In 1883, Count Jules-Albert de Dion formed a partnership with Georges Bouton

Georges Bouton

Georges Bouton was a French engineer, who along with fellow Frenchman Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, founded De Dion-Bouton in 1883. The pair had first worked together in 1882 to produce a self-propelled steam vehicle...

 to produce steam car

Steam car

A steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...

s in Paris, France. They continuously improved their steam cars and in 1892 began experimenting with gasoline-powered engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

s. These experiments were successful and the De Dion-Bouton

De Dion-Bouton

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 his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....

 single-cylinder gasoline engine grew in popularity. Other automobile makers began car production using the reliable De Dion-Bouton engines: Renault

Renault

Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...

, Delage

Delage

Delage was a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delage in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953.-History:...

, Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow was an American automobile manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901-1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks, fire trucks, camp trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles.-Early history:The forerunner...

, and Peerless

Peerless

Peerless was a United States automobile produced by the Peerless Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio from 1900 to 1931. The company was known for building high-quality, precision luxury automobiles. Peerless' factory was located at 9400 Quincy Avenue in Cleveland...

, to name a few.

In 1901 a factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York and a small quantity of American De Dion Motorettes were made. These had either 2 seater vis-a-vis

Vis-à-vis (carriage)

A vis-à-vis is a carriage in which the passengers sit face to face. The term comes from the French vis-à-vis, meaning face to face. These carriages are still commonly made by Amish carriage makers in the midwestern United States. Also in the Western world, the vis-a-vis is the most common type of...

or closed coachwork and were powered by 3.5 hp American made engines.