50 bhp (37 kW) 3454 mm
Model 29 1911 4 cyl. 20 bhp (14.7 kW) 2870 mm
Model 31 1911 4 cyl. 30 bhp (22 kW) 3124 mm
Model 32 1911 6 cyl. 45 bhp (33 kW) 3454 mm
Town Car 1912 4 cyl. 24 bhp (17.6 kW) 2870 mm
Model 40-Four 1912-1913 4 cyl. 40 bhp (29 kW) 3175 mm
Model 38-Six 1912-1914 6 cyl. 38 bhp (28 kW) 3175 mm
Model 48-Six 1912-1914 6 cyl. 48 bhp (35 kW) 3480 mm
Model 60-Six 1912-1914 6 cyl. 60 bhp (44 kW) 3556 mm
Model 24-Four 1913 4 cyl. 25.6 bhp (18.8 kW) 2870 mm
Model 48 1915 6 cyl. 48.6 bhp (35.7 kW) 3480 mm
Model 54 1915 4 cyl. 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2870 mm
Model 55 1915 6 cyl. 29.4 bhp (21.6 kW) 3073 mm
Model 56 1916-1921 8 cyl. 33.8-80 bhp (25-59 kW) 3175 mm
Model 56-7 1922 8 cyl. 80 bhp (59 kW) 3175 mm
Model 66 1923-1924 8 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3251 mm
Model 8-67 1925 8 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3251 mm
Model 6-70 1925-1926 6 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3200-3378 mm
Model 6-72 1926-1927 6 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3213-3391 mm
Model 6-80 1926-1928 6 cyl. 63 bhp (46 kW) 2946 mm
Model 8-69 1926-1928 8 cyl. 70–80 bhp (51–59 kW) 3213-3378 mm
Model 6-90 1927 6 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3048 mm
Model 6-60 1928 6 cyl. 62 bhp (45.6 kW) 2946 mm
Model 6-91 1928 6 cyl. 70 bhp (51 kW) 3048 mm
Model 6-61 1929 6 cyl. 62 bhp (45.6 kW) 2946 mm
Model 6-81 1929 6 cyl. 66 bhp (48.5 kW) 2946 mm
Model 120 1929 8 cyl. 114 bhp (84 kW) 3302-3505 mm
Standard 8 1930-1931 8 cyl. 85–120 bhp (62.5–88 kW) 2997 mm
Master 8 1930-1931 8 cyl. 120 bhp (88 kW) 3175 mm
Custom 8 1930-1931 8 cyl. 120 bhp (88 kW) 3505 mm

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1159-1166 (English).
  • James W. Howell, Franklin Q. Hershey: Franklin Q. Hershey's Murphy-Bodied Peerless V-16 Prototype (=  Collectible Automobile . Volume 12 , no. 4 ). December 1995, p. 56-63 .

Web links

Commons : Peerless Motor Car Corporation  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Illustration of a share with the name Peerless Motor Car Corporation (accessed on November 18, 2018)
  2. ↑ a b Historic Structures (page 1) and (page 2) (accessed November 18, 2018)
  3. ↑ a b Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1159-1166 (English).
  4. ↑ George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp.  1201-1203 (English).
  5. ↑ Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry . McFarland & Company, London 2000, ISBN 978-0-7864-0972-3 , pp. 223 (English).
  6. ^ Halwart Schrader , Jan P. Norbye: The truck lexicon. All brands 1900 to today. Schrader Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-613-01837-3 , p. 130.
  7. ↑ https://case.edu/ech/articles/p/peerless-motor-car-co