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31-476: In 1896, the managing director of the Lunéville plant, Baron Adrien de Turckheim, bought the rights to a design by Amédée Bollée . This used a front-mounted horizontal twin engine with sliding clutches and belt drive. It had a folding top, three acetylene headlights, and, very unusual for the period, a plate glass windshield. While the company started out using engines from Bollée, De Dietrich eventually produced

62-400: A road train which was completed in 1879. Developing 100  hp (101  PS ; 75  kW ), La Marie-Anne had a three speed gearbox and was capable of towing 35 tonnes (34 long tons; 39 short tons) on a 6% slope . Amédée père had derived from La Mancelle different vehicles that he delivered in a variety of styles of bodywork such as: limousine, coach, omnibus etc. The La Nouvelle

93-495: A 10 hp (7.5 kW) allegedly created by Bugatti. Also that year, Lorraine-Dietrich took over Ariel Mors Limited of Birmingham , for the sole British model, a 20 hp (15 kW) four, shown at the Olympia Motor Show in 1908, offered as bare chassis, Salmons & Sons convertible , and Mulliner cabriolet . (The British branch was not a success, lasting only about a year.) For 1908, De Dietrich offered

124-577: A cruising speed of 30 km/h (19 mph) and a top speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It was driven by two V twin steam engines, one for each rear wheel. The original vehicle is preserved in the collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. In 1878 Amédée père designed La Mancelle , which is regarded as the first automobile to be put into series production, 50 being manufactured in all. It possessed such (for

155-401: A line of chain-driven touring fours, the 18/28 hp, 28/38 hp, 40/45 hp, and 60/80 hp, priced between £550 and £960, and a 70/80 hp six at £1,040. The British version differed, having shaft drive. That year, the names of the automotive and aero-engine divisions were changed to Lorraine-Dietrich. By 1914, all De Dietrichs were shaft-driven, and numbered a 12/16, an 18/20,

186-488: A new 20/30 tourers, and a sporting four-cylinder 40/75 (in the mold of Mercer or Stutz ), all built at Argenteuil , Seine-et-Oise (which became company headquarters postwar). After World War I , with Lorraine restored to France, the company restarted manufacture of automobiles and aero-engines. Their 12-cylinder aero-engines were used by Breguet , IAR , and Aero , among others. In 1919, new technical director Marius Barbarou (late of Delaunay-Belleville ) introduced

217-512: A new model in two wheelbases , the A1-6 and B2-6, joined three years later by the B3-6, with either short or long wheelbase. All fell in the 15 CV fiscal horsepower category, sharing the 3,445 cc (210.2 cu in) six cylinder engine, which had overhead valves, hemispherical head , aluminium pistons , and four-bearing crankshaft . The performance was such in 1923, three tourers "put up

248-408: A passable showing" at the first 24 Hours of Le Mans , leading to the creation for 1924 of the 15 Sport, with twin carburetion, larger valves, and Dewandre-Reprusseau servo -assisted four-wheel brakes (at a time when four-wheel brakes of any kind were a rarity); they ran second and third, and were comparable to the 3 litre Bentleys. The 15 CV Sport did better in 1925, winning Le Mans, followed home by

279-647: A rear-mounted monobloc four, and twin carburettors ; poor preparation left none of the works teams able to complete the Tour de France . The Bollée-inspired design was supplanted by a licence -built Belgian Vivinus voiturette at Niederbronn and a Marseilles -designed Turcat-Méry at Lunéville, following a 1901 deal with that cash-strapped company. In 1902, De Dietrich & Cie hired 21-year-old Ettore Bugatti , who produced prize-winning cars in 1899 and 1901, designing an overhead valve 24 hp (18 kW) four-cylinder with four-speed transmission to replace

310-810: A single operator. In French: Mercer (car) Mercer was an American automobile manufacturer from 1909 until 1925. It was notable for its high-performance cars, especially the Type 35 Raceabout. The Mercer Automobile Company was formed in May 1909 in Trenton , Mercer County , New Jersey. It evolved from the Walter Automobile Company , which had built the Walter and Roebling-Planche automobiles. Washington A. Roebling II arranged with William Walter, to take over his automobile company and use

341-515: A sister in third, while in 1926, Bloch and Rossignol won at an average 106 km/h (66 mph), leading a 1-2-3 sweep by Lorraines. Lorraine-Dietrich thus became the first marque to win Le Mans twice and the first to win in two consecutive years. This publicity contributed to touring 15s being bodied by Gaston Grümmer , also Argenteuil's director, who produced coachwork for the likes of Aurora, Olympia , Gloriosa , and Chiquita . The 15 CV

