CAR MANUFACTURERS
A to D
AGERON - Ageron and Co Automobile Manufacturing, 280 Boileau street. - Ageron's cars were built in the period 1908-1910 in the small factory of Mr. Ageron and his partner. It was a light cart with a 4-cylinder engine of a fairly classic design. (according to Lucien Loreille)
AILLOUD-DUMOND - 9 Duhamel street. - Mr. Claude Ailloud, cycle manufacturer, 9 Mulatière quay, built a car in 1897-1898 equipped with a single-cylinder air-cooled engine. She won a silver medal at the first automobile exhibition in Lyon in December 1B99. In 1900, Mr. Ailloud joined forces with Mr. Francisque Dumond and they founded the Société des Automobiles Ailloud-Dumond.They built a 5 HP engine with two vertical cylinders placed at the front and cooled by water. Only five copies will leave the factory floor. In 1902, a 4-cylinder model with a 4-speed gearbox was produced. It will be a unique example, the firm abandoning construction to sell cars from other firms: De Dietrich, Turcat-Mery, etc... (according to Lucien Loreille)
ALLARD-LATOUR - 15 Montgolfier street. - Mr. Edouard Allard-Latour, engineer-manufacturer, manufactured some oil carts of his own design in the period 1899-1902. The first had transmission by belts, the latter by chains. (according to Lucien Loreille)
A.S.S. - A.S.S. Automobile Incorporated Company, 98 to 106 Chevreul street. - In 1919, a certain P. Schmitt decided to launch a mass-market, economical and inexpensive popular car on the market. It was a small 4-seater open touring car equipped with a 12 HP 2-cylinder, 2-stroke Thomas engine without valves. And had electric starting and lighting. Several copies were built and successfully presented at the Fair of Lyon and the Auto Show of Paris. Unfortunately, the firm went bankrupt around 1920-1921, handing over its premises to the Beck business. (according to Lucien Loreille)
AUDIBERT ET LAVIROTTE - Audibert and Lavirotte Establishments Incorporated Company, 12 Quatre-Maisons street, Monplaisir. - Messrs. Maurice Audibert and Emile Lavirotte created their first vehicle in 1893, and can be considered the first manufacturers of our city. The engines had 2 or 4 cylinders placed either at the front or at the rear depending on the model. Transmission was by belts or chains. The chassis was made of tubular steel. Some cars were entered in the events of the time, one ranked honorably in the Nice-La Turbie race of 1899. About fifty cars, vans and omnibuses were built until 1902, the year when the affair was put into liquidation and the premises bought by Berliet. (according to Lucien Loreille)
AUTO-LEGER - Auto-Léger Establishments, La Demi-Lune. - In a small Demi-Lunois workshop, Messrs. Toussaint and Grepet decided around 1905 to build automobiles. With a few workers, they created a car entirely “by hand”. It was a 9 HP, 2 cylinder, 3 speed, capable of a speed of 20-25 km/hour. It was very curious to see, because the bonnet represented a dragon whose mouth was the radiator and the two outstretched wings served as mudguards. There were only three "Auto-Leger" built. Its too unusual shape undoubtedly frightened potential buyers, and the workshop specialized in textile mechanics. (according to Lucien Loreille)
AVERLY - M.G. Averly, 143 Garibaldi street. - In the period 1899-1901, M.G. Averly, an electrical engineer, created a few copies of electric carts for which we unfortunately found no documents. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BARRON-VIALLE - Barron-Vialle and Co Establishments, 32 Alouettes way. - In 1913, the car body designer Antoine Vialle joined forces with the engineer Barron to manufacture industrial vehicles. After the war, they decided to build luxury cars. They hire the services of the Gadoux brothers, renowned engineers. Around 1922, they released luxurious touring and sports models with 6 and 8 cylinder engines. These cars were known by the flattering term “Delage Lyonnaise”. They shone in elegance competitions. At the 1923 Show, they were presented under the brand "Six". Manufacturing lasted until 1929 when the factories were transferred to Arandon (Isère) where the construction of industrial vehicles continued until 1934. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BAUD - E. Baud, Joatton and Co Establishments, 53 Nord boulevard. - Some Baud's carts were built in the period 1900-1903. And here too, apart from an entry in the Commercial Register, we found no information on this firm. