Pierce-Arrow Advertising Campaign (1920)

In 1920, Colonel George Mixter, president of the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, wanted to trim the line to a more manageable number of models than the sixty or so combinations of body and chassis available during the teens. Only one chassis with ten factory body styles would be available. Some of the features of earlier years were maintained, but somewhat modified: the dual-valve engine was redesigned with mono-block construction and the cast aluminum body panels were replaced by panels made of 14 gauge aluminum, although window moldings, firewalls, and other parts were still cast. The bodies were designed by Leon Rubay and James Way and the steering wheel was finally moved to the left side. The traditional Pierce-Arrow ideals of quality continued. Each engine was run in, disassembled and inspected, and reassembled for more testing. Before being released, each car was driven by an inspector. The quality of the bodywork underwent similar quality control measures.

The new Pierce-Arrow appeared in late 1920 as the Series 32. Mechanical refinements were made in late 1921 and the car became the Series 33. With production continuing through early 1926, the Series 33 was Pierce-Arrow's flagship model of the early 1920's. About 6000 of the Series 33 cars were produced in the five year period. Prices for the Series 33 were expensive...ranging from $6500 to $8500, although price reductions brought the price down somewhat to $5250 to $8000. Minor changes in the sheet metal, balloon tires, and a few mechanical changes transformed the Series 33 into the Series 36, which was produced in 1927 and 1928.