jeff_a

A.J., Thanks for putting up a better photo of Ele Chesney's Classic-Era Peerless. Though I talked to her on the phone a couple of times years ago, I'm out of the loop regarding what was in her collection at the time she died and what will happen later. In the "In Memoriam" thread elsewhere in the forums, there was some discussion about her Radiator Mascot collection she auctioned off 5 or 6 years ago, so that's gone. When you posted, I was trying to find a good picture of the models of her Peerless showing "ELE 3" on the license plate. She got that from one of the Bill Harrah sales. One story says the interior hardware is all sterling silver, not standard practice for Thirties Peerlesses, suggesting it was a special order. Another story, which I have my doubts about, claims the car was purchased or used for President Hoover's re-election campaign: an ebay seller had one of the diecasts for sale and said it included figurines depicting Herbert Hoover and others in campaign mode. I've looked at hundreds of these models for sale and none had a mention of these. Plus the seller is no longer active. Contacting the Presidential Library, a staff member there said Mr. Hoover didn't care for campaigns and parades in cars because they were inefficient: he preferred trains. He did have a Cadillac Imperial Limo of his own plus the White House car fleet around 1932.

In case you hadn't heard, Ele Chesney passed away in November, 2023. She was probably the best-known lady car collector in the country and had a little bit of everything over the years; from a V-12 Packard to concept cars to a special 1930 Peerless. Her Custom Eight 7-Passenger Sedan was shown at quite a few events and was reproduced in 1:18 scale as a diecast model by Anson to the tune of 10,000 copies. Easy to find on e-bay, made in 3 other scales, too. Many of them have her name on the license plate. .........

Peerlesses, Pierce-Arrows, Locomobiles were on the same page at this time, each with a damn-the-cost six rated at 48 taxable HP. All different engines of course. The Packard, Peerless, Pierce, and Locomobile all had something akin to a 38 and 48 HP model; Peerless(Model 60-Six) and Pierce(Model 66) each had an even bigger engine in 1913, amounting to 825 inches of displacement. Out of the 4 dozen Brass Era Peerless motor cars known to still exist, I think there are eight 48-Sixes. Here's their ad for it:

One of three known Peerless Model Six-70s, out of 2,786 produced.

I'm sorry to read of her passing. She told me she loved going to the auction in Scottsdale just to people watch. Hilarious to see guys belly up to the pay window; too drunk to remember what they bought and what they owed! I read that her purchase of her Lalique radiator mascots was quite astute. 2nd only to the Queen' s collection, it fetched over $800K at auction.

Here is a 1929 Peerless 6-61 in Ontario.

Gee, this is a shocker. It pays to look at the HCCA Classifieds on the AACA Forums sometimes! George Haley has his big 1913 Peerless Model 48-Six 7-Passenger Touring Car for sale. If you want the best of the best. A brass car restorer told me about going to the start of a VMCCA tour 10 or 15 years ago somewhere in southern Idaho. George drove his 100-year-old car to the start of the tour, from Illinois. He also did the 1989 Transcontinental Tour, Texas to Maine, in it. "The only car to complete all 16 Red Rock Rendezvous Tours. Driven 85,000 miles by me. Big six cylinder, 48-hp (4 1/2 x 6), T-Head, leather upholstery, 4-speed. Tour ready! Asking $345,000.00" ---- from the HCCA Classifieds listing In The 100 Greatest American Cars, by Jan Norbye, two Peerless models are listed: the 1905 Model 9 and the 1914 Model 48-Six.

Believe it or not, there's a Peerless dealer still in business, Dimmitt Motors in Florida. They now sell Land Rover, McLaren, Jaguar, Cadillac, Rolls-Royce, Bentley. A 1931 Peerless Master Eight Sedan, that has been in Florida most of the time since new, was supposedly bought there.

Here ya go, a really nice 1920 Peerless Sedan, Model 56. It was in a museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which probably closed, then after 50 years there sold for about $9,000 at an auction, then was on Classsiccars.com listed at three times the price and sold it. Original, running condition. 80 HP Peerless aluminum 322 Cu. In. V-8, 4-barrel carburetor, dual exhaust. Quite a step up from a 20 HP Ford! No idea where it is now. 8 examples of 1920 Peerlesses are known to exist --- according to KPAIE.

A new Peerless has come out of the woodwork for sale: A 1930 Model "B" or "Master Eight" Sedan. Listed on Hemmings at low 5-figures.

Thank you for the update on this and the 1929 Roadster, Mike. Guess I was a little late in putting up the photo, but it looks like the word got out just fine. With the days of sub-$100,000 Duesenbergs & sub-$1,000,000 Bentleys of that vintage being over, maybe getting a 1929 Peerless seems like a good deal these days.

