Peerless Motor Company produced motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 to 1931. Â One of the "Three Ps"- Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Peerless - the company was known for building high-quality, luxury automobiles. Peerless popularized a number of vehicle innovations that later became standard equipment, including drum brakes and the first enclosed-body production cars.
During WW I, Peerless manufactured military vehicle chassis and trucks.
In 1929, the entire Peerless range was redesigned to compete with other vehicles produced by Stutz and Marmon. This move saw increased sales, and for 1930 another design refresh was undertaken. The Peerless-designed V8 was replaced by a Continental straight-8 as a cost-saving measure. However, the Great Depression of 1929 greatly reduced the sales of luxury automobiles. Peerless stripped down production and attempted to market one line of vehicles to wealthy Americans who were not affected by the depression. In 1930-31, Peerless commissioned Murphy Body Works to design what the company envisioned as its 1933 model. The task was assigned to a young frank Hershey, who produced a remarkably clean, elegant vehicle. A single V 16-engined 1931 Peerless was finished in June 1931, the last Peerless ever produced.