Virtual Tour: The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum

The Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia is a unique tribute to the wonderful variety of microcars that were created in Europe and Japan following the devastation of WW2. Most of these tiny vehicles featured motorcycle-size engines and offered room for only a couple of occupants. Those of us who don't live in Georgia can experience the museum through a wonderful virtual tour that includes excellent photos and background on well over 100 of these strange vehicles.

World War II came to an end in 1945 and Europe lay in ruins. A shell-shocked population came out of the bomb shelters and faced an unimaginable scene of devastation and ruin. As if the seemingly endless task of clearing away the rubble wasn't enough, there were crippling shortages of food, raw materials, electricity and gas. Value and worth were measured in Chesterfield cigarettes.

The population collectively rolled up its sleeves and went to work... The microcar or "bubble car" came to symbolize this period of renewed energy and pulling together. The bubble car boom lasted only a decade, but the period left a lasting impression even on those who abandoned their Kabinenroller for a 'real' car. [thanks, Rob!]

Enjoy a Virtual tour of the Microcar Museum

Comments

[kyle]

Oh my god, to live in a world where these cars
are status symbols instead of the crazy one we have now of hummers and escalades. The styling on some of these just make me ache with lust. I also love how many of these were put out by small companies and solitary geniuses.

nice post!

kyle

[g510]

Don't despair; most of the underlying design concepts survive to this day.

Search under "velomobile." There you will find pedal/electric hybrids designed for speeds up to 20 mph on the batteries alone or up to 45 mph pedaling. These machines are generally single-occupant and intentionally aerodynamic though in a kind of mid-20th-century way. Legally these are considered bicycles in many states in the USA including California.

See also "The Twike." This is made in Switzerland (think, Swiss engineering), three wheels, two passengers side-by-side, decent cargo space behind the passengers, pedal/electric hybrid, top speed 55 mph on batteries alone, range exceeds 50 miles on batteries alone, you can use any combination of batteries & pedals at any speed. If you're looking for a status symbol, this one definitely qualifies, with a price tag that can easily reach $40,000 US dollars depending on options chosen. Legally this is registered & licensed as a motorcycle in many states in the USA including California. (I would buy one of these in two seconds if I could afford it and had a place to park it!)

See also www.zapworld.com, look for their "Xebra" automobile, it is a 3-wheeler, electric power only, top speed 40 mph and range of 40 miles. Probably registered as a motorcycle in California. This one is intended to be priced for Everyperson, at less than $15k (see their website for details).

You can also look up "Neighborhood electric vehicles" and find a bunch of manufacturers making these. Often based on converted golf cart chassis. Typical top speed of 25 miles per hour and range of 25 miles on batteries alone.

But if you really want to stick with the classic designs, there is a company in England, Tri-Tech, that manufactures a replica of the Isetta ("Zetta") and a replica of the Messerschmitt ("Schmitt"), each of which can be obtained as a "kit car" and the Schmitt can be shipped to the USA. These replicas are apparently so good they're hard to tell from the original vehicle unless you look at the modern engine & drivetrain.

Presumably you could buy the kit and install an electric motor & batteries in order to have a fully electric version of either vehicle, though it might be difficult to find adequate space for sufficient batteries for a realistically useful range. OTOH one could create a quasi-hybrid powertrain for one of these using a small generator (with internal combustion engine), and a smaller number of batteries.

Note, Tri-tech is a small company run by a couple of mechanical geniuses who are apparently somewhat absent-minded about administrative matters. Thus their website is not presently up (expired domain?) and sometimes their phone isn't answered or messages or emails returned. However if you manage to reach them they are quite willing to chat and they do keep on top of things as far as fulfilling sales orders is concerned.

And last but not least, for your desktop or book shelf, there are decent scale models of some of the original microcars. These come in all scales from model railroad scale HO (1/87) up to about 1/18 and occasionally slightly larger (1/12). They can be ordered from online hobby shops that specialize in scale models.

P.S.: Next time someone tells you a Hummer is a status symbol, here's a useful come-back: "Why the hell would anyone want to drive a car named after an act that got a President impeached?"

[james]

g510: Well put! Retro Thing has covered a few alternative vehicles like the Twike, Aerorider, Tri-Tech Zetta & Schmitt. You'll find them in the 'Automobiles' and 'Bikes + trikes' archive categories.

[Robert]

I had a chance to go there in the last few days. A large and fantastic collection, took a couple of picture while there...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkimberly/sets/72157594265037659/

[Dot Haas]

Great Website, but we want to visit museum and don't see an address.
We will be coming from SW Florida on Interstate 75.
WHERE ARE YOU?
WHAT IS YOUR ADDRESS?

[Nathan Redfearn]

Funny you should mention a hummer and an isetta in the same sentence. Just last night i took my newly restored isetta out in downtown Saigon (HCMC) Vietnam. When i came out of the restaurant a hummer was parked right behind. It is the isetta that got all the attention!

[nathan redfearn]

We have now built our prototype EV bubble car.
4 brushless hub motors- so 4wd, classic looks and of course zero emissions.
We hope to build these to order in the near future, and quite possibly offer home build kits also.
See our website for details www.groupharrington.com