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372-612: A vacant brewery in Hamilton, New Jersey, owned by the Kuser family. Ferdinand Roebling, son of John A. Roebling , was the president, and his nephew Washington became general manager. The secretary-treasurer was John L. Kuser. The first Mercer cars arrived in 1910. A.R. Kingston, E.T. George and C.G. Roebling were credited with the design. The Mercer was available as a speedster , toy tonneau or touring car and were powered by four-cylinder L-head Beaver engines. The T-head Raceabout

403-532: The "super-luxury" market between 1905 and 1908 with a handful of £4,000 (US$ 20,000) six-wheeler limousines de voyage . Like Napiers and Mercedes , Lorraine-Dietrich's reputation was built in part on racing, which was "consistent if not distinguished", including Charles Jarrott 's third in the 1903 Paris–Madrid race and a 1-2-3 in the 1906 Circuit des Ardennes , led by ace works driver Arthur Duray . De Dietrich bought out Isotta Fraschini in 1907, producing two OHC cars to Isotta Fraschini designs, including

434-503: The 300-mile (480 km) big car event, Pullen won $ 4,000 and an additional $ 2,000 for setting a new world road race record. His average speed of 86.5 mph (139.21 km/h) broke the record of 78.72 mph (126.69 km/h) set by Teddy Tetzlaff at Santa Monica in 1912. In the 1914 road races in Elgin, Illinois , two Raceabouts collided and wrecked. Spencer Wishart , a champion racer who always wore shirt and tie under his overalls,

465-545: The Alsace market being sold a Turcat-Méry badge-engineered as a De Dietrich. Even at the time, this was seen with some disdain, and Lunéville put the cross of Lorraine on the grille to distinguish them. Nevertheless, under the skin, they were little different, nor would they be until 1911. For all that, the Lorraine-Dietrich was a prestige marque , ranking with Crossley and Itala , while attempting to break into

496-541: The Philadelphia Mercer dealership. Production, which had ceased in 1924, was resumed late in the year and continued, though cars were mostly built from parts on hand. Mercer produced its last vehicles in 1925, after some 12,893 had been built. In 1928 the dormant Mercer Motors Company was sold to a group headed by Harry M. Wahl. Wahl contracted with Elcar Motor Company and its engineer Mike Graffis to build new Mercer prototypes. Mercer Motors Corporation

527-737: The Vivinus, colloquially (and retroactively) referred to as the Type 2 . There he partnered with Bollée, and became acquainted with Émile Mathis, marketing director. He also created their 30/35 of 1903, with the models today referred to as the Types 3-7 attributed to him before quitting to join Strasbourg -based Mathis in the German Alsace in 1904. The same year, management at Niederbronn quit car production, leaving it entirely to Lunéville, with

558-748: The automobile world " and "It is possible to thread a needle while travelling 60 mph." In 1912 Washington A. Roebling II died in the disaster of the Titanic . In 1914 Finley Porter resigned and his place was taken by Eric H. Delling, who designed a new L-head engine. Like the T-head, the Mercer L-head was a four-cylinder, developing at least 70-hp. Delling updated designs so that even sporting Mercers had windshields and bench seats. Enclosed coachwork, as well as Houdaille shock absorbers were added. Delling departed in 1916 and in 1917 F.W. Roebling died, followed

589-449: The company, which became simply known as Lorraine from 1928 on. The 15 CV was supplanted by the 20 CV, which had a 4,086 cc (249.3 cu in) engine, of which just a few hundred were made. Automobile production eventually became unprofitable and, after the failure of their 20 CV model, the concern ceased production of automobiles in 1935. In 1930, De Dietrich Argenteuil plant was absorbed by Société Générale Aéronautique , and

620-556: The entire vehicle themselves. In 1898, De Dietrich debuted the Torpilleur (Torpedo) racer, which featured a four-cylinder engine and independent suspension in front, for the Paris-Amsterdam Trial ; the driver, Etienne "Gaudry" Giraud, wrecked en route , but still placed third. The response was substantial, exceeding one million gold franc s. The 1899 torpilleur was less successful, despite underslung chassis,

651-517: The period) advanced features as rear-wheel drive (via shaft to the differential and then via chain to the rear wheels) and independent suspension on all four wheels. The original vehicle is preserved in the collection of the Musée de l'Automobile de la Sarthe . The public demonstrations of L'Obeissante and La Mancelle had secured orders for the Bollée factory, and Amédée père accepted an order for

