By Charlie O

1899 Dedion Bouton Quadracyle

A Water cooled single cylinder 402cc engine was constructed for use in the tricycles (3-wheeler). Quadricycle (4-wheeler) started in 1899. Driver behind the passenger.

DeDion-Bouton engines are considered the first of the high-speed, high-power engines producing a high horsepower for their weight. The earliest of them had coil ignition with mechanically operated contact breaker. DeDion-Boutons were used in motorcycles and quadricycles, and in their own tricycle, which was one of the first successful motor vehicles.

Specifications: single-cylinder; bore 90 mm., stroke 110 mm., displacement 689 cc., 6 hp.

De Dion-Boutons were built in France from 1883-1932. They originally manufactured steam carriages, but produced their first gas engine car in 1895. "Vis-a-vis" means face to face, describing the way the passengers and drivers faced one another.

1899 De Dion-Bouton Type G Vis-a-Vis

Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Mr. Trépardoux started out experimenting with steam powered tri-cycles and caught the attention of the rich count (later marquis) De Dion. This classic sportsman liked the tri-cycles so much that he associated himself with Bouton and Trépardoux in 1883, forming one of the first French car marques: De Dion-Bouton. The company produced all kinds of steam powered vehicles and even boats until De Dion saw the petrol engined cars of Benz and Daimler at the Paris World's Fair of 1889 and got very impressed by them.

Using the technical geniuses of Bouton and Trépardoux the company rapidly developed their own petrol engines, the first patents concerning those date back to as early as 1889. In 1895 a very successful petrol engine was introduced: a lightweight air-cooled single-cylinder unit that could reach a in those days staggering 1500 rpm. This 137 cc 1 hp engine was fitted in light tri-cycles and these 'cars' were sold at a modest price. In 1896 the engine was enlarged to 250 cc, producing 1.75 hp, and became available to other manufacturers to fit in their own chassis.

After the successful participation of a petrol engined car in the Paris to Rouen concours in 1894, Mr. Trépardoux decided to leave the company, being not convinced of the merits of petrol engines in favor of steam power. De Dion and Bouton continued the development of petrol engines and after a financial injection by the Dutch baron Van Zuylen they introduced their first real production car with a petrol engine in 1899.

This was the Vis a Vis ("face to face") model that succeeded the company's cyclecars. It too became very popular, mainly because of its refined mechanics. The car was fitted with a single-cylinder 3.5 hp @ 1700 rpm engine and a two speed gearbox. This car in all kinds of variations formed the base of most of the De Dion-Bouton cars until 1908. In 1912 the production of all single-cylinder cars was ceased.

The first four-cylinder front-engined car was introduced in 1903 and in 1910 a V8 engine was introduced. The company concentrated more and more on the production of big luxury cars and commercial vehicles. After the first World War funds were not sufficient to start up car production on a large scale and De Dion-Bouton became less and less competitive in the car market. In 1927 the car production ran into big trouble and only with financial backing of the French government it could continue till 1932. After that only small numbers of commercial vehicles left the company. The year 1952 was the last in the company's existence, in 1953 marquis De Dion died and the French Rover importer bought the remaining factory buildings from his estate.

1899 Locomobile

Power source: Gasoline fired steam
Body style: Stanhope Carriage
Seating Capacity: Two Passenger
Wheels: 28" Diameter
Tires: 2 1/2" Single Pneumatics
Tread: 4 feet, 6 inches
Weight, empty: 640 pounds
Gasoline Tank Capacity: 5 Gallon
Water Tank Capacity: 21 Gallons
Extreme Length: 7 feet, 4 inches
Extreme Width: 4 feet, 10 3/4 inches
Seat: Spindle back
Standard Equipment: Rubber Bucket, Side Lamps, Gong, Cyclometer,
Full set of Tools.

The first prototype gasoline-powered Locomobile was completed at the company's factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Francis and Freelan Stanley created the original steam-powered Locomobile in 1898. "Yankee tinkerers," the Stanley brothers had been working on designs for steam-powered carriages for many years. Success came when one of their cars appeared at a Boston fair in October 1908. Interest in their cars, stemming from the debut of their lightweight, affordable vehicle, led them to undertake the construction of one hundred cars. To put the brothers' ambition in perspective, one need only recognize that the largest American gasoline-powered auto producer in the country, Alexander Winton, made twenty-two cars in 1898; Pope Electric of Hartford, Connecticut, produced a few dozen. The Stanley Brothers' resolve to "mass-produce" inexpensive cars marked an important transition in automobile manufacturing.

But only a few months into their venture, the Stanley Brothers sold their enterprise to Amzi Barber, America's sheet-asphalt tycoon. It was under Barber's direction that the Locomobile name became a brand. The 1899 Locomobile sold for $600 and, as its advertisements boasted, it was noiseless and odorless. Refreshing to think of, but the Locomobile's water tank held only twenty-one gallons, enough for just a twenty-mile journey. Besides, starting a steam-powered engine was time-consuming and dangerous, as boilers frequently burned out. The gasoline burners that heated the boilers could backfire, potentially setting the car on fire. Sales of the Locomobile peaked in 1900 at sixteen hundred, a remarkable figure at such an early date. The total was far greater than any other American automaker could produce and it rivaled the French automaker, De Dion-Bouton, as the greatest car production in the world.

Sales fell the next year, however, as the primacy of gasoline-powered automobiles was established. Gas-powered cars could go farther, faster, and with fewer hassles than steam-powered cars of comparable sizes. Barber hired automobile engineer Andrew Riker to design him a gas-powered vehicle. The car he designed sold for $5,000. The new Locomobile appealed to rich consumers, and the company shifted its focus from low-cost production for the masses to high-cost production for the elite few. The last Locomobile steamers were produced in 1904. The end of the steam era saw the end of the company's importance. Other firms had been building gas-powered automobiles better, for longer. Locomobile survived through World War I producing trucks for the war market. After the war it became one in the overflowing market of luxury cars. The company died in 1929 after having been briefly incorporated into one of William Durant's holding companies.

Charles A. Yont and W.B. Felker completed the first automobile trip to the summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado, on this day, driving an 1899 locomobile steamer. Climbing 14,110 feet to the top was quite a feat for the little steamer. Pikes Peak is well known because of its commanding location and easy accessibility, and the view from the summit is said to have inspired the song “America the Beautiful.”