The Automotive Legacy of Pope Lives On

1912 Pope Hartford Model 27

The invention of the automobile probably had more to do with the invention of the bicycle than the invention of an electric motor, steam or internal combustion engine. The bicycle was the first speed-creating conveyance that was relatively easy to buy, use and maintain. On the right surfaces, a bicycle could propel its owner along at a speed many times greater than that of a horse, and down a hill…how brave were you? In the late 1800s, Americans and Europeans were bicycle crazy. Few industries during the industrial revolution would grow as fast as bicycle manufacturing. The bicycle gave the public the feeling of freedom and speed. With this came the need for more freedom and more speed. Ironically, the introduction of the car actually ushered in the decline of the bicycle craze and the start of another.