Here's a truly unique "car" I saw over the Memorial Day weekend. We were stopped for lunch at the Carousel in Warrenton, VA, and this amazing Pontiac-Fiero-made-trike pulled in. My wife spotted it first, and I knew it had to be the next Car Bizarre.
According to owner Daniel Tate, it started life as a 1989 Fiero. The car front end was chopped off, and the chopper bits added on. It runs the original motor, with a turbocharger as well! Mr. Tate didn't build this creation, but when the original owner died of cancer, Daniel decided to buy and maintain the trike as a rolling tribute.
Such creations based on air-cooled VWs are fairly common, but I've never seen one done from a Fiero--have you? I couldn't resist a few more pics, so here you go.
Search Car Bizarre
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Smallest?
The debate as to world's smallest car continues. When I mentioned the Isetta in the first entry of this blog (which some claim as the world's smallest car), I had overlooked the extremely diminutive Peel P50.
Supporters of the Isetta claim the Peel doesn't count, because it's not street-legal. I don't know how true that is, as I don't live in the UK. (If you do, please chime in and let us know!)
I first met the Peel on an episode of Top Gear (a fantastic show if you love cars and humor, and you get BBC), which is why I sought out the picture on the left. That's six-foot-four-inch Jeremy Clarkson wedged into that puny little car! And it's so small he even drove it into the elevator at BBC's studios. Truly amazing.
The Peel story is pretty amazing, too, and I found a site that has lots of great information about its history. It's at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.carter/ .
Supporters of the Isetta claim the Peel doesn't count, because it's not street-legal. I don't know how true that is, as I don't live in the UK. (If you do, please chime in and let us know!)
I first met the Peel on an episode of Top Gear (a fantastic show if you love cars and humor, and you get BBC), which is why I sought out the picture on the left. That's six-foot-four-inch Jeremy Clarkson wedged into that puny little car! And it's so small he even drove it into the elevator at BBC's studios. Truly amazing.
The Peel story is pretty amazing, too, and I found a site that has lots of great information about its history. It's at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.carter/ .
Monday, May 23, 2011
King of the Midgets
Image by Richard Spiegleman
Today's car has a fond place in my heart, as its history is shared in part by my father-in-law, who worked for Midget Motors of Athens, Ohio, many years ago.
The King Midget was truly an American original. It was first offered as a build-from-plans car, then as a kit, and finally as a complete production vehicle.
It has been claimed that it is the smallest production car ever produced in the U.S., and it is one of many whose factory was nowhere near Detroit. The King Midget was produced in the small college town of Athens, Ohio, from 1946 until 1970, when it couldn't keep up with advancing federal safety regulations.
Midget Motors is now under different ownership, and was last seen (on the web, anyway) working toward a new kit version.
Here are some links to bring you further into the fanciful world of the King Midget:
The International King Midget Car Club
Midget Motors
Today's car has a fond place in my heart, as its history is shared in part by my father-in-law, who worked for Midget Motors of Athens, Ohio, many years ago.
The King Midget was truly an American original. It was first offered as a build-from-plans car, then as a kit, and finally as a complete production vehicle.
It has been claimed that it is the smallest production car ever produced in the U.S., and it is one of many whose factory was nowhere near Detroit. The King Midget was produced in the small college town of Athens, Ohio, from 1946 until 1970, when it couldn't keep up with advancing federal safety regulations.
Midget Motors is now under different ownership, and was last seen (on the web, anyway) working toward a new kit version.
Here are some links to bring you further into the fanciful world of the King Midget:
The International King Midget Car Club
Midget Motors
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Grinder Squared
Here's a great example of American ingenuity in action: the Hot Wheels Twin Mill. It started out as one of those designs dreamed up as a toy, as in the little gravity-powered toy racers a lot of us enjoyed immensely as kids.
Then somebody got the great idea to turn it into an actual car. A few years, a whole bunch of man-hours, and some tractor-pulling multi-engine technology later, the real car was actually ready to drive into car shows across the country. Amazing. And you should see the view through the windshield.
Photo by chevellenut69ss on flickr.
And of course some more info on the Twin Mill:
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/milestones/0307sr_milestone_twin_mill/index.html
http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Twin_Mill
Then somebody got the great idea to turn it into an actual car. A few years, a whole bunch of man-hours, and some tractor-pulling multi-engine technology later, the real car was actually ready to drive into car shows across the country. Amazing. And you should see the view through the windshield.
