The HAL (or sometimes HAL-Twelve/HAL-12) was a

Brass Era car 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 things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

made in Cleveland, Ohio from 1916 to 1918. HAL stands for the initials of the founder—Harry A. Lozier. Harry Lozier stated in June 1915 that "only an

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researche ...

... prevented the formation of my company last summer."Kimes, Beverly Rae. ''Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942'' (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1996), p.667. Harry Lozier was upset that Lozier Motor Company

stockholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ow ...

s had taken his decidedly luxury self-named car downmarket. So he did what

Ransom E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

and Harry C. Stutz did before him—create a new car company using his initials as the name of the car. Thus was the H.A. Lozier Company formed. A prototype using a

Weidely Weidely Motors Company was an early motor company based in Indianapolis, IN. Weidely started in 1915. It made engines for Premier, Chalmers, Cletrac crawlers and Owen Magnetic cars. They also made a V-12 engine for the 1917 Pathfinder and 1920 ...

V-12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve- cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

was displayed at the New York Automobile Show in January 1916. Production of the $2100 car commenced in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

that summer, though the price would rise as time went on. The former

Royal Tourist Royal Tourist (1905–1909) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Classic Preakness Stakes in 1908 and who later that year set a World Record time in winning the Winters Handicap at Emeryville Race Track in Oakland, Ca ...

factory was used, which had been leased from the F.B. Stearns Company. Harry Lozier left the company in September 1916 for health reasons. The company was now renamed the Hal Motor Car Company, with A. Ward Foote of the Foote-Burt Machine Company as president. Company brochures stated that even though the engines of the HAL-Twelve were rated at 40 hp, they actually developed over 70 at 2000 RPM, and 100 at 3000 RPM. Among the prominent owners of HALs during this period was none other than Warren G. Harding, though he would switch to

Locomobile Locomobile may refer to: Transport * Locomobile Company of America, a US company that made automobiles under the brand name "Locomobile" from 1899 to 1929 * Steam-powered agricultural and haulage vehicles: ** Traction engine ** Portable engine * ...

s by the time he became

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

.Kimes, p.667. The continuing war resulted in materials shortages. There was a rumor in October 1917 that HAL would merge with the Abbott Corporation, recently moved to Cleveland from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Unfortunately, Abbott declared bankruptcy in January 1918, while the Hal Motor Company was petitioned into involuntary bankruptcy the next month, on creditors' claims of only $1500. The Hal assets were auctioned off in April, thus ending Harry Lozier's 2nd automotive venture named after himself.

Notes

References

Kimes, Beverly Rae and Clark Jr, Henry Austin. "Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942." (Third Edition). Iola, WI: Krause Publications. 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hal (Automobile) Brass Era vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Defunct companies based in Cleveland