April 6: Hornets Nest Region AACA show . . .
Read MorePierce-Arrow began life in 1865 as the Heinz, Pierce and Munschauer company as a maker of household items. By the turn of the century, George N. Pierce had bought out his other partners and began experimenting with a steam powered car. When that didn't materialize, Pierce introduced a piston powered car in 1901.
By 1904, Pierce-Arrow had switched to building expensive and very well liked luxury cars known for their quality and reliability. Pierce-Arrow became a car for celebrities, business tycoons, and Heads of State. President William Howard Taft ordered two Pierce-Arrows for the White House in 1909.The display sign tells the story of the car's first owner exporting a Series 80 Roadmaster chassis to his home in France and then having the car fitted with a custom Franay body. This car is also equipped with several extremely rare features for the time such as turn signals, a low brake fluid warning lamp, and electric windshield wipers.
Buick first used the name "Skylark" in 1953 for its very limited entry into the quartet of General Motors "Dream Cars" produced for that year, (along with the Cadillac Eldorado, Oldsmobile Fiesta, and Chevrolet Corvette). The Skylark name was then reintroduced as a sub-model for the compact "Special" series in 1961.
The interesting part of this story is that when I arrived at this car, one of the gentlemen on the right side of the photo above who was speaking with the current owner was from the Schaefferstown area in Lebanon County where this car was purchased new. So naturally, I had to introduce myself as "From Altoona in Blair County," which he was familiar with.