Theologou was one of the first vehicle manufacturers in Greece. It was created by Nikos Theologos, a Greek mechanic who had lived and worked for a few years in the US, and founded this company after he returned to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
, Greece in 1906 (full name appearing on vehicle badges was "N. Theologou", "Theologou" being genitive case in Greek, meaning "by Theologos") . Around 1916 he designed and constructed a light passenger car (chassis and body) with a motorcycle engine; according to his descendants, the efforts had started in 1908, and since 1916 a small number (less than 10) were built. His company, nonetheless, produced a variety of bus and truck bodies, mostly on
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
chassis in the 1920s. By the late 1920s it was facing strong competition by larger companies like ''
Tournikiotis'' and ''Athena'' in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
, ''
Bouhagier'' in
Patras
)
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...
and others, which also produced vehicles (mainly buses and trucks) on imported chassis, and was soon eclipsed by them.
References
*L.S. Skartsis and G.A. Avramidis, "Made in Greece", Typorama, Patras, Greece (2003) (republished by the University of Patras Science Park, 2007) (special mention is made in this book to the Nikos Stratoyiannakis archive)
L.S. Skartsis, "Greek Vehicle & Machine Manufacturers 1800 to present: A Pictorial History", Marathon (2012) (eBook)
"10 things you must know about the first Greek car" (in Greek)*"O Ellinas Ford legotan Theologou (Greece's
enryFord was called Theologou)", article in ''Epsilon'' magazine (Eleftherotypia newspaper), August 24, 1994
* K. Bitsikokos, "Affordable cars made in Greece", ''Auto Bild (Hellas)'', issue 22, Feb 29, 2008
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Greece
Cars of Greece
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