The Lozier Motor Company was a brass era

Brass Era car

The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It extends from the first commercial automobiles marketed in the 1890s until about World War I...

 producer of automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s in the United States of America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The company produced luxury automobiles from 1900 to 1915, with a factory at 3703 Mack Avenue, Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.

The company was founded in Plattsburgh, New York by Henry Abrahm Lozier, an Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

-born sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer.

History

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 top line luxury cars and for a time were the most expensive cars produced in the United States. The 1910 model line featured cars priced between US$4,600 and US$7,750. The same year, a Cadillac

Cadillac

Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...

 could be had for about US$1,600 and a Packard

Packard

Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...

 US$3,200. The average annual salary in America that year was approximately US$750.

The company was moved to Detroit in 1910. In 1911, a Lozier was entered into the first running of the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

. The car, in the hands of Ralph Mulford

Ralph Mulford

Ralph Mulford was an American racecar driver active during the formative years of the auto racing....

, 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

Teddy Tetzlaff

Teddy Tetzlaff was an American racecar 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. He earned the nickname "Terrible" Teddy Tetzlaff due to his rough treatment of his vehicles...

 set a world record for 100 mi (160 km) at 1:14:29.

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

The company faced new pressures as more manufacturers entered the market. Frederick C. Chandler, Lozier's top designer, left the company in 1913 and formed the Chandler Motor Company

Chandler Motor Car

The Chandler Motor Company produced automobiles in the United States of America during the 1910s and 1920s.-Corporate strategy:It was incorporated in 1913, with Frederick C. Chandler as President, headquartered and with its factory in Cleveland, Ohio. Chandler was a former designer for the Lozier...

 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

Brain drain

Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...

 from which the company never recovered.

At the 1913 Los Angeles Motordome, however, the company introduced the 88 hp (66 kW) Big Six, with electric headlights, with tourer

Touring car

A touring car, or tourer, is an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Often, the belt line is lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sportive character. They were often fitted with a folding roof and side curtains. Engines on early models were either in...

s and roadster

Roadster

A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...

s at US$5,000, limousine

Limousine

A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....

s and landaulettes at US$6,500. It was joined by the 52 hp (40 kW) Light Six Metropolian, with electric starter and lights; the tourer and runabout

Runabout (car)

Runabouts were a popular car body style at the beginning of the 20th Century. They were small, inexpensive, open cars. Most runabouts had just a single row of seats, providing seating for two passengers. Many also had a tonneau at the rear to provide optional seating for four or five...

 were US$3,250, coupe

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

 US$3,850, and limousine US$4,450.

Lozier tried to expand into the mid priced car market and in 1914 offered a four-cylinder car priced at US$2,000. It faced competition from the US$2000 Enger 40, the cheaper FAL at US$1750, the US$1600 Oakland 40 and Cole Four

Cole Motor Car Company

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.- Early years :...

 at US$1925, and Western

Western Tool Works (automobile company)

Western Tool Works was a pioneering brass era automobile manufacturer in Galesburg, Illinois.Western in 1905 produced the Gale Model A, an open roadster, for sale at US$500, which was less than high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout, at US$650, the Ford "Doctor's Car" at US$850, or the Holsman high...

's US$500 Gale Model A roadster, to name just a few. 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

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

, the company declared bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 1915.

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Sources

• Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.
• Standard Catalogue of American Cars, 2nd Edition, editors Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, jr., Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990 ISBN 0-87341-111-0.

See also

• List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
• List of automobile manufacturers

External Links

• The Lozier at conceptcarz
• racepictures by Photographer James Walter Collinge 3.,4.,9. picture: Teddy Tetzlaff
  Teddy Tetzlaff
  Teddy Tetzlaff was an American racecar 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. He earned the nickname "Terrible" Teddy Tetzlaff due to his rough treatment of his vehicles...
  
  in a Lozier.