Photo by chevellenut69ss on flickr.
And of course some more info on the Twin Mill:
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/milestones/0307sr_milestone_twin_mill/index.html
http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Twin_Mill
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Rolling Rodentia
Today's car bizarre comes from two of my favorite segments: Volkswagens and art cars. I grew up in a family that had several VWs over the years, and my first car was a 1971 Type III fastback. I learned to turn wrenches by keeping that car alive, with the assistance of John Muir's amazing book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive".
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagetaker1/3986388113/
Photo by Peter Barker.
I've seen VWs outfitted in the most outlandish ways you can imagine, but something about this particular one tickles me. Maybe it's because my daughter has had a series of hamsters as pets; I don't know for sure. I do know it wasn't easy getting all that shag on the OUTside of the car.
I'm sure there will be many VWs posted here in coming days. If you know anything about this particular one, leave a comment. I'd love to know who put it together and how.
And if you want a copy of the very best VW maintenance book in history, you can get it from Amazon:
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive 19 Ed: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagetaker1/3986388113/
Photo by Peter Barker.
I've seen VWs outfitted in the most outlandish ways you can imagine, but something about this particular one tickles me. Maybe it's because my daughter has had a series of hamsters as pets; I don't know for sure. I do know it wasn't easy getting all that shag on the OUTside of the car.
I'm sure there will be many VWs posted here in coming days. If you know anything about this particular one, leave a comment. I'd love to know who put it together and how.
And if you want a copy of the very best VW maintenance book in history, you can get it from Amazon:
How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive 19 Ed: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Welcome to Car Bizarre
I've had a thing for strange cars since I was a kid. It seems like the more outlandish it is, the better I like it. It doesn't have to be "strange" in any particular way, either. I might be a concept car, an art car, a custom, a hot rod, or just something unusual from the history of automobiles.
That's why I decided to write this blog. My plan is to share information about, and links to, cars that I find interesting on the web. Hopefully you'll find something here that amuses you, amazes you, or even disgusts you. One thing I know--nothing appeals to everyone. So I expect some days you'll drop by and say, "Ugh!", or "that's stupid," or even, "meh". If those days are in the minority, we'll both have fun.
So, where to start? Well, one of my favorite strange cars is one that lived in obscurity until the '80s sitcom "Family Matters" brought it to the public eye. For that reason, a lot of people know it as the "Urkelmobile". Its real name is the Isetta, and it was built by several manufacturers, including BMW. Here's a picture:
the article it came from is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta.
And here are some more links for Isetta info:
http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html
http://www.whirlingpool.com/isetta/history/history.htm
Isetta 1953-64 Gold Portfolio
The Isetta was a single-cylinder critter with the strangest door arrangement in automotive history: the front of the car swings open and shifts the steering wheel out of the way so you can get in. Of course, this means if you run into something head-on, or park to close to the car in front of you, there's no getting out! Truly a car bizarre.
So that's today's car. Stay tuned for more tomorrow!
That's why I decided to write this blog. My plan is to share information about, and links to, cars that I find interesting on the web. Hopefully you'll find something here that amuses you, amazes you, or even disgusts you. One thing I know--nothing appeals to everyone. So I expect some days you'll drop by and say, "Ugh!", or "that's stupid," or even, "meh". If those days are in the minority, we'll both have fun.
So, where to start? Well, one of my favorite strange cars is one that lived in obscurity until the '80s sitcom "Family Matters" brought it to the public eye. For that reason, a lot of people know it as the "Urkelmobile". Its real name is the Isetta, and it was built by several manufacturers, including BMW. Here's a picture:
the article it came from is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta.
And here are some more links for Isetta info:
http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/bmwisetta250.html
http://www.whirlingpool.com/isetta/history/history.htm
Isetta 1953-64 Gold Portfolio
The Isetta was a single-cylinder critter with the strangest door arrangement in automotive history: the front of the car swings open and shifts the steering wheel out of the way so you can get in. Of course, this means if you run into something head-on, or park to close to the car in front of you, there's no getting out! Truly a car bizarre.
So that's today's car. Stay tuned for more tomorrow!
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