The period immediately after WWII was, I think, one of the most interesting for cars, at least in the countries that didn’t come out of the war in such great shape. The lack of almost everything—money, materials, fuel, everything—forced some genuinely creative solutions to the very tricky problem of how to make cars…
Most people, no matter how mundane or unimpressive seeming at first glance, have some sort of hidden skill. Maybe the weird pale kid you ignored all through high school wowed everybody on graduation day by biting through a bike chain, or something. The SEAB Flipper is sort of like that: a clunky, sad little car that…
There’s very little that I like more than finding out about cars I’ve never heard of before. It’s like a drug—there’s that rush, that intense thrill of confusion and discovery, and your tolerance increases, making that next thrill harder and harder to find. That’s why I’m so thankful that one of our readers, Eduardo,…
I’ve been on a sort of weird Brazilian car kick for a while, so I suppose it makes sense that at some point I’d look across the ocean to the place that’s England to Brazil’s USA: Portugal. A Portuguese reader named Paulo actually emailed me to let me know that there’s plenty of good, weird Portuguese iron, like the…
Goggomobils were among the most popular of the variety of odd little vehicles built during the German microcar craze of the 50s and early 60s. While we would like to attribute this popularity to the fact they were sold with one of the coolest names ever given to an automobile, something tells us it took more than that…
Finding affordable microcar projects like this Taylor Dunn Trident that sold on Ebay yesterday is a rare occurrence. Spending time lusting after obscure Ebay finds with regret after they have found a new home is unfortunately anything but a rare occurrence.
When it came time to introduce the Subaru 360 to the American public in 1968, this set of commercials calling the car cheap and ugly was released. Neither the advertising campaign nor the Subaru 360 was particularly well received.
The old maxim admonishes you not to keep all your eggs in one basket. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe wants to know if that's still true if your basket happens to be an egg?
With gas prices the way they are, everyone's thinking about getting a car that's smart. But not everyone likes the Smart. So, for those seeking a Japanese alternative to Europe's favorite sub-subcompact, the super number one best awesome automaker from the Land of the Rising Sun has got just the car for you. These…
Yesterday's all-Corvette Choose Your Eternity poll resulted in the '68 just barely edging out the '69, no doubt due to the Jimi Hendrix connection. Now it's time to try a different type of theme; we haven't yet seen a selection of cars based on a model year alone, so today we're going with two vastly different- yet…
Toyota is finally getting smart by getting Smart. The Toyota iQ Concept from Frankfurt will show up at the Geneva Motor Show as a fully capable production vehicle that will be a "break-through in compact urban transportation." And by a break-through they mean a Japanese version of the Smart (see the name). The last…
Job one when we made our way into Bamberg on the first day was to replace the anemic and poorly appointed Mercedes B-Class rental (seriously, how does that thing wear a star?) with a far more capable and comfortable Audi A4 mit 2.0 TDi. While we were on this mission, we came across this spectacular beauty. Making …
After a pair of close ones, we finally had a decisive victory in our last Choose Your Eternity poll, with the Taurus SHO using its Yamaha power to roar to victory over the SRT-Faux by a 70/30 margin. We're not surprised by that, but we don't have the foggiest idea who should be considered the favorite in today's…
The votes are in, those who voted in the GM survey to pick the next microcar selected the Chevy Beat (pictured). I guess when you have a contest you shouldn't be surprised when the one you named Beat beats the competition. Out of 1.9 million votes this was the top selection, besting the Trax and the Groove. The Beat…
I picked up a copy of Let's Call It Fiesta at my local used bookstore the other day and found it a fairly interesting, if PR-esque, read. It turns out that Ford had an idea they might make a sporty car out of the Fiesta, one that wouldn't look out of place parked next to a row of Simca Bagheeras: Corrida! Since the…
If this ain't the Craigslist find of the day, we don't know what is. Yes, it's an NSU Prinz from 1960. The seller seems to be in the know about classic Teutonic microcars, as he's tagged the post with Goggomobil. He also notes that you cannot drive the adorable slice of Neckarsulmium back to your abode from his place…
The first time I saw a Honda 600 was likely many years ago. So many years ago that I don't remember. A few years back a for sale sign in the window of a nearby AN600 sedan reintroduced the little Honda back into the mental queue of cars. In that same window was a small sticker that said Merciless Mings. While at the…
I was introduced to Jonee Eisen by a mutual friend at a flea market in Echo Park. "He's into cars, too." So, I asked, what sort of cars do you have? "A couple of Subarus and a DAF 66." I nearly choked. "A DAF!?!" The sky was falling. "Yeah, you know - the Dutch took the clutch." Yeah Jonee, I know. Sadly tragically…