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BECK - Beck Automobile Company, 35 Abondance street. - Some 12 HP 4-cylinder cars with 4 independent wheels with variable flexibility were built from 1920 to 1922 by the Beck Company which took over from A.S.S. Presented for the first time at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1921, this car is described in reports from this event as the most important post-war technical achievement. Another feature of this chassis was that the headlights pivoted with the steering, thus providing better lighting when cornering. This avant-garde car was imagined by the engineer François who subsequently had a brilliant career at Delahaye. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BERLIET - Berliet Automobile, 3 Michel Perret street in the Brotteaux district 1894-1903, then 12 Quatre Maisons street in the Monplaisir district, then in Vénissieux in 1915. - Today the most important French manufacturer of heavy goods vehicles, Berliet is the only one of all the manufacturers who prospered in Lyon at the beginning of the automobile to have survived. Marius Berliet imagined his first engine in 1894. The following year he made a complete car at home; as she has to go out through the door, he puts the two seats one behind the other. After this first success he rents a 90 m2 workshop from the Brotteaux. He hires two workers and builds cars. The premises are so cramped that assembly is done on the sidewalk. Then he had it built according to his plans at Audibert-Lavirotte and in 1902 he bought this business in difficulty. This will be his first major factory floor. In 1905, one of his cars won the Pyrenees Cup, the following year the Targa Bologna. This year is also that of his first truck. In 1908, he sold a manufacturing licence to the Americans. The sale of this licence allowed the creation of factories on Berthelot avenue (then Bridges avenue). In memory of this market, he adopted the far-west locomotive as his trademark. In 1912, a Berliet won the Monte-Carlo rally. In 1913, Poincaré President rode a Berliet for official ceremonies. The Vénissieux factories were created during the Great War. Trucks for the army (the C.B.A. of the Sacred Way) came out at a rate of 40 per day and 1000 Renault tanks were built in 1917 and 1918. The manufacture of touring cars continued until the last war and after the Liberation the firm specializes with the success that we know in industrial vehicles. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BERTHIER - Mr. Berthier, manufacturer, the Buire square. - During one of the Buire bankruptcies (there were several!), in 1910, the technical director Mr. Berthier continued manufacturing under his own name: these 10, 18 and 24 HP cars were only Buires perfected by engineer Barron. At the end of 1910, the business was took over and the cars were released again under the name "La Buire". (according to Lucien Loreille)
BUFFAUD - Buffaud Robatel and Co Establishments, 59 Baraban way. - In an advertisement from 1896, this firm indicates that it builds automobiles with Serpollet boilers and automobiles with Mekarski system compressed air. We have not found any information on these vehicles. It seems that this firm worked as a subcontractor for other firms. The Scotte omnibus at the Rochetaillée Museum was manufactured, if not in its entirety, at least its mechanism at Buffaud-Flobatel. This firm would have built a few steam trucks until around 1910. (according to Lucien Loreille)
BURLAT - Burlat Frères rotary engines, 85 bis Lafayette avenue. - EIn 1904, Mr. Antoine Burlat manufactured a few 12 and 16 HP cars powered by a 4-cylinder cross-shaped rotary engine of his design. These cars could be recognized by their round radiator with the crank in the center. The firm also manufactured a few trucks which had the particularity of using naphthalene as fuel. (according to Lucien Loreille)
CHAMBON - S.A. of the Chambon Automobiles, 31 Sud boulevard, Lyon. - Mr. Chambon, a civil mining engineer, operated a gear cutting workshop; he also built cutting machines (exhibited at the 1905 Show). Around 1911-12 he built a few cars, the main characteristics of which were: 12 hp engine, 4 semi-overturned cylinders, 70x140 (this description corresponds exactly to the contemporary Luc Court). The gearbox had 3 gears and reverse and was attached to the differential; the wheelbase was 3 meters and the speed announced was 70 km/h. The radiator was round, and the brand badge was a 6-pointed star. In 1912 the bare chassis, without tyres, cost 6,700 francs. Very few were built. Subsequently, Sté Chambon made agricultural tractors and in 1925 it merged with Rhony'x motorcycles. (according to Lucien Loreille)
