Beschreibung:

1909 LOZIER BRIARCLIFF TYPE H 45HP FOUR PASSENGER TOURING Chassis No. 2209 Engine No. 888 Battleship grey with black belting and red pinstriping with red leather interior and a black canvas top Engine: water cooled, four cylinders, cast in pairs, 45hp; Gearbox: H-pattern four-speed manual; Suspension: front and rear leaf springs with modern shock absorbers fitted; Brakes: two wheel rear drums with transmission brakes. Right hand drive. When Henry Abram Lozier founded the Lozier Manufacturing Company in the early 1880s he began by investing in the manufacturing of the Cleveland bicycle. Though this was one of several companies owned by Lozier at the time, the Cleveland bicycle business was largely responsible for developing the fortune that would allow Henry Lozier's son, Harry, to carry on the family name until World War I. By 1900 the elder Lozier had sold the Cleveland Bicycle Company to the American Bicycle Company for a massive four million dollars in cash. In the early 1900s the Loziers began experimenting with various powerplants including both the steam and the internal combustion engine. Within a very short time the attention of Harry Lozier was focused upon the internal combustion engine. The result led to the founding of the Lozier Motor Company headquartered in Plattsburgh, New York later that year. Initially the focus of the company was directed at marine engines, however, by 1905 it had been redirected toward the creation of a motor car. Capitalizing on the company's success with marine engines, Lozier adeptly produced a high end motor car that was introduced at the New York Auto Show that year. Under the direction of engineer John Perrin the Lozier was built to the same exacting standards as that of the French, British and German motor cars of the time. Production that year totaled 56 cars, all of which utilized a water cooled, four cylinder, 30-35 horsepower engine mounted on a pressed steel frame. Additionally, the Lozier utilized a dual ignition system, Bosch magneto, mechanically actuated valves accessible through the cylinder heads and most impressively, the car was bigger, faster and better looking than just about anything else on the road at the time. Two short years later the Lozier Motor Car Company found itself headquartered on 56th Street and Broadway in New York City and employed nearly 300 people at the Plattsburgh factory. The company essentially represented the cutting edge in automotive technology as exemplified by the internal contracting rear drum brakes which were water cooled through a driver actuated air-pressurized cooling tank, remarkably the same type of system that Briggs Cunningham utilized on his Le Mans car fifty years later. With a strong share of the market the men at Lozier then decided the time was right to join the world of racing and in 1907 the company entered two stripped road cars into four of the five grueling 24 hour races in 1907. Impressively, the Loziers dominated finishing first in their maiden race and recording two second place finishes in the ensuing challenges. Their success was marred in their last race as driver L.M. Smelzer crashed fatally, and in observance the sister car withdrew from the remainder of the race. In the ensuing years Lozier continually competed in racing events with perhaps one of the company's greatest successes coming in 1908 at the Brighton Beach 24 hour race. The two cars finished one-two, with the six cylinder finishing a strong first closely followed by the four cylinder car. Lozier executives cleverly capitalized on their racing successes and utilized a strong marketing plan that completed the release of each year's new model. For 1909 Lozier offered three separate lines delineated by horsepower and wheelbase lengths. The four cylinder 33hp Model G with a 116 inch wheelbase, the four cylinder 45hp Type H with a wheelbase of 124 inches and the six cylinder 50hp Type I with a wheelbase of 131 inches. All three lines were offered with a Seven