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REMEMBERING MY 1933 PIERCE ARROW

Chances are a good number of readers from the muscle car' generation probably never heard of a Pierce Arrow. That's not a problem, perhaps this brief article will spark your interest in doing some deeper research. You can also search for images on the Internet.

A straight eight 1933 Pierce Arrow seven passenger sedan was the centerpiece in the modest eight-car collection my late father put together in a few short years. I eventually owned the car but sold it some years ago to raise seed money for a start-up business.

Actually, calling our Pierce Arrow a "sedan" was a misnomer since it proffered all the hallmarks of a true limousine: the back passenger compartment was larger than typical sedans, with foot rests, and still enough room to seat two people comfortably in jump seats. There was an ornate clock implanted and centered in the back of the front seats, and pull-down shades for privacy. At $4,800, sedan or limousine, it was in the upper echelon of expensive cars in 1933.

Pierce had been making elegant automobiles since the early 1900s. They had what was in the 1930s termed as restrained elegance. Arguably there were other vehicles of the period in the same price range offering dramatically expensive appearances. Yet ownership of a Pierce Arrow equated with being both wealthy and discriminating in taste.

The last Pierce Arrow rolled off the assembly line in 1937. The company had a reputation for being conservative and making austere-looking automobiles. That said, there were two contradictions, the 1933 sleek and streamlined Silver Arrow' edition of which only 10 vehicles were produced, and the company's dabbling in auto racing. Their most memorable entry in racing was a 1933 V-12 that averaged 118 mph for 25 hours at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The run, by driver Abner Ab' Jenkins , was accomplished on a single set of tires.

This race car was a roadster with a monstrous 175hp, V-12 L-head engine. For the Bonneville run, all four fenders, with their trademark bulging headlights, were removed, ditto the dual spare tire mounts, running boards, and classic archer radiator ornament. The V-12 engines were used from 1932-37.

The 10 Silver Arrow' models had a price tag of $10,000. To relate to the small fortune that was in 1933 consider this: My Continental Mark II cost $10,000 when new in 1956, and that was equal to the price of a Rolls-Royce and double the price of a new Cadillac. So in 1933 the Silver Arrow' cost a small fortune.

The Pierce Arrow legend was actually solidified after Studebaker purchased the company in 1928 because most authorities and connoisseurs agree that the truly classic Pierce Arrows were built between 1932-37.

I loved our Pierce Arrow. It was so big, my father rented an oversize garage a street away from where we lived in Bayonne, NJ. The car ran silently, like an aircraft carrier plying through a calm sea. It was a joy to drive.

Unbeknown to my parents, as a teenager back in 1959-60, I took friends on unauthorized joy rides several times. We were living the movie American Graffiti' on summer nights by cruising up and down the length of Broadway, the main avenue or business district, in town. We honked at passersby we recognized on the crowded streets, as well as the caravan of cars packed with teens going in the other direction.

By 1959, pre-World War II square-shaped cars really stood out in traffic. Yet, local cops would smile and give approving nods as we slowly, and nervously, passed. The police apparently failed to notice the leviathan vehicle didn't have any inspection sticker, nor license plates on it! And my parents never found out.

Learn more about this author, Timothy Benford.
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