CHAPEAUX - E. Chapeaux Cars, 24 Sully street. - At the start of the occupation, an engineer from Lyon Mr. Emile Chapeaux created 4 electric cars which were built by the car body desiger Declérieux on Vendôme street. The quota of raw materials by the occupier prevented him, at the end of 1941, from continuing his business. (according to Lucien Loreille)
C.L.E.M. - Lyon's Mechanical Studies Company, 108 Gambetta avenue. - The C.L.E.M. carts were built from 1912 to 1914 by Mr. Gaston Bouvier, former head of testing at La Buire, there were two models: a 7 HP and an 8/10 HP. This brand disappeared in the turmoil of 1914. (according to Lucien Loreille)
CHEYNET-CHARRONDIERE - Messrs. Cheynet and Charrondière, 2 Paradis street. - Two mechanics from Lyon, Messrs. Cheynet and Charrondière exhibited a 4-seater oil cart of their design at a Show held in 1895 at the Flapp gallery. (according to Lucien Loreille)
COGNET-DE SEYNES - Cognet-de Seynes Mechanical Manufacture Factory Floor, 177 Heyrieux road. - In a workshop created in 1906 for the manufacture of spare parts, Mr. Edouard de Seynes and his partner Mr. Cognet built their first cars around 1912. The following year a 6/10 HP 4 cylinder was produced in small series. This car has the particularity of having the engine suspended. With this system Mr. de Seynes had sought, among other things, to improve comfort, with mechanical vibrations no longer transmitted to the passenger compartment (the "floating engine" Citroëns would only be released 18 years later). The last Cognet-de Seynes were built in 1926. (according to Lucien Loreille)
COTTIN-DESGOUTTES - COTTIN-DESGOUTTES Automobile, 143 Heyrieux road, then 3 Bachut square, LYON Monplaisir district. - After working for AUDIBERT-LAVIROTTE, then for BERLIET, Mr. Pierre DESGOUTTES founded his own firm in 1903 under the name “Automobile Society P.DESGOUTTES and Co”. The following year it became “COTTIN-DESGOUTTES Automobile”. The factory quickly became known. Many touring and competition models, including high-performance "grand Prix" types, were built before the Great War. Cyrille COTTIN the manufacturer, Georges DEYDIER, NÎOGRET, MARZE, COTTART, MARREL won numerous honors at Mont-Ventoux, at Limonest, at Chères, at Mont Pilat, at Hyères at la Faucille, etc... Among the models released after the conflict, the most famous was certainly the 3-liter with 3 valves per cylinder "M3-S", which ranked 1st and 2nd at the 1924 ACF Grand Prix., and who took the first three places in the same event the following year. An equally famous model was released in 1926, under the name “Without Shaking”. This chassis with 4 independent wheels was built until the disappearance of the Company in 1933. COTTIN-DESGOUTTES also carved out a solid reputation in the field of industrial vehicles with good quality trucks and coaches. Coaches, often in convertible versions, were widely used in our region for tourist excursions; such as those of the P.L.M. on the Alpes Road. (according to Lucien Loreille)
CROS - At the beginning of 1913, a mechanic, Mr. CROS, created a propeller car of his invention in a garage on Créqui street. The previous year, he had already built a vehicle similar to BISKRA, during his military service. The one built in LYON was only a refinement of the first. He named his car “The Colonial” because he intended it for Africa. During tests in the spring of 1914, it caught fire in southern Algeria. (according to Lucien Loreille)
DE LA DUCHERE - The cars built by the DUCHERE factory floor at the beginning of this century had a round hood like that of the Pilain and the Hotchkiss. The first taxis which circulated in LYON around 1907 were built by this firm about which we have not been able to find, until now, any details. (according to Lucien Loreille)
DEXTER - A. FAURE, Cycle manufacturer, Toulon street. - Around 1906, Mr. FAURE, cyclist and cycle manufacturer, decided to manufacture automobiles. He released a few touring models in 25/35 HP 6 cylinders and 40/50 HP 4 cylinders. He also created two huge racing cars with 120 HP engines; one of them ran at LIMONEST and placed second in the flying kilometer, on the CHERES Road in June 1908. Mr. FAURE very quickly abandoned the automobile and continued in the cycle industry. (according to Lucien Loreille)
DIEDERICHS - DIEDERICHS Automobile Society, 6 Neuve small street, Lyon Charpennes district. - This firm was created in 1912 by Mr. THEOPHILE DIEDERICHS, President of the Pilain Automobile Society. It built around sixty cars until war was declared. They were large and robust 4-cylinder engines, quite elegant, with a round radiator. The very latest models released from the spring of 1914 had a windproof radiator. (according to Lucien Loreille)
