Peerless
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| Former type | Automobile Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Genre | Luxury sedans, touring cars |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Defunct | 1931 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Area served | United States |
| Products | vehicles Automotive parts |
Peerless was a United States automobile produced by the Peerless Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 to 1931. The company was known for building high-quality, precision luxury automobiles. Peerless' factory was located at 9400 Quincy Avenue in Cleveland. [1]
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[edit] History
Established in Cleveland in 1900, Peerless Motors began producing De Dion-Bouton "machines" under license from the French Company. At the time, Cleveland was the thriving center of automotive production in the United States. Peerless employed Barney Oldfield as a driver of its Green Dragon racecar; in early speed races Peerless proved the durability of the product and setting world speed records. Peerless was noted for its use of flat-plane crankshafts in its engine designs.
As the Peerless evolved, it, along with makes Packard and Pierce-Arrow, became known as the "Three-Ps of Motordom" (premium vehicles) in the United States.
Peerless' downfall was in its quality.[citation needed] In the 1920s, the company was producing conservatively-styled vehicles that would last for ten or more years. Current Peerless owners held onto their cars, which ran very well; new money buyers of luxury cars were attracted to LaSalle, Packard, and the Studebaker President series.
[edit] End of production
In 1930-31, Peerless commissioned Murphy Body Works of Pasadena, California, to design what the company envisioned as its 1933 model. The task was assigned to a young Frank Hershey. Hershey's design for Peerless was a remarkably clean, elegant vehicle, powered by the company's planned V16 engine.
Just as the car was ready to be shipped back to Cleveland, the Board of Directors pulled Peerless out of the automobile business and reoriented the company to brew beer under the Carling Black Label brand. The last production model was 1932. Hershey's prototype was walled up in a room at the Peerless factory where it sat until the end of World War II. Hershey's prototype is now owned by the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland.
The following Peerless vehicles are deemed "classic cars" by the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA): 1925 Series 67; 1926 — 1928 Series 69; 1930-1 Custom 8 and the 1932 Deluxe Custom 8. However, all Peerless vehicles are considered collectible.
[edit] Gallery of selected models
Main gallery of images: Commons:Category:Peerless vehicles
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[edit] Advertisements
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[edit] References
- Kimes, Beverly R., Editor. Clark, Henry A. (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4.
- Howell, James W. and Hershey, Hershey Franklin Q. Franklin Q. Hershey's Murphy-Bodied Peerless V-16 Prototype Collectible Automobile, Volume 12, Number 4, December 1995. pp. 56–63.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peerless vehicles |
- Peerless forum, how to, and parts
- Peerless Motor Car Co. entry from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
- Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio
- Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers
- Brass Era vehicles
- Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
- History of Cleveland, Ohio
- 1900 establishments in the United States
- 1931 disestablishments
- Companies based in Cleveland, Ohio
- Defunct companies based in Ohio
