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1901 Waverley Electric

Waverley of Indianapolis, Indiana, began its existence as a manufacturer of bicycles. They built their first car in 1898 following a merger of the Colonel Albert Augustus Pope's American Electric Vehicle Company of Chicago. After the acquisition, he transferred the works to his Indianapolis-based bicycle company where he began production of the Waverley Electric.

In 1904, Pope added the Pope-Toldeo, Pope-Tribune, and Pope-Hartford to his electric car empire, and the Waverley became the Pope-Waverley. It continued to use this name into 1908 when the Pope empire was re-organized due to financial difficulties. The Indianapolis factory entered receivership and was sold in September of 1908. The 'Pope' portion of the Waverley was dropped and by 1912 the vehicles had gained a pronounced hood. The company remained in business through the end of the 1916 model year.

by Dan Vaughan

Runabout

Like a number of automobile companies that sprang up at the turn of the past century, Waverley of Indianapolis, Indiana, began as a bicycle manufacturer. The company built bikes under several different names before turning to horseless carriages as part of Colonel Albert Augustus Pope's manufacturing empire. Pope already owned Indiana Bicycle Company when he purchased the American Electric Vehicle Co. of Chicago and transferred the works to his Indianapolis-based bicycle company where he began production of the Waverley Electric.

This Waverly Electric runabout is a very early example from the first year's production. At first glance, it is a humble and simple horseless carriage, yet it is really much more. This is a historically significant and influential machine, particularly as we see the resurgent role that electric cars are making in today's marketplace.