White Wall Tyres

Spiffing white wall tyre on a 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Source

Although 21st century cars are no doubt vastly superior technologically to the cars produced in the last century, style-wise there tends to be a bit of a boring 'sameness' about the designs.

There are exceptions of course - the Mini Cooper, the New Beetle and the much maligned PT Cruiser, to name a few. Love them or loathe them, they are at least different. Significantly,  many of the designs which attempt to be different, incorporate retro styling. Looking backward for inspiration may not seem particularly innovative but there's no denying that the early to mid 20th century produced some fabulous designs in automobiles.

Messerschmitt KR175 Bubble Car

The Messerschmitt KR175. Image from Wiki Commons

The Messerschmitt KR175 looks like a hybrid - a cross  between a scooter and a car. 15, 000 of these very distinctive three-wheeled bubble cars were built between 1953 and 1956, when it was replaced by the KR200.

Owing to the fall-out from WW2, Messerschmitt, the famous German aircraft manufacturer,  was unable to manufacturer aircraft during this period, allowing for an opening into alternative ventures.

The car was made under agreement with aeronautical engineer and former Messerschmitt employee, Fritz Fend, who had designed the Fend Flitzer invalid car  in 1948- a cheap, easy to maintain microcar for people with disabilities. However the KR175 proved popular with able-bodied customers and was evidently "a good city commuter"(wiki), despite the fact that there there were a few initial problems, resulting in some 70 odd modifications during it's production run.

Inside the Messerschmitt.  Wiki Commons

Salient features of the car included a bubble top which was also the door, single seating and a handlebar steering wheel.

Although it looks great and was presumably, economical, I can imagine it would be quite hairy driving this around the city. Occupants would be so low to the ground..and vulnerable. Imagine being behind a Hummer in traffic?

Definitely cute. Wiki Commons

Kombi Vans

Kombis parked at Cronulla, NSW

Like flares, Neil Young, wild hair and a laid-back attitude, the VW Kombi van is a legend of the 60s and 70s - representing freedom, adventure, travel and general escapism. Like it's predecessor, the Volkswagon Type I, the Beetle, the Type 2, the Kombi,  is a cult classic among cars and was the inspiration for a new style in transportation -ie; the cargo, passenger van.

The Kombi story dates back to 1950, when the first generation Kombis or Microbuses were produced by Volkswagon. These early model Type 2's had a distinctive split windscreen and were produced until 1967 and in '68, the single windscreen took over.  Early Camper Box variations were built by Westfalia, the offical VW camper converter, from 1951 until 1958.

From 1958 the SO (Special Model) campers were introduced. According to the Westfalia website, in the 50s and 60s many US servicemen returning home, brought back these campers from Germany. In the middle decades of the 20th century, caravanning was really taking off and the VW camper vans were a neat and innovative alternative.

Inside a 1970 Kombi camper van. Image form Wiki Commons

Kombis and Freedom Culture

!967 VW Kombi. Peace man.

In the 1960s and 1970s the Kombi became an iconic counter-culture symbol, representing freedom and the rejection of staid, stay-at-home conservatism. Customised hippie vans began to appear on the roads, covered in peace-loving symbols and colourful psychedelic swirls.

In Australia, the Kombi has long been synomymous with surf culture and the  freedom and alternative lifestyle the image conjures - the waves, the clothes, the music, a couple of boards on top and away you go. Bank managers don't drive Kombis....

Still Loved

"It's a funny thing with VWs like Beetles and Kombis; they get in your blood and never get out..."~ Roy Hodkinson, founding president of The Kombi Club (carsguide)

Kombis still have a loyal fanbase -the Australian Kombi Club has 5000 dedicated members. In recent times, its retro appeal has made it an even more desirable set of wheels. Every year the the October, the Old Bar Beach Festival , which celebrates Australian beach culture, features an impressive line-up of iconic Kombis. The festival actually holds the record for the most Kombi/Transporters lined up in one area - there's a Kombi swap meet and a chance for owners to mingle and exchange transport stories over music and a BBQ. 

A Kombi lovers paradise. Kombis lined up at the Old Beach Bar Festival. Image from the website.

Vintage Beetle

VW Beetle circa mid 50s

The much-loved Volkswagen Beetle was first conceived as an economizing measure, for an affordable 'people's car' in Germany on the eve of WW2, in 1938. With over 2 million produced since, the Beetle has the great distinction of being the most enduring car design in the world and also the most manufactured of any single design type. So why has this little rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car been so successful?

1949 Beetle Convertable.

The Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and backed by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and although WW2 interrupted Beetle production in favour of military-use vehicles, post-war production was resumed under British control and in the first year, sold in the thousands. As pre-war investment in the Beetle had been generous, under the watchful eye of high-standard German industry, much thought and development went into its design and function.

