De Dion-Bouton

De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile and railcar manufacturer that operated from 1883 to 1953. The Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, the engineer Georges Bouton and Bouton's brother-in-law Charles-Armand Trepardoux founded it, and the company was formed in Paris in 1883 after de Dion agreed to finance Bouton and Trepardoux, who could not afford to build the steam car they wanted. It began with steam cars, tricycles and tractors, introduced the axle design known as the De Dion tube, and turned to internal combustion engines after Trepardoux resigned in 1894, when it became De Dion, Bouton et Compagnie. Its source describes it as the world's largest automobile manufacturer for a time, well known for the quality, reliability and durability of its vehicles, and notes that it also supplied engines to other vehicle makers.