Okay, so I just had to book-end last week's car thread. Since we've covered the automotive equivalents to the USS Nimitz, today we're going to discuss the diminutive. Today's list will contain some of the smallest cars on the roadways, including one that, according to Dave Barry, belonged to a marque that was "so small it was routinely stolen by squirrels". Obviously this list will borrow heavily from our European brethren...
So here we go!
1. Nash Metropolitan. Yes, an American car tops the list, if for no other reason than serving as the inspiration for Mr. Incredible's econobox. It's an American car from the 1950s that doesn't have tailfins, bumper darts, or enough sheet metal to build a warehouse. In fact, I'd wager it could fit neatly in the trunk of the 1959 Cadillac...
2. Morris Mini. 12" tires, excuse me, tyres. 850cc engine (I've owned two motorcycles with equal or greater displacement). 10' length. I could literally double my garage space if I could convince Mrs. G. to get two Minis... I don't know why I love this little British oddball, but I do.
3. BMW Isetta. 247 cc engine. One door which doubles as the windshield. Was the car driven by Urkel. This is one of those "so homely it's cute" cars. One testing site, when asked for top speed, replied, "85 miles an hour. Except that we had it mounted in the bed of a Chevy pick-up at the time".
4. Messerschmitt KR200. Yes, that Messerschmitt. After WWII they were forbidden to manufacture aircraft, and turned to automotive/motorcycle oddities such as the three-wheeled KR200. It had a 10 hp single-cylinder engine capable of over 60 mph and seated two - in tandem.
5. VW Polo. Yes, over in Europe there is a Volkswagen smaller than the Golf. In fact, the Golf and Jetta are considered to be mid-sized to large cars in Europe, whereas here in the good ol' gas-guzzlin' US they're considered stop-gap transportation in between chrome behemoths. That require large infusions of cash to keep running (why yes, I had a GTI. Why do you ask?)
6. SMART Fortwo. One of my childhood friends' moms (who lives down the street) has one of these. One of these days I'm going to see if it will fit in the bed of my Ram with the tailgate up. I might be interesting in one of these as a commuter car if it:
a. Wasn't a two-seater only;
b. Cost less than $14,000;
c. Got better gas mileage than my Plymouth Sundance; and
d. Wasn't rear wheel drive.
7. Goggomobil. This is the "Dart" model, which one can only assume is short for "Lawn Dart". It's another two-stroke powered micro-car from Europe with top speeds that would be at home in a supermarket parking lot and all the accident survivability of a glass table. But it's red, and it sounds Italian!
8. Fiat 600. Ah, Fiat. Fix It Again Tony. With Fiat, Italy proved that the United States wasn't the only country that could produce really bad small cars. One of the few cars that could sidle up to a Nash Metropolitan and not dwarf it...
9. Hillman Imp. What's really amusing about the Hillman line of autos is that this is considered a mid-sized car. Ha! Those crazy Brits! And I hear they call food poisoning "Bubble & Squeak", too... The Imp was introduced as a rival to the Mini, but never quite achieved the same level of success as measured by sales, iconic stature, or number of people who exclaim "What the hell is that?" when they see one.
10. Trabant. Oh, yes, you'd better believe that Eastern Europe's "finest" would make the list. Probably most famous for being the car worked on with a hammer in the Bond movie "GoldenEye", the Trabant was rumored to have a lifespan of some 28 years. Of course, the fact that there was a ten year waiting period to get one behind the Iron Curtain might have something to do with that longevity...
Okay, so there's the list of my Top Ten "Micro Machines". Only one American car on the list, and the remainder of slots occupied by mostly obscure European cars. You might ask, "Jay, how the hell do you know about all these weirdo cars?", and I'd have to respond, "Diecast". I collect 1/18th scale diecast model cars, and for some reason, the European small cars are a perennial favorite of the diecast set.
I think it's the economy of packaging...
That is all.
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19 comments:
Regarding #6, the Smart car - apparently the sales guy makes a point of telling you that if you fold the passenger seat flat, you can fit a loaded golf bag into the car. WHEW!
(Mike's friend has one . . . he mourned aloud how having Mike as a passenger wreaked havoc on his gas efficiency . . . )
Some people may not understand the difference between the modern Mini's they see driving around (which are small...but not THAT small) and the classic Mini to which you are referring.
