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De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by the ''Marquis'' Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton, and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux. The company was formed after de Dion in 1881 saw a toy locomotive in a store window and asked the toymakers to build another. Engineers Bouton and Trépardoux had been making a starvation living on scientific toys at a shop in the Passage de Léon, close to the "rue de la Chapelle" in Paris.〔Wise, p. 510.〕 Trépardoux had long dreamed of building a steam car, but neither could afford it. De Dion, already inspired by steam (though in the form of rail locomotives)〔Georgano, p. 27.〕 and with plenty of money,〔Georgano, p. 24 cap.〕 agreed, and De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux was formed in Paris in 1883. This became the De Dion-Bouton automobile company, the world's largest automobile manufacturer for a time, becoming well known for their quality, reliability, and durability.〔Wise, pp. 511–4 ''passim''.〕 ==Steam cars== Before 1883 was over they had set up shop in larger premises in the Passage de Léon, Paris,〔Wise, p. 511.〕 tried and dropped steam engines for boats, and produced a steam car. With the boiler and engine mounted at the front, driving the front wheels by belts and steering with the rear, it burned to the ground on trials. They built a second, ''La Marquise'', the next year, with a more conventional steering and rear-wheel drive, capable of seating four.〔 The ''Marquis'' de Dion entered one of these in an 1887 trial, "Europe's first motoring competition", the brainchild of one M. Fossier of cycling magazine ''Le Vélocipède''. Evidently, the promotion was insufficient, for the De Dion was the sole entrant, but it completed the course, with de Dion at the tiller, and was clocked at .〔 This must be taken with considerable care; the first official land speed record, set in 1898, was . The vehicle survives, in road-worthy condition, and has been a regular entry in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Following this singular success, the company offered steam tricycles with boilers between the front wheels and two-cylinder engines. They were built in small numbers, evidently a favorite of young playboys, before being joined by a larger tractor, able to pull trailers (what has been called a "steam drag"). This larger vehicle introduced the so-called De Dion or "dead" axle; an axle beam carried the weight of the vehicle with the non weight-bearing driveshafts or drive chains articulated separately alongside it.(footnote: The live axle carries the weight by a rigid tube around the driveshaft, both parts fastened together.) On July 22,〔(Le Petit Journal, publishing of monday july 23, 1894 )〕 1894, Paris–Rouen race, it averaged over the 126 km (78 mi) route, but was disqualified for needing both a driver and a stoker.〔 Two more cars were made in 1885 followed by a series of lightweight two-cylinder tricars, which from 1892 had Michelin pneumatic tyres. In 1893, steam tractors were introduced which were designed to tow horse type carriages for passengers or freight〔 (sometimes called "steam drags") and these used an innovative axle design which would become known as the De Dion tube,〔 where the location and drive function of the axle are separated. The company manufactured steam buses and trucks until 1904. Trepardoux, staunchly supporting steam, resigned in 1894 as the company turned to internal combustion vehicles.〔〔 The steam car remained in production more or less unchanged for ten years more.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「De Dion-Bouton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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