Talk:Microcar

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Why has Bubble car been redirected here? Bubble car is a much more familiar term. Mintguy 14:56, 9 Dec 2003 (UTC)

The following information was lost when bubble car was made a redirect to microcar, and needs to be merged in

Bubble car is a generic name given to a range of small economical motor vehicles (automobiles) mainly produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Bubble cars became popular in Europe at this time as a demand for cheap personal motorised transport emerged. Most, although by no means all, were three-wheelers; this made them still cheaper to run in many places, since they were considered for tax and licensing purposes a motorcycle.

The vast majority of bubble cars were manufactered in Germany, including by the former German military aircraft manufacturers, Messerschmitt and Heinkel, as well as BMW's Isetta. France also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called voiturettes, but unlike the German makes, these were rarely sold abroad. There were also some similar British vehicles (see Reliant Robin) - these were rather larger but continued in production until modern times.

I think this was a very bad merger. Most places that refer to 'bubble car' specifically want to know about the immediately post-war Isettas and such. After the advent of the Mini, the term vanished completely and the term 'microcar' didn't appear until much later. There were no cars that were ever called by both names - there was no period in time when both terms were in use. I intend to start a new 'bubble car' article and remove the redirection here. SteveBaker 13:02, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

[edit] Where is the line between miro and mini?

It seems to me that minis start at bout 500 cc. I don't know whether to call the Fiat 500 a mini or micro. I think it was a mini. It was designed to hold 5 people. Certainly the Fiat 600 was not a micro. So why are people calling the Smart a micro? Also, 740 kg. is as much as a VW Beetle and nothing at all like an Isetta. I see 350 kg. for the Isetta and 240 kg. for the weight of a Messerschmitt. On the other hand the original 2CV might be considered a micro because of its 375 cc. engine, even though it was rather large. I vote for 400 cc. and 400 kg. as limits and length and volume too if others want. That is around the weight of the original 2CV which seems to be on the border. Certainly larger engined 2CVs were minis. I might make an exception for the Corbin Sparrow, if necessary, because of the weight of the batteries. Interior volume does not help much because sports cars are not microcars (except maybe small engined ones like the Messerschmitt TG500 and Berkeley). (One could make a case for decreasing these as time goes on to compensate for improvements in materials, engines and other technology.)

Maybe we should keep a link to the Smart, saying it is the closest mass produced thing currently available.

As for the picture, how about the BMW Isetta. The Messerschmitts were not typical of microcars because they were for motorway use. David R. Ingham

I added qualification to the statement that the Smart is considered a micro-car. I really still think it is rather heavy to be considered a mini-car. David R. Ingham 05:02, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, wierd, isn't it? Twenty years ago the "supermini" class Mk2 VW Polo had a kerb weight of about 750kg (the somewhat more modern mk3, which I owned, being ~850kg) and could, at a push, seat five people and take all their luggage (well, with a roofrack or some in-cabin compromising). Now that unladen weight is only seen in 2-seater near-zero-luggage "micro" cars. That's NCAP for you, I guess :-) 82.46.180.56 (talk) 04:20, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

The Citroen 2CV is a four-door, four-seat car. It is definitely *not* a microcar. Respectfully, SamBlob 23:42, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Capitalization and grammer.

I just noticed the comment on the Smart. It needs to be either "The Smart", if it is the name of a car or other brand name or "A smart" if it means any car with artificial intelligence.

The brand of car is "smart", without capitalization. This is so because the manufacturer says it is so.Respectfully, SamBlob 23:40, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
"Grammer"?? 82.46.180.56 (talk) 04:17, 6 December 2007 (UTC)