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.

the little book of microcars
the little book of microcars

Author: Adam Quellin

Publisher: David and Charles

Published: 2015-10-21

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 1845848942

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During the middle of the twentieth century, a plethora of small economy cars – often quirky and bizarre – emerged to meet the needs of the cash-strapped motorist. This book charts the history and development of these microcars, from the lean period after the Second World War right up to the present day. Covering a wide range of vehicles, from the well-known models to the more obscure, and complemented throughout by colour photographs and period images, this a fascinating book on a little-known subject.

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.

Design for Transport
Design for Transport

Author: Mike Tovey

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1317152328

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The central premise of Design for Transport is that the designer's role is to approach design for transport from the point of view of the user. People have a collection of wants and needs and a significant proportion of them are to do with their requirements for mobility. The authors show how creative designers can take a user-focused approach for a wide range of types of transport products and systems. In so doing their starting point is one of creative dissatisfaction with what is currently available, and their specialist capability is in imagining and developing new solutions which respond to that opportunity. How this is tackled varies depending on the context, and the variety of solutions produced reflects the different aspirations and needs of the people they are designing for. The chapters cover user needs and transport, design and the transport system, transport design case studies, and the case for the automobile. A conclusion briefly signals what the future for transport design might be. Lavishly illustrated throughout in four-colour, Design for Transport, is an imaginative and rigorous guide to how designers can take a user-centred and socially responsible approach to tackling a range of types of transport, from systems to products and from bicycles to automobiles, demonstrating a rich array of solutions through case studies.

The Enemies of Progress
The Enemies of Progress

Author: Austin Williams

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2016-12-02

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 1845405935

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This polemical book examines the concept of sustainability and presents a critical exploration of its all-pervasive influence on society, arguing that sustainability, manifested in several guises, represents a pernicious and corrosive doctrine that has survived primarily because there seems to be no alternative to its canon: in effect, its bi-partisan appeal has depressed critical engagement and neutered politics. It is a malign philosophy of misanthropy, low aspirations and restraint. This book argues for a destruction of the mantra of sustainability, removing its unthinking status as orthodoxy, and for the reinstatement of the notions of development, progress, experimentation and ambition in its place. Al Gore insists that the ‘debate is over', while musician K.T. Tunstall, spokesperson for ‘Global Cool', a campaign to get stars to minimize their carbon footprint, says ‘so many people are getting involved that it is becoming really quite uncool not to be involved’. This book will say that it might not be cool, but it is imperative to argue against the moralizing of politics so that we can start to unpick the contemporary world of restrictive, sustainable practices.

The Big Book of Tiny Cars
The Big Book of Tiny Cars

Author: Russell Hayes

Publisher: Motorbooks

Published: 2021-11-23

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 076037063X

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Richly illustrated and entertainingly written, The Big Book of Tiny Cars presents lively profiles of the automotive world’s most famous—and infamous—microcars and subcompacts from 1901 to today. From tiny homes to little lending libraries and even tiny food, people everywhere are resetting the premium they put on size. Fact is, the automotive industry has a “tiny” history going back to the car’s earliest days. Beginning with the Curved Dash Oldsmobile and continuing through prewar classics such as the Austin Seven and Hanomag Kommissbrot, The Big Book of Tiny Cars is truly international in scope. Witness diminutive cars like the Bond Minicar and the BMWIsetta introduced to fuel-deprived postwar Europe, and continue through the classic 1950s microcars and ’70s subcompacts, right up to today’s tiny cars and electric vehicles (EVs) fromthe likes of Smart and Fiat. In addition to iconic curiosities like the frog-like Goggomobil Dart, the futuristic Sebring Vanguard Citicar, and the three-wheeled Reliant Robin, you’ll read about more familiar classics like the VW Beetle, MiniCooper, and Crosley Super Sport. Other manufacturers represented include Honda, Datsun, Mitsubishi, Trabant, Heinkel, Renault, and Messerschmitt, to name a few. Each car is profiled with an entertaining and informative history and a fact box. Imagery includes archival photos, period ads, and modern photography. In all, more than 100 cars are included, from the weird to the sublime. Gas, diesel, or electric…tiny cars have a rich and curious heritage reflective of motorists’ concerns for their pocketbook, the environment, or both. The Big Book of Tiny Cars is your ultimate collection of microcars, minicars, bubble cars, kei cars, subcompacts, and compacts that have been built, sold, and driven all over the globe for 120 years.

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.

More Microcars
More Microcars

Author: Tony Marshall

Publisher: Sutton Pub Limited

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780750926683

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Archival material, period ads and modern photos capture the successes and failures in the world of microcars marques from Europe, the U.S. and Australia.