It's interesting to note however, that some of its exterior design features of the Beetle echo the earlier, Czech made Tatra T97 and in fact, Tatra did attempt to sue Ferdinand Porsche early on in the piece. Porsche evidently was willing to settle, after having admitted to "looking over the Tatra designs', but Hitler declared he would "settle the matter" and indeed he did, for when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia,  production of the Tatra ceased immediately and the lawsuit became a moot point.

Tatra T97 Circa 1936, '37

Reliability
Beetles were designed to be reliable and economical, both to buy and to run- salient features that set them apart from the pack. The curvy car was also aesthetically appealing, with a bubble-like, rounded charm and 'personality'. Despite some earlier skepticism from American Auto-manufacturer's, by the 1950s the Beetle had become a top-selling car in the US and was stronger and faster than many comparable European small cars on the market at the time.

1969 Beetle

So successful was the Beetle, it became the iconic symbol of Volkswagen and the core model of its line-up. Production of the Beetle continued right up to 2000's, when, after-sales had been slumping due to the growth and popularity of Japanese-made small cars, the last factory was closed. Over the decades, though there were changes made to the engine, as well the exterior appearance (removal of the rear window bar, less elongated front etc),the Beetle always retained it's distinctive, instantly recognizable look. The old Beetle is still a relatively common sight on the roads and of course, they are loved by their collectors.

Thai Beetle

1972 Beetle

The versatile Beetle converted to a pick-up truck.

1968 Beetle Volksrod

The Edsel

The notorious Ford Edsel is one of the most infamous failures in automobile history. Back in 1957, there was a huge publicity build-up toward the unveiling of this unusually styled 'mystery' car - a build-up that, sadly, was to end with a whimper and not a bang. Despite all the hype, promise, prayers and excited expectations of the auto-execs, the car proved to be one hell of a flop. Why? Well we've have to back to the beginning.

By the 1950's, the Ford Motor Company was no longer owned exclusively by members of the Ford family; it had become a publicly traded corporation that sold cars in accordance with post-war market trends. The demographic-crunching market research guys were calling the shots and when they examined the market, they naturally took a long look at what the main opposition, General Motors, were up to. It was concluded that its own premier car, the Lincoln, was not effectively competing against the Cadillac. As the company was flush from the success of the Thunderbird, a decision was made to infuse the Lincoln with a more upmarket panache and to create a brand new model to fill the gap left in the Lincoln's former niche.

 The Best Laid Plans...

The Edsel Company became a separate division of Ford and research for the new car began in 1955 under the working name the E car, to denote experimental car. It eventually became the Edsel in honour of Ford founder, Henry Ford's son, Edsel B. Ford. Before this, to drum up hype, the company had run a competition to choose a name and at one stage they even approached poet Marianne Moore, who came up with some weird and wonderful suggestions that the company wisely deemed were just a little too avant garde for the times. Some of Moore's eccentric suggestions included, Mongoose Civique, Resilient Bullet, Utopian Turtletop and the Varsity Stroke.

Diego Rivera's portrait of Edsel B Ford 

The new design boasted a push button transmission, located in the center of the steering wheel, which was snappy but as this was the spot normally located for the horn, drivers found themselves accidentally shifting gears when they wanted to sound the horn. The Edsel also featured a combination rear-view mirror/front-view spotlight, along with a floating speedometer that glowed impressively when the driver reached a pre-set speed. The unusual tail lights were a boomerang shape and positioned in reverse. Basically it was a conventional car with some odd, distinctive features.

Roy Brown, the original chief designer on the Edsel project, had had a different vision for the Edsel, which included a slimmer, more refined opening in the center of the grill. However, the engineers had practical concerns about engine cooling problems and put the kyber on the original concept.
In the new age of mass media advertising, the market promotion had more pre-production hype than Gone with the Wind. The ad campaign was large, widespread and intriguing because the public wasn't afforded a clear view of the impending car. According to the hype, "there was nothing like an Edsel". Ford even teamed up with CBS to run a one hour special called The Edsel Show. Optimistically, Edsel had predicted sales of 200,000 cars a year, but it took the full three years the car was in production to reach that figure. Edsel B Ford must have been very disappointed with his name sake.

E-Day

Sept. 4, 1957 was E-Day...the day of the great unveiling. Immediately the public didn't like it. The conventional body but unusual front with its vertical grill and elongated inner loop was described variously as looking like a "a toilet seat", a "horse collar", "women's private parts" and as Time Magazine put it most cuttingly of all, "an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon". The unveiling of the new car was an anti-climax..the preceding hype about the mystery car had led the public to believe they were going to get something new and revolutionary. The Edsel had some nifty features but really, it was just comfortable old Uncle Joe wearing a Che Guevara hat. - nothing very revolutionary, nor spectacular..

