Lozier

Last updated
Lozier Motor Company
TypeAutomobile Manufacturing
Industry Automotive
GenreTouring cars, limousines
Founded1900
FounderHenry Abram Lozier
Defunct1915, 1918
FateBankrupted
Headquarters,
Area served
United States
Key people
George R. Burwell, John G. Perrin, Harry A. Lozier
Products Vehicles
Automotive parts
1908 Lozier, Model I (i) touring car Lozier1908TouringCar.jpg
1908 Lozier, Model I (i) touring car

The Lozier Motor Company was a brass era producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The company produced automobiles from 1900 to 1918, in Plattsburgh, New York and from 1910, at Detroit, Michigan. [1]

Contents

History

Lozier Motor Company was founded by Henry Abram Lozier, an Indiana-born sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer. After selling his bicycle business, Lozier moved to Plattsburgh to manufacture boat engines. In 1900, he entered the automobile business. At his death in 1903, his son Harry took over the company.

Loziers were luxury cars and for a time were the most expensive cars produced in the United States. The 1910 model line featured cars priced between $4,600 and $7,750, (equivalent to $225,387in 2021). [1]

The company was moved to Detroit in 1910. In 1911, a Lozier was entered into the first running of the Indianapolis 500. The car, in the hands of Ralph Mulford, finished second in a controversial scoring decision and many observers felt Mulford's Lozier had actually won the race. [1] On March 19 the same year, Lozier ads claimed, a stock 49 hp (37 kW) model piloted by Teddy Tetzlaff set a world record for 100 mi (160 km) at 1:14:29. [2] The company developed its braking system using pressurized water to cool hollowed brake drums. This led to claims that Lozier's brakes were "impossible to burn out". [3]

The company faced new pressures as more manufacturers entered the luxury market. Frederick C. Chandler, Lozier's top designer, left the company in 1913 and formed the Chandler Motor Company which produced cars similar to the Lozier but at a substantially lower sales price. Chandler took several top company executives with him producing a brain drain from which the company never recovered. [1]

At the 1913 Los Angeles Motordrome, the company introduced the 88 hp (66 kW) Big Six, with electric headlights, with tourers and roadsters at US$5,000, limousines and landaulettes at US$6,500. It was joined by the 52 hp (40 kW) Light Six Metropolitan, with electric starter and lights; the tourer and runabout were US$3,250, coupe US$3,850, and limousine US$4,450. [2] [4]

Because of Lozier's limited market niche, the company only produced a few thousand cars during its lifespan. Production peaked in the 1912 model year at 600 cars. [1]

Lozier tried to expand into the mid-priced car market and in 1914 offered a four-cylinder car priced at US$2,000. The new four was not a sales success and company finances continued to falter. After a failed attempt to merge with Ford Motor Company, the company declared bankruptcy in 1915. Attempted re-organizations and production continued sporadically up to 1918. [1]

Advertisements

Lozier autofabrikant 1900.jpg
The Lozier Motor Company of New York City - 1905 Lozier-auto 1905 ad.jpg
The Lozier Motor Company of New York City – 1905
Image from a 1912 advertisement for a Lozier touring car priced at $5,000. Lozier.jpg
Image from a 1912 advertisement for a Lozier touring car priced at $5,000.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Motor Company</span> Luxury division of Ford Motor Company

Lincoln Motor Company, or simply Lincoln, is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States, Lincoln was positioned closely against its General Motors counterpart Cadillac. The division helped to establish the personal luxury car segment with the 1940 Lincoln Continental.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadillac</span> Division of the U.S.-based General Motors

The Cadillac Motor Car Division is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Cadillac automobiles are at the top of the luxury field within the United States. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winton Motor Carriage Company</span> United States automobile manufacturer

The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car. In 1912 Winton became one of the first American manufacturers of diesel engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Motor Car</span> American automobile manufacturer 1913-1929

The Chandler Motor Car Company produced automobiles in the United States of America during the 1910s and 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmon Motor Car Company</span> American automobile manufacturer

Marmon Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer founded by Howard Carpenter Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It produced luxury automobiles from 1902 to 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbott-Detroit</span> American luxury automobile manufactured between 1909 and 1919.

The Abbott-Detroit was an American luxury automobile manufactured between 1909 and 1919. It was designed by John G. Utz, designer of the Chalmers, who had previously worked for Olds Motor Works and the Autocar Company. Considered powerful and well-designed, the Abbott sported a Continental engine. The cars were guaranteed for life by 1913, when electric lighting and starting had been standardized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peerless Motor Company</span> American automobile manufacturer

The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps" – Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow – 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox Automobile Company</span> Former American car manufacturer

The Knox Automobile Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, between 1900 and 1914. Knox also built trucks and farm tractors until 1924. They are notable for building the very first modern fire engine in 1905.

Northern Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, automobiles designed by Charles Brady King. Early advertising included catchy phrases such as "Utility is the Basis for Beauty" and "Built for Business" and the famous "Silent Northern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stevens-Duryea</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Stevens-Duryea was an American manufacturer of Veteran and Brass Era automobiles in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, between 1901 and 1915 and Vintage Cars from 1919 to 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia (automobile brand)</span> American automobile manufacturer

Columbia was an American brand of automobiles produced by a group of companies in the United States. They included the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the Electric Vehicle Company, and an entity of brief existence in 1899, the Columbia Automobile Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heine-Velox</span> American automobile manufacturer (1905-08)

Heine-Velox was a large, expensive luxury car made by Gustav Heine. Heine Piano Company was originally Bruenn Piano Company before Heine became owner. All were based in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Motor Company</span>

The Star Motor Company was a British car and commercial vehicle maker based in Wolverhampton and active from 1898 to 1932. At its peak Star was the UK's sixth largest car manufacturer and produced around 1000 cars a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquette (automobile)</span> Automobile manufacturer

Marquette was an American automobile manufacturer established by General Motors in 1909 after the purchase of the Rainier Motor Car Company. The Marquette Company did not last long and in 1912 GM announced the company would be closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matheson (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Matheson was a luxury American automobile manufactured from 1903 to 1912, first in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then Holyoke, Massachusetts and from 1906 in a purpose-built factory in Forty Fort, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole Motor Car Company</span> Car manufacturer

The Cole Motor Car Company was an early automobile maker based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cole automobiles were built from 1908 until 1925. They were quality-built luxury cars. The make is a pioneer of the V-8 engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunningham automobile</span>

The Cunningham automobile was a pioneering American production automobile, one of the earliest vehicles in the advent of the automotive age. It was produced from 1896 to 1931 in Rochester, New York by James Cunningham, Son and Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Mitchell was a major brass-era automobile marque in Racine, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainier Motor Car Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Rainier Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer founded in 1905 by John T. Rainier in Flushing, New York and from 1908 produced in Saginaw, Michigan. The company specialized in manufacturing large and luxurious automobiles. In 1909, the company was bought by General Motors who maintained the brand until 1911.

The Welch Motor Company was an American automobile company headquartered in Chelsea, Michigan. It started in 1901 and continued production of luxury vehicles until 1911 when it merged with General Motors.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN   978-0-87341-428-9.
  2. 1 2 Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950
  3. "1915 Lozier Model 82 - Type 82 Seven-Passenger Touring". www.classicdriver.com. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  4. "A Lozier for $3250! (advertisement)". The Pittsburgh Press. November 17, 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 2013-01-31.