Mini/Micro Cars

The Suez crisis occurred in 1956 and in its wake the first of many oil price shocks hit western economies. Europe had yet to completely recover from the effects of World War II and if an individual could buy a car, it probably couldn't be very much of a car. But cars were being produced, mini and micro cars. And a great number of them came from Germany, where tax and licensing laws made the little vehicles appealing.

While a lot of folks are familiar with the BMW Isetta, there were a number of other interesting German micro cars, from Messerschmitt, Lloyd, Glas, and Heinkel for example. Some of these and others were found at the Kansas City Mini Micro Car Show on May 3.

So without further ado here are a few pictures from the show:

The BMW Isetta 300.



A Heinkel bubble car.



The NSU Prinz (a little later on the scene than the previous two):



A real jewel of a small car, the Abarth 750, gorgeous Italian bodywork.



And for good measure, something that predates them all, the Cruved Dash Oldsmobile from 1903:



Really small cars have probably seen their time in the sun come and go in western economies. Safety considerations have driven weight and size up (it is economically difficult to build a truly light weight car that meets current safety standards). That's why cars like the Aptera are three wheelers, they have a different set of safety standards to meet.

These are fun cars to see but especially when they are in motion in traffic! ; -)