Lion (automobile)

{{short description|Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Lion Motor Car Company

| logo = Lion 20Motor 20Car 20Co. 20emblem.jpg

| logo_caption = Lion Radiator Emblem

| type =

| predecessor = Gyroscope (automobile)

| founded = {{Start date and age|1910}}

| founder = Henry Bowen, Fred Postal

| defunct = {{end date and age|1912}}

| fate = Factory Fire

| hq_location_city = Adrian, Michigan

| products = Automobile Manufacturer

}}

The Lion was a brass era automobile built in Adrian, Michigan, United States by the Lion Motor Car Company from 1909 to 1912.{{Kimes-USCars3rd}}

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. In 1910 Runabout and Tourers were medium-priced at $1,500 and $1,600, {{Inflation|US|1600|1910|fmt=eq}}. Lion advertised " The Lion Forty runs like a Sixty".

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.{{Georgano-EncAuto3v}}

File:2017-06-05 20-48-07-640x427.jpg|alt=|Lion model Forty advertising

File:Lion Car.jpg|alt=|1912 Lion factory fire

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