In the 1890s Colonel Albert A. Pope was hailed as a leading American automaker. That his name is not a household word today is the very essence of his story.

Pope's production methods as the world's largest manufacturer of bicycles led to the building of automobiles with lightweight metals, rubber tires, precision machining, interchangeable parts, and vertical integration. The founder of the Good Roads Movement, Pope entered automobile manufacturing while steam, electricity, and gasoline power were still vying for supremacy. The story of his failed dream of dominating U.S. automobile production is an engrossing view into America's industrial history.