Allow me to present a photo comparison:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MINIandClassicMini.jpg
When I lived in Spain back in the early 80's, friends with Mini's (which were quite popular there at that time) couldn't drive down the road to my house...I lived on the end of a dirt lane and the pot holes (which I had no trouble navigating with my Ford Escort) would cause their undercarriage to bang the ground. They were always in fear of getting hung up.
Sorry, didn't link the address. Here it is again:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MINIandClassicMini.jpg
My parents had the Fiat 600 for years (they live in Portugal). I loved that car. It was so light and easy to drive. I don't think they ever had any real problems with that car. It was actually quite cozy when you had a nice-looking girl with you... BTW - No Lancias made the list?
You must also include the Citroen 2CV Deux Cheveaux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_2CV
There's plenty of reasons to like the Morris Mini, most of which are because the darn thing is so lightweight, it can be made to go rather quickly with just a little effort. There were (and are) racing leagues in the UK dedicated to nothing else but racing hopped-up Minis. The lil' buggers can *scoot* if they want to.
And then there was the time that 10 or so of us moved my friend Bill Van Dyke's Mini down a flight of stairs and into the high school gym...
Did I mention they were lightweight? :)
Lissa,
That's the whole thing with the Smart. If it got 80 MPG and cost under $8 or 9K, I could live with the two seater. If it sat four, even if the back seat was for kids, I could go a little higher.
It just seems WAY too gimmicky for me - RWD, only 36 MPG (worse than a Corolla!), two-seater, and $14K??? NFW.
Sailorcurt,
AWESOME pic. Looking at the current "MINI" compared to the original, you see the new MINI really... isn't.
Anon,
Quite often there's a VAST difference in the quality of automobile that's released in the US vs. what's available in Europe. For instance, back in the 1970s our local Buick dealership added an "Opel" franchise.
The cars were, quite frankly, complete and utter pieces of shit not worth the powder to blow them to hell.
As a graduate student later on, I got to be good friends with a gentleman who grew up in France, and he was surprised at Opel's reputation here - apparently they're stalwart little cars over in Europe...
As for the Lancias, well, I'll plead ignorance on that count...
Dwight,
OOOOHHHH!!! The 2CV! What an excellent choice! Maybe I'll do a "Part II" list next week!!!
We were watching, of all things, a documentary on the history of BMW at work the other night. The narrator talked about the Isetta and commented that it was designed by a company that built refrigerators.
THAT sure explains a lot.
Sorry to double comment, but you forgot one. The Crosley. Family lore has it that an uncle of mine drove one for a while. He got stuck in a snow bank, got out, picked the car up and moved it.
He was strong like bull, so I don't doubt it.
Forgot two. http://www.honda600coupe.com/
Honda's first car.
Two more for the queue:
* Robin Reliant, with more seats (4) than it had wheels (3).
* Early versions of the Subaru Justy, a car so small you could reach out the driver's side window and open the gas-tank access door.
I think the Mini actually had 10 inch diameter wheels as I recall. They looked nice with Minilites.
Feeble Italian Attempt at Transportation...
I remember it as the Fiat 500. Cinquecento.
Probably the same body with a (very slightly) larger engine if it was a 600.
Every time I see a smart car I wonder if they make a Turing Edition.
My next door neighbor has a smart car. Roller skate on wheels. I remind him that it fits in the back of my Expedition as a spare car. Not impressive on gas mileage to make it worth the price.
No mention of the Citroen CV?
A reason to buy a smart...if you like to tinker:
Throw a hayabusa engine in it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV4HdsDZX6c
Well, I see somebody pointed out the CV, so I'll skip that one... I drove both the original Mini in England years ago, and had a Fiat 600 on deployment in Italy once (I think I paid $50 for it). The nice thing about the 600 was three of us could pick it up and put it in a parking space (the sidewalk in many cases)... One other that you missed was the original Honda Civic, had one of those in Japan in the 70's. We rolled it once, climbed out, flipped it back over and drove it home!
http://www.hondaclassiccars.co.uk/civic.htm
They also had N and Z class cars that were even smaller...
I'll second the original Honda CVCC. My brother had one, and it was tiny.
Micro machine are useful specially if you live in a farm or the camp, i will approach
costa rica investment opportunities
and i will live there, in a wonderful camp site.
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