Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Packard, Peerless, Pierce Arrow.
The defunct Peerless was based in NE OH(Cleveland), much like Packard(Warren) in the early days. Our NE OH(Girard) origin family "lore" speaks of the family Peerless. Two pictures remain, one is marked Peerless on the back, the license plate #s indicates it's the same car/year, but the "fuzzy" & dark pictures negate reading the year. I'm "guessing" 1925 on the plate, based on the two children ages/lineage and the car is definitely '20s because the '30 have steel wheels. Not enough archive pictures accessible remain to compare.
'27 has a similar shape but the hood louvers are different which make me think the mid '20s is about right. All the "old folks" with possible memory have passed. But I've found that method not reliable anyway. Any appropriate documentation that you can provide is appreciated. Please refrain from "opinions"/guesses, as I continue to search this out. Running down poor leads adds time.

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Hi Jim

From the few Peerless images I have to compare this with, its looks to have been a 1928-'29 6-80 or 6-81, 116" wb, $1,595 new.

Peerless began fielding lower-priced models beginning with the 1926 year. There had been serious management changes starting in the early 1920's which would continue through the end of auto-making into brewing Carling beer with the repeat of Prohibition.

There is a Peerless forum on the AACA Forum where you might also try posting the photos for an accurate identification.

Steve

58L8134 wrote:......There is a Peerless forum on the AACA Forum where you might also try posting the photos for an accurate identification.
Steve

As per Steve's suggestion, link posted on the AACA Peerless Forum.

My grandfather had a '24 model 66 seven passenger sedan, and this one is definitely a few years later manufacture than his.


He also had a Pierce and three Packards, so he was decidedly a 3P kinda guy.

Wat_Tyler:

Your grandfather's '24 Peerless Model 66 was the V8 engine, 128" wb, $3,850 fob competitor for the open models of the First Series Packard Single Eights (136, 143). 1924 was the last year they were strictly a luxury car maker.

Going on memory here, the V8 engines for the Peerless, Cole and Standard were manufactured by Northway as was the Cadillac V8. Although they were similar, each was built to the specific spec's of the carmaker. All were introduced in the 1915-'16 years. Northway was GM owned company which eventually folded into the other engine manufacturing operations if I recall correctly.

For 1925, Peerless introduced the 6-70 and 6-72 that were price and size competitive with the Packard Six. Management upheaval from the early 1920's continued, deciding the company should broaden their model-price segment offerings with Continental-powered $1150-$1600 cars. The move only bolstered sales for a few years, began losing ground even before the Depression hit.

By the late 1920's, much of the public held an onus or stigma toward the 'assembled cars' which used proprietary engines that weren't of their own manufacture. That outlook was promoted by the automakers that did produce their own engines. By 1930, Peerless cars were all Continental-powered but the Depression was a bigger factor in their exit from auto-making.

Mention a car make...get a dissertation!

Steve

Thanks. I'm not an AACA member so I don't know if that lets me post?
If the license plate is circa '25, then it can't be later. '35 or some other year, yes. Identifying that is key.
It just doesn't have the resolution for my bifocaled eyes. There's a couple pictures out there of the later 20's but I didn't see any with wood wheels and the bumpers are slightly different. Looks like spoke/wire then solid/artillery style as year increases. Research curiosity.
OK, I saw the AACA post and response.
It's not a '27 because the grill shell has a different shape. '27 has similar the louvered hood. Bumper is similar. There's a '29 coupe pix with wood wheels, but it's also different bumper and hood louvers. So we're in the ball park, mid '20s, most likely. I'll keep searching. Thanks for your help and interest.