Hmmm... 

There is something distinctively awkward about the superficial design of the Edsel and in particular, its odd front. Perhaps there's some deep psychological reason why people rejected the aesthetics of it or perhaps it's just that it simply didn't look good - but whatever the reason, it failed to gel with public taste.

There were other factors as well - there is general agreement that the Edsel was poorly made, especially the early models and to exacerbate the problem, the engine style was unfamiliar to mechanics of the day . Compounding these negatives, there was a parts shortage and when cars were sent along to the dealers for repairs, Ford mechanics had to rip them from new cars. Plus a recession was on the horizon so it wasn't the ideal timing for large, expensive consumables. Much has been written and discussed about the failure of the Edsel, with some believing it had more to do with the internal politics of the company that the car itself. Maybe it even had something to do with the Russians. In article for the New York Times, journalist Dave Kinney speculates:

"The car came out as a recession was starting, and perhaps worse, a month after E-Day the Soviets launched the first sputnik. The Edsel, trumpeted as a new idea, suddenly seemed a vestige of the past. In “Sputnik: The Shock of the Century” (Walker Publishing, 2001), Paul Dickson wrote: “Sputnik affected national attitudes toward conspicuous consumption, symbolically killing off the market for the Edsel automobile and the decadent automotive tail fin. It was argued that the engineering talents of the nation were being wasted on frivolities.”

From A Loser on E-Day, but a Winner Today 

Times Change

Of course, in one of life's little typical ironies, the Edsel is now more sought after than its more successful contemporaries, produced in the fifties. No doubt, at the time of its production the Edsel did have some fans....although it was pretty much universally panned there are always those who swim against the flow. Just maybe there's still some undiscovered Edsels, lovingly preserved by Grandpas, in garages somewhere.

Yeah right!

Fiat Bambino

Vintage Fiat 500

Aw...cuter than a puppy chewing on a pink fluffy slipper, funkier than a jazz singer in a smoke-infested basement - the Fiat 500 is pretty darn sexy...

In fact, the contemporary version of the little motor car was not only voted *most sexy* a while back by the Top Gear crew but also by evercar. com's female voters for it's lovable interior. The Fiat Bambino's sex appeal is obvious. Cuter than this---------->

Fiat 500 History

Fiat 500's technically date back to 1936, beginning with the Topolino (Italian for mouse) and at that time was the smallest car produced in the world. The Topolino lasted, relatively unchanged, until 1955, when a new, completely different version of the Fiat 500 was introduced in '57 and went on to become the cult-worshipped Italian icon we know and love today.

The Nuova (new) 500 was designed by Dante Giacosa, who had earlier come up with the Fiat 600 and switched the engine from the front, where it had sat in the Topolino, to the rear, in order to maximise space. Changes were made to the design over the next decade or so, including a bigger engine and in '65 the Fiat 500 F boasted a 19hp engine and standard opening doors, as opposed to the old 'suicide' ones. Further changes were made right up until 1975 when production on the 500's stopped..apart from the station wagon version, the Fiat 500 k, which finished in '77.

Over its lifetime Fiat sold over 3.6 million of the Fiat 500's and in in 2007, a new Nouva front wheel version was launched, perhaps because it was the 50th anniversary of the old Bambino and also to capitalise on the flood of retro popularity reinvented older cars, such as the mini and renovated Beetle, were enjoying. In 1957 it was the perfect solution to overcrowded Italian roads and small parking spaces and now, all that applies but add fuel economy as a consideration.

Wow, that is pretty nice

What the Reviewers Said...

Modern pastiche of arguably Fiat's most iconic city car. Sassy looks wear thin in a downpour on the Hume Highway, but it's great to drive and staggering value. Unlike the Mini. ~ Top Gear, Australia

It gets more looks than a Ferrari F430 and costs but a fraction of the price. The Fiat 500, may just be the coolest car on the planet right now~   caradvice.com


The looks are so wonderful, in fact, that you probably won’t care about the drawbacks. But there are a few. The headlights are hopeless, you really can’t see what’s coming from the left at oblique junctions, the engine is defeated by hills, and the ride, thanks to the short wheelbase, is awfully bouncy. Intolerably so, occasionally....

But, my God, you come away from an experience behind the wheel absolutely loving it. It’s cheeky and nonthreatening without being pathetic. It’s practical without being boring. It’s well priced as well. And there’s something else... 

It was born in the backstreets of Naples and, thanks to a burning ambition, it’s shaken off its lowly born tags. Now it’s mixing it with the others of the jet set in St Moritz. Ring any bells?~ Jeremy Clarkson

A Fiat 500 gathering. Image from Italiancar.net