The Big Book of Tiny Cars

The Big Book of Tiny Cars

Author: Russell Hayes

Publisher: Motorbooks International

Published: 2021-12-21

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 0760370621

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The Big Book of Tiny Cars presents entertaining profiles of automotive history’s most famous—and infamous—microcars and subcompacts from 1901 to today. Illustrated with photos and period ads.


The Macro World of Micro Cars

The Macro World of Micro Cars

Author: Kate Trant

Publisher: Black Dog Publishing

Published: 2004-06

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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"Once a common sight in our towns and cities, microcars were ingenious solutions to the post war demand for economical and accessible motoring. Nowadays they are making a celebrated comeback with all of the big car manufacturers featuring at least one flagship small car, from DaimlerChrysler's Smart and BMW's Mini to Nissan's Micra. But what are the factors, now and then, that turned the microcar into a viable alternative to the 'normal' car? How have the aspirations and ideas behind the microcar changed over the decades? The cars themselves have undoubtedly undergone a radical transformation." "Whereas the current trend in small cars is led by environmental concerns, the first phase of the microcar phenomenon was determined by economic necessity: many manufacturers of planes, trains, and white goods had to re-invent themselves as producers of automobiles. The result was a proliferation of small, cheap and extraordinary looking three- and four-wheeled vehicles." "This book looks at the social and cultural conditions behind the rise, the fall and the ultimate resurrection of the small car, and features some of the most fascinating and best-loved examples. With the debate over transport, sustainability, congestion, fuel consumption, taxation and the environment high on the agenda, there has never been a better time than now to examine the role of the microcar."--BOOK JACKET.


Microcars at large!

Microcars at large!

Author: Adam Quellin

Publisher: David and Charles

Published: 2015-10-12

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 184584887X

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This book charts the history and development of the small economy cars which emerged after the Second World War. Finances and raw materials were in short supply and these microcars, or 'bubble cars' as they became affectionately known, provided transport for thousands of impoverished motorists during that lean period in the middle of the twentieth century. These tint economy cars now have a significant place in motoring history. This book follows the microcar’s progress right up to the present day, with original color photographs.


British Microcars 1947–2002

British Microcars 1947–2002

Author: Duncan Cameron

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-06-28

Total Pages: 65

ISBN-13: 1784422797

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From the 1940s to the 1960s, the microcar posed a challenge to the large companies that mass-produced cars to uniform designs. The microcar was the opposite, produced by small entrepreneurial start-ups using quirky design concepts that offered motorists cheaper and more economical vehicles. This book is a beautifully illustrated history of the British microcar, from the early days of Bond and Reliant to the proliferation of micro marques during the 1950s and their demise during the 1960s. It explores many eccentric British concepts, comparing the cars to their influential European competitors, examining the social and economic reasons for the decline and disappearance of the microcar, but also saluting the signs of a microcar renaissance in the twenty-first century, this time from mainstream manufacturers.


Bubblecars and Microcars

Bubblecars and Microcars

Author: Malcolm Bobbitt

Publisher: Crowood Press (UK)

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13:

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The microcar, in some form, has always been an answer for the motorist with a lack of space and/or money. But although the microcar has its origins in the early years of the twentieth century, its golden era was the 1950s and 60s - the Age of the Bubblecar!In this fascinating book Malcolm Bobbitt traces the history of minimal motoring, from the forecars and cyclecars of the 1920s and 30s, through the bubblecar era, to microcars of our own time, including the fashionable MCC Smart.


Lawrie Bond, Microcar Man

Lawrie Bond, Microcar Man

Author: Nick Wotherspoon

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2017-06-30

Total Pages: 519

ISBN-13: 1473858704

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Once a common sight on Britain's roads, few people today seem to have heard of the Bond Minicar not a diminutive, gadget laden conveyance for the fictional 007 character, but a popular, practical, motorcycle-engined, three-wheeler that in the post-war austerity period, gave tens of thousands of people affordable personal transport at a time when conventional vehicles were beyond the reach of the average household. Yet whilst the later, mostly imported, 'Bubble cars' have remained in the public eye, it is largely forgotten that the first of the postwar 'Microcars' to go into significant production was the British designed and built Bond. Equally enigmatic seems to be the designer of this vehicle, Lawrence 'Lawrie' Bond a prolific automotive design genius, with a penchant for weight-saving construction techniques. He was responsible for a wide range of two, three and four wheel vehicles; from ultra-lightweight motorcycles and scooters, such as the Minibyke, Lilliput and Gazelle, as well as his other Microcars the stylish Berkeley and perhaps less-than-pretty Opperman Unicar and finally to his later work, including the innovative, but troubled Bond 875 and styling the Equipe GT sportscar.Here the story is told in full, covering all Lawrie's innovative designs and the various vehicles that bore his name, all in prolifically illustrated detail, together with his passion for motor racing, which resulted in a number of technically acclaimed racing cars, some of which can still be seen competing is historic racing events today.


Discovering Lost Automobiles and their Stories

Discovering Lost Automobiles and their Stories

Author: Michael Ware

Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport

Published: 2023-01-31

Total Pages: 551

ISBN-13: 1399019015

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Many enthusiasts dream of finding a Bugatti or a Bentley in a barn or a long disused building. In reality, such finds are more likely to be an Austin 7, Ford Popular or a Mini. This book is stuffed with these so called “barn finds”. The author has tried to find out the background to the abandonment and the previous history of the “as found” car when it was in regular use. Why was it put away and apparently forgotten? Many of the stories have appeared in his “Lost and Found” column in “Classic and Sports Car” magazine, but a book gives a chance for the expanded story to be told. The cars featured date from 1900 through till the 1980’s, most come from Great Britain and Europe but there are plenty from Australasia and USA. There are well over 200 different cars plus collections featured. Each story has at least one illustration to go with it. Some of the locations are bizarre, a Daimler buried under a rockery, a Porsche sunk in Lake Lucerne, a Rolls -Royce on the roof of a high rise building in Karachi, or a Morris 8 special in a Gloucestershire pond. There is a chapter on collections of cars, put together by seemingly eccentric owners who never got around to restoring them before their death. The author is not critical of any of these owners and is grateful for the number of cars they have saved from almost certain destruction.


A Man & His Car

A Man & His Car

Author: Matt Hranek

Publisher: Artisan

Published: 2020-10-13

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 157965892X

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A Robb Report Best Coffee Table Book to Gift in 2020 A Sports Car News and InsideHook Best Coffee Table Book for Car Lovers Celebrate That Special Bond Between Men and Cars, and the Stories That Connect Them Discover actor and director Ed Burns talking about his 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, a model he’d been dreaming about since his days pumping gas. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, whose favorite cars are trucks—he loves the wow factor of an International CV Series 6.6. Or Jay Leno on his 1955 Buick Roadmaster, big enough for him to sleep in while trying to make it as a comic. Filled with stunning photographs of the whole cars and of the exquisite details that make car lovers’ hearts beat just a little faster, as well as more than 80 personal stories, it’s a joy for every reader who knows that a car is never just a car.