I transferred this over from the "Peerless Photos" thread, in case someone's looking for a 1900-1932 Peerless to buy. Ken listed this February 13th, 2024. It is a 1929 PEERLESS Six-61 Victoria Coupe, sometimes called an Opera Coupe. Generally, these are 4-passenger with a fold-forward front passenger seat; room for two in back + a top hat compartment far left. "The Car was purchaced by an online dealer several years ago. I have installed a new cloth covered wiring harness from rhode Island wiring. The car is currently in Pendleton, Oregon and as of today I am listing it for Sale. It runs and drives (and stops). I have too many cars to care for and can not afford to keep them all. It comes with the material to replace the top. asking $21k OBO -Ken Lilienthal ken.lilienthal@gmail.com"

That's an outrageous Judkins Coaching Broughan. The design reminds me of an obscure design by a coachbuilder in Buffalo. I'll post it when I find it... It was a Brunn Voltaire Limousine on a 1912 Peerless 48-Six chassis

nope At 714 vs. 825, another one was bigger*, according to one source**; but the next year the two marques were the same. * the Peerless Mod. 60-Six of 1912-1914 ** conceptcar.com suggests the 1910-1912 Model 66 Pierce-Arrows were equipped with 714 Cu. In. powerplants, changing to 825 Cu. In. about 1913.

nope

A rather nice car out on a tour three years ago: Did you hear the one about when a 1966 Shelby Super Snake, 1907 Silver Ghost, 1912 Pierce-Arrow Series 66, 1911 Oldsmobile Limited, 1932 Peerless V-16 and 1912 60-Six, 1968 Miura, and the 1928 Bentley Bobtail pulled into a Pizza Hut parking lot in Manhattan? A college kid from the Signa Phi Iota fraternity rushed out and asked "What are those eight cars worth?" The answer? "They're all the same. Priceless". Can anyone guess which one this is? Hint, it has the biggest engine.

Thanks...I sent a message when the ads 1st appeared asking for the same but no response, either. If he just said it's a jumble of parts in a dark storage unit, or he won't be out to it til summer it may have helped. There's also people who travel all the time cause they finally got a motorhome & they're basically Charles Kuralt! Note to self: buy it thru the HCCA ad & save 33%.

Interesting stories about the 1935 Mercedes 500K, reminding me of the historian's maxim: "The Facts Never Change, But History Does Every Day." I agree with other writers that a) the car could have been stolen b) it could have been taken under the guise of spoils of war or war reparations c) someone could have given it to a soldier in return for something of value like money, food, cigarettes, clothes, or fuel. My Dad was in the occupation of Germany in 1945 and 1946, and told me you could buy anything with cartons of cigarettes. Speaking of reparations, has anybody heard of valuables returned to original owners after Russians removed them at the end of the war from areas in their control? It's possible, but I have never read about it. I did read a fascinating story about Russians loading up a train with valuable cars as war reparations, and an enterprising fellow purloining them one night in 1945 before they could make it to Russia: a Mercedes W158, an Alfa Romeo P3, a Maserati, and a Duesenberg. I had never seen a W158, so had to look it up. "I'll go to town in my W158 and pick up some groceries!", said no one ever.

Greaat to see one of the V-16 Peerless cars made it onto the puzzle.

Thanks, 1912. It sounds like a good deal -- but their photos don't show this car -- even though most of the others are shown; also, it leaves one to their imagination regarding what level of restoration the parts are needing to be put back together. With this, the restored red one in Canada, the yellow one that was shown at 2012 Hershey, that makes only 3 of these '29 Six-61 Roadsters known world-wide. These are pretty nice-looking cars....so I'll show what the other two look like:

A photo of another old war horse; as so many Peerless Trucks were involved in the Great War. This is the one found in good shape under rubble in some kind of clay quarry.

1927 PEERLESS BOATTAIL ROADSTER A photo of a nice-looking Peerless 6-90 when it was at the J & R Vintage Auto Museum in New Mexico, which was put together by Gab Joiner, who competed in about 16 Great American Races(California to Connecticut, Mexico to Canada, etc.). They had this one for sale for $34,000 10 or 15 years ago. The museum closed 5 years ago. I met the next owner of the car, Mike Ciobanu, at Hershey back in 2013. Interesting Vermilion-on-Maroon paint scheme, which you would not think of as attractive, but looks good here. Anyone else have an opinion?

Even the 2000 Pontiac Aztek will be eligible in 2025, plus its rebadged Buick version(Rendezvous) two years later. Don't laugh, the tailfin cars and Edsels were predicted to be non-collectible at one time. When I bought a Nash Metro when I was in college, it cost about what my used 10-speed did -- $100 -- but Metro prices have recovered a lot since then.

Thanks for your interest in this rarely-discussed carmaker, 1912 Caddy. The Model 56, Series 1 thru 7, was 1916-1922. The 6-70 continued into 1925 for 3 or 4 months and the Peerless 6-72 was built 1925-1927.