- See also Pope-Hartford, Pope-Robinson, Pope-Tribune and Pope-Waverley
The Pope-Toledo was one of the makes of the Pope Motor Car Company founded by Colonel AA Pope, and was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Toledo, Ohio between 1903 and 1909. The Pope-Toledo was the most expensive of the Pope range. In 1909 the company was taken over by the Apperson Motor Company.
The 1903 Pope-Toledo was a four wheel, front engined, two seater open car. It was powered by a straight 3 cylinder 182 cubic inch (2983 cc) engine with the then unususual feature of a detachable cylinder head. Valve operation was mechanical and the engine speed was governed at 600 rpm. Drive was through a 3 speed gearbox with chains to each rear wheel. The chassis was mainly wood with a steel sub-frame carrying the main mechanical components. The car had a wheelbase of 7 feet 5 ninches (2.26 metres) and a track of 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 metres).
The 1904 model was a larger touring car . Equipped with a rear entrance tonneau body, it could seat 5 passengers and sold for US$3500. The vertically-mounted water-cooled straight-4, situated at the front of the car, produced 24 hp (17.9 kW). A 3-speed sliding transmission was fitted. The channel steel-framed car weighed 2350 lb (1066 kg). This modern Systeme Panhard car had spark and throttle levers on steering wheel, a novelty at the time.
By 1907 the company models included limousines and seven seat cars.
References
- Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)