The Lozier Motor Company was a

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiator (engine cooling), radiators. It is generally considered to ...

producer of luxury automobiles in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company produced automobiles from 1900 to 1918, in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

and from 1910, at

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

History

Lozier Motor Company was founded by Henry Abram Lozier, an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

-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, (). The company was moved to Detroit in 1910. In 1911, a Lozier was entered into the first running of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. The car, in the hands of

Ralph Mulford Ralph Kirkman Mulford (December 28, 1884 – October 23, 1973) was an American racing driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500. In 1911 he won the Vanderbilt Cup in Savannah, Georgia. Biography Mulford was born on December 28, ...

, finished second in a controversial scoring decision and many observers felt Mulford's Lozier had actually won the race. On March 19 the same year, Lozier ads claimed, a stock 49 hp (37 kW) model piloted by

Teddy Tetzlaff Theodore Herbert Tetzlaff (February 5, 1883 – December 8, 1929) was an American racing driver active in the formative years of auto racing. He competed in the first four Indianapolis 500s, with a highest finish of second in 1912 Indianapolis 50 ...

set a world record for 100 mi (160 km) at 1:14:29.Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950 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". 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. At the 1913

Los Angeles Motordrome The Los Angeles Motordrome was a circular board track racing, wood board Motorsport, race track. It was located in Playa del Rey, California, and opened in 1910. In addition to automobile racing, it was used for motorcycle competition and a ...

, the company introduced the 88 hp (66 kW) Big Six, with electric headlights, with

tourer Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

s and

roadsters __NOTOC__ Roadster may refer to: Transportation * Roadster (automobile), an open, two-seat, often sporty car ** Roadster utility, an automobile with an open-topped roadster body and a rear cargo bed * Roadster (bicycle), a utilitarian bicycle, t ...

at US$5,000,

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment which can be operated mechanically by hand or by a button electronically. A luxu ...

s and

landaulette A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine. During the first half of the 20t ...

s at US$6,500. It was joined by the 52 hp (40 kW) Light Six Metropolitan, with

electric starter A starter (also self-starter, cranking motor, or starter motor) is a device used to rotate (crank) an internal-combustion engine so as to initiate the engine's operation under its own power. Starters can be electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic. T ...

and lights; the tourer and runabout were US$3,250,

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

US$3,850, and limousine US$4,450. Because of Lozier's limited

market niche A niche market is the subset of the market on which a product is appealed to a small group of consumers. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the ...

, the company only produced a few thousand cars during its lifespan. Production peaked in the 1912 model year at 600 cars. 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 Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, the company declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 1915. Attempted re-organizations and production continued sporadically up to 1918.

Production models

* Lozier Model D * Lozier Model D Limousine * Lozier Model E Touring * Lozier Model F Limousine * Lozier Model G * Lozier Model H * Lozier Model I

References

External links

{{commons category, Lozier vehicles
The Lozier at conceptcarz
3.,4., 9. picture:

in a Lozier. Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1915 History of Michigan Companies based in Detroit Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1900 Defunct companies based in Michigan 1900 establishments in New York (state) 1915 disestablishments in Michigan Luxury vehicles Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Motor vehicle manufacturers based in New York (state) Cars introduced in 1900

History

Production models

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See also

References

External links