Lion Motor Car Company
PredecessorGyroscope (automobile)
Founded1910; 114 years ago (1910)
FounderHenry Bowen, Fred Postal
Defunct1912; 112 years ago (1912)
FateFactory Fire
Headquarters
Adrian, Michigan
ProductsAutomobile Manufacturer

The Lion was a brass era automobile built in Adrian, Michigan, United States by the Lion Motor Car Company from 1909 to 1912.[1]

History

The Lion Motor Car Company was formed to produce the engine developed for the Gyroscope automobile. This plan was abandoned and the Lion was a four-cylinder 40 hp engine model called the Forty.[1] In 1910 Runabout and Tourers were medium-priced at $1,500 and $1,600, equivalent to $52,320 in 2023.[1] Lion advertised " The Lion Forty runs like a Sixty".[2][1]

A fire on June 2, 1912, destroyed the factory and 150 cars, including a prototype model Thirty. The city of Adrian and citizens raised $8,000 to help, but the Lion Motor Car Company was under-insured and went into receivership by October.[2]

Two Lion examples are known to be extant; one in a museum in Adrian, Michigan and another in Australia. The Australian car is located in Queensland.

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
Categories