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682-646: The six 1911 races it was entered in, losing only the first Indianapolis 500 . The Raceabout became one of the premier racing cars of the era- highly coveted for its quality construction and exceptional handling. In February 1914, Eddie Pullen , who worked at the factory from 1910, won the American Grand Prize held at Santa Monica, California, by racing for 403 mi (649 km) in a Raceabout. Later that same year, Eddie also won The Corona Road Race held in Corona, California, on November 26. For winning

713-761: The year after by C.G. Roebling. The Mercer Automobile Company lost direction and in October 1919 a Wall Street syndicate calling itself the Mercer Motors Company acquired control. Former Packard vice-president, Emlen S. Hare became president. The new Mercer organization acquired a substantial interest in Locomobile and Simplex marques. Hare's Motors resulted from this, but by August of 1921 Hare's Motors collapsed, and control of Mercer passed back to original Mercer people including John L. Kuser. For 1923 an overhead valve six-cylinder (Rochester engine)

744-454: Was a French bellfounder and inventor who specialized in steam cars . After 1867 he was known as "Amédée père" to distinguish him from his similarly named son, Amédée-Ernest-Marie Bollée (1867–1926). Bollée was the eldest son of Ernest-Sylvain Bollée, a bellfounder and inventor who moved to Le Mans in 1842. He became seriously ill in the 1860s and was obliged to delegate the day-to-day running of his businesses to his three sons. Amédée-Ernest

775-464: Was announced late in 1910 for the 1911 model year, this car was the idea of Washington A. Roebling II, and built by the engineer, Finley Robertson Porter. The Mercer T-head engine would power all Mercers through 1914. Mercers were relatively expensive cars with a median price in 1914 of $ 2,500, equivalent to $ 76,047 in 2023. Advertisements by Mercer in 1914 included "The Mercer is the Steinway of

806-680: Was converted to making aircraft engines and six-wheel trucks licensed from Tatra . By 1935, Lorraine-Dietrich had disappeared from the automobile industry. Until World War II , Lorraine concentrated on the military market, manufacturing vehicles such as the Lorraine 37L armoured carrier. The Lunéville plant returned to rail locomotives . In 1950s it was acquired by the US company General Trailers and as Trailor (Trailmobile Lorraine) manufactured trucks. Am%C3%A9d%C3%A9e Boll%C3%A9e Amédée-Ernest Bollée (11 January 1844 – 20 January 1917)

837-441: Was from this series and was completed in 1880. The rear of the vehicle was designed to receive the piston engine, this time rejected near the boiler in order to enlarge the passenger cabin. La Rapide ( The Rapid ) was built in 1881 and was noted for achieving a speed of 62 km/h (39 mph). La Rapide grouped the boiler, the engine and the controls at the front of the vehicle, thus making it possible for it to be driven by

868-444: Was given charge of the bell foundry, while Ernest-Jules (1846–1922) supervised the hydraulic ram business and the youngest son, Auguste-Sylvain Bollée (1847–1906) assumed control of the Éolienne Bollée wind-turbine factory. Amédée père manufactured his first steam vehicle L'Obéissante ( The Obedient ) in 1873 and made the first road trip between Paris and Le Mans in 18 hours. The L'Obéissante carried 12 passengers and had

899-577: Was introduced with a three-speed Brown & Lipe gearbox. This joined the four-speed Mercer four-cylinder and Mercers gained front brakes in 1924. Developed in 1910, the 1911 Type-35R Raceabout, a stripped-down, two-seat speedster , designed to be "safely and consistently" driven at over 70 mph (110 km/h), was capable of over 90 mph (140 km/h). The Raceabout's inline 4 -cylinder T-head engine displaced 293 cubic inches (4,800 cc) and developed 55 horsepower (41 kW) at 1,650 revolutions per minute. The Mercer Type-35R won five of

930-436: Was joined by the 12 CV, a 2,297 cc (140.2 cu in) four-cylinder car (until 1929), and the 30 CV, with a 6,107 cc (372.7 cu in) six cylinder engine (until 1927), while the 15 CV survived until 1932; the 15 CV Sport fell in 1930, losing its last race, the 1931 Monte Carlo Rally , when Donald Healey 's Invicta edged Jean-Pierre Wimille by a tenth of a point. The De Dietrich family sold its share in

961-684: Was killed along with the car's mechanic, John Jenter. This prompted the company to cancel its racing program. A similar model 1913 Mercer Raceabout, known as a Model 35J, is on permanent display at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, US. The Mercer Motors Company, then controlled by former Mercer Automobile people, sold their factory to the Roller Bearing Co. of America in 1925. All other assets were sold to Curran-McDevitt,

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