Pierce Motor Company

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pierce Engine Company
Pierce Motor Company
legal form Company
founding 1893
resolution 1911
Reason for dissolution takeover
Seat Racine , Wisconsin , USA
management Andrew J. Pierce
Branch Automobiles

Company logo (1906)

The Pierce Motor Company , previously the Pierce Engine Company , was an early American automobile manufacturer that was based in Racine, Wisconsin , from 1893 . From 1904 to 1911 automobiles were manufactured there under the name Pierce-Racine .

history

Advert from 1906. The illustration shows the two-cylinder model A-4 Light Touring

The company was founded in 1893 as the Pierce Engine Company by Andrew J. Pierce . The first automobile with a single-cylinder engine was built there as early as 1895. In 1899 Andrew Pierce built a second vehicle with a two-cylinder two- stroke engine , the third did not follow until 1901. In 1903 a small two-seater was built in series, which was equipped with a single-cylinder four-stroke engine with 8 bhp (5.9 kW) and was only available from Western Wheel Works was sold in Racine. The following year Pierce sold the vehicles under the new name Pierce-Racine . In the years that followed, other models were created, initially with two-cylinder engines and later with four-cylinder engines. The production numbers never exceeded 200 pieces per year.

In 1909, Pierce renamed his company Pierce Motor Company and looked for investors to further expand production. He found this in a few Racine businessmen who owned substantial shares in the agricultural and construction machinery manufacturer JI Case Threshing Machine Company . Consequently, JI Case's Chief Financial Officer, Charles McIntosh , became President of the Company. McIntosh died the following year while on a trip to Italy. In 1911 JI Case took over the Pierce Motor Company completely and manufactured the vehicles under its own name.

Models

model Construction period cylinder Rating according to
A.LAM 		wheelbase
A. 1904-1905 1 8 hp 1930 mm
B. 1905-1906 2 row 16 hp 2286 mm
A-3 1906 2 row 12 hp 2159 mm
A-4 1906 2 row 14 hp 2159 mm
C. 1906 4 row 28 hp 2540 mm
D. 1906-1908 4 row 18-40 hp 2388-2692 mm
E. 1908 4 row 30 hp 2642 mm
G 1909 4 row 40 hp 2692 mm
H 1909 4 row 45 hp 2845 mm
K 1910-1911 4 row 30 hp 2845 mm

Remarks

  1. ↑ Calculated, not measured values. ALAM = Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers , the first American standards organization, from 1903-1911. The benefit is calculated; Cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is divided by 2.5. The value cannot be converted to bhp or kW.
  2. ↑ 18 horsepower. It is unclear whether the maximum power was given in general or at 1000 revolutions per minute; both were common. The second value is the ALAM rating.

literature

  • Beverly Ray Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 . (English)

Web links

Commons : Pierce-Racine  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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. 1231 (English).