We had a delightful dinner with friends Quentin and Kathy, near their place in Oro Valley. Walking around the restaurant, we saw an intersection that had fun sculptures on every corner.

As usual for me, I forgot to take a picture of our friends… but I did catch this beautiful view of the mountains as the sun set…

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Saguaro National Park

One day we took a nice hike through Saguaro East National Park with Dave and Marlene. An absolutely gorgeous day, and we saw a few interesting birds as we hiked.

A lot of color in the cactus… like several showing a lot of purple.

A lot of sharp stuff in the desert!

We got out our picnic lunches and all of a sudden were very popular with the birds! I guess they know there are often fun tidbits near the picnic tables. We were amazed how fearless these guys were!

First are the Cactus Wrens:

Then a rather rare Canyon Towhee:

And vividly beautiful Black-throated Sparrows:

And a Curved-billed Thrasher that wasn’t quite as fearless as the others:

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I’m nearing the end of my stretch volunteering at the Tucson Auto Museum. But there’s still plenty of cars to show you! (If you’re tired of cool cars, next week should be the last… But how can you read my stuff and not like cars??)

The car of the week is this 1934 Pierce Arrow 836A. In the early 1900’s, there were 3 P’s that dominated the luxury market; Packard, Peerless, and the Pierce Arrow. By 1918, Pierce Arrow was a car of staggering proportions in both name and size. The cost was pretty staggering also… about $8,000, when a Ford would have been $525, and a Packard Six Imperial Limousine was a “modest” $5,850.

I’ve always been able to pick out the Pierce Arrows, because they were probably the first to fair the headlights into the front fenders. This bit of fancy detailing was not in place on other cars for a long time… note the beautiful 1937 Packard Limousine just behind it in this picture. (That was Jack Benny’s Packard – read about it here.) Pierce actually patented this headlight design feature, and the patent didn’t expire till 1938.

Pierce Arrows were known for more than just their strength and engineering. They were pioneers in understated elegance in advertising. The ads featured cars, often in unusual places, like out West, to subtly attest to their reliability. The cars were often only partially seen in the picture, with other trappings setting an elegant stage.

In 1909, U.S. president Willam Harvey Taft ordered two Pierce-Arrows, making them the first official cars of the White House. Frank Gilbreth, and industrial efficiency expert, whose story is told in “Cheaper by the Dozen,” praised the Pierce Arrow for its quality and ability to safely carry his enormous family around.

Starting in 1936, Pierce-Arrow produced a line of camper-trailers, the Pierce-Arrow Travelodge. They also produced a new V12 sedan that was redesigned and considered the safest and most luxurious sedan of its day.

Because of the immense size of most models, several second-hand Pierce-Arrow cars were bought by fire departments, stripped down to the chassis and engine, the wheelbase lengthened, and built back into fire engines. Some of these fire engines were in service for up to 20 years.

Unfortunately, the Depression hit Pierce Arrow very hard. Many of their loyal customers lost their fortunes, and many of those who didn’t were hesitant to flaunt their wealth by driving such extravagant automobiles.

In 1934 Pierce Arrow introduced this model, the 836A, which was priced far lower than any Pierce Arrow in their history. At “Only” $2,295, it was still the price of four Fords. It was still too expensive for the masses, and didn’t appeal to the traditional Pierce Arrow buyers.

By 1938, Pierce Arrow was in bankruptcy and was liquidated. After they closed, the factory equipment used to make Pierce-Arrow V12 engines was bought by Seagrave Fire Apparatus, which continued to use it to make engines for their fire trucks.

The hood ornament is a little worse for wear, but I guess that’s not bad for a 90 year old!

Perhaps next week will feature my all time favorite car… and the end of the Tucson Auto Museum selections for a while. Don’t miss it!