Adorable Micro Cars, Part 3

"QUANTUM SHOT" #645
Link - article by Avi Abrams

World's Smallest Vehicles: Some Are Ugly, Some Are Cute, All Are Fondly Remembered

As today's economy continues to shake and stagger, most people find themselves in the "savings" and "fuel efficiency" mode when it comes to cars - and so the idea of small, easy to park and to maintain micro cars remains popular. Plus even from purely design and vintage collector's viewpoint, these cars can possess more cuteness and nostalgia factor than your favorite childhood toys. Just like a well-worn toy teddy bear, they are extremely cuddly and adorable.

Some of these models provoke immediate "love it" or "hate it" response... Enjoy this collection and do not miss Part 1 and Part 2 of this popular series.

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Allard Clipper, Great Britain, 1954

This car looked simply fantastic. Two kids could ride in the trunk (see image below). It had hree Wheels. And it came complete with the pilot's goggles (just kidding). So you ready to hunt it down? Well, "it is believed that only about twenty such cars were made before the project came to an end, and only two examples are known to survive, one in a German museum and one in England." (more info):

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Want a small pickup truck? Austin A-35 fits the bill:

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Italian Vespa company made not only the famous scooters, but also cars (1958):

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Hungary produced many cute/ugly models of micro cars in the 1950s. Here is Alba Regia (left) and Balaton (right), 1956:

(bottom left: 1954 prototype Uttoro; bottom right: Alba Regia)

Is this car frowning? is it grumpy? "Balaton", again:

How many people fit in the car on the left? You must be kidding me:

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For a more exhaustive look at all Hungarian micro-car models, click here.

Variations of Goggomobile, Spain:

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De Carlo 200 Minicar from Argentina looks exactly like a toy plastic car:

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Dinarg D-200, also from Argentina, has somewhat haughty and slightly stuck-up demeanor. This model is from 1962:

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NSU Prinz I, II, III and 30 - from Argentina:

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NSU Prinz 4 shown below is better known to Russian people as the "New Zaporozhetz" ZAZ-966 - another example of "swiped" design by Soviet automakers:

(left: NSU, via - right: ZAZ, Russia)

NSU Wankel Spider sported some pleasant lines, even though it was really tiny:

Marathon Corsair had style, too:

Here is a little grey mouse: German Fuldamobile S2 (more info

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More Fuldamobiles, including an interesting Attica, produced under license in Greece:

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German Champion 400, 1953 - more info - also was a convertible:

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Another German fascinating micro car is Tempo (making Matador and Hanseat micro-trucks since 1924). These cars are quite collectible and rare nowadays:

(more info, image via)

1960 Berkely T-60 three-wheeled convertible:

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Very attractive Crosley convertible from 1947:

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There was Crosley station wagon, Crosley "Scorpion", 1952:

... and even Crosley Little Chief fire truck (1950):

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What about today?

Speaking of modern small and micro cars, this example from Lancia, Italy, looks pretty inviting and classy:

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Nissan Figaro from 1991 had some sophisticated roof retraction mechanism:

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On the DIY front, here is a bizarre recent one called Moonbeam, which will give you 100mpg - more info

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Rarities of the micro kind

Scootmobile and Meyra oddities (any info on these?):

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(Skoda in Prague Airport, image via)

1975 Mini-Comtesse and 1979 Mini-Comtesse Break, France:

Microbe! and Alta 200 from Greece:

Another mini-car? truck? scooter? from Greece: Delta Minitriadi, 1968 (left) and Mitsuoka BUBU Shuttle 50 from Japan (right):

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Here is a microcar starring in one Soviet movie... and a green bubble car, blown to some frightening proportions:

(originals unknown)

Then there were micro cars, small concept cars and hot rods that defied characterization. Some of them were designed by George Barris (known as the King of Kustomizers), or Ed Roth, and looked like something from Hot Wheels back catalog:

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("Orbitron", by Ed Roth, more info)

And we can't forget the sinister "Hannibal" car from the 1965 movie "The Great Race", full of James Bond-worthy tricky gadgetry:

Small Cars in Vintage Rally Competitions

Ideally suited for narrow European roads... and immensely photogenic:

(model of Simca 1000 Rallye 2, Rali de Monte Carlo 1973, via)

(Mini at Monte Carlo Rally, via)

Racing micro-cars seems like fun - more info:

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Amazingly, even with three articles in this series, we did not cover all microcar models... One good source for collectors is Microcar Club page and Wiki's List of Microcars by country of origin. Also of interest is Minutia - MicroCars Club Magazine. Stay tuned from more coverage of unique vintage automobiles.