1937 Fiat Topolino. Photos courtesy AACA Museum.
Though primarily a European and Japanese niche, microcars have an enduring appeal, even in the United States. How else would one explain the popularity of these cars at auction, or when featured in special displays by automotive museums from coast to coast? On November 22, the Antique Automobile Club of America (“AACA”) Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, will open a new exhibit featuring roughly 20 compact, mini and microcars from around the world, entitled It’s a Small World.
In Europe, the need for inexpensive family transportation gave way to the rise of microcars in the postwar years. Messerschmitt, banned from manufacturing aircraft, turned instead to producing a three-wheel enclosed scooter called the Kabinenroller (Cabin scooter), which entered production in the early 1950s.
BMW, also in search of a way to rebuild itself in the postwar years, licensed the Isetta microcar from Italian company Iso SpA, and by re-engineering its drivetrain turned it into the best-selling single-cylinder automobile in the world, with nearly 162,000 units produced. To say that the simple Isetta saved BMW from extinction is no exaggeration.
1939 American Bantam Model 60 standard coupe.
In Japan, microcars were also seen as desirable transportation in the postwar years, and a few even made it to these shores. The Subaru 360, imported here by a budding automotive entrepreneur named Malcolm Bricklin, enjoyed a brief bit of success among frugal American buyers, but the car’s attractive price and stellar fuel economy were soon forgotten when Consumer Reports branded it with a rating of “Not Acceptable.” The Honda N600 fared better on these shores, gradually evolving into a larger, compact car that’s still on the market today–the Honda Civic.
Diminutive cars weren’t just a postwar phenomenon. Fiat’s original 500, nicknamed “Topolino,” or “little mouse,” debuted in 1937 and remained in production until 1955, with over a half million examples constructed. The car’s successor, the Fiat 600, would even spur a variant known as the Fiat Jolly, constructed by Ghia and fitted with wicker seats and a removable canvas canopy. Designed for yacht owners, since its light weight made it easy to load and offload, the Jolly also saw use as a hotel shuttle and estate transport.
1916 Woods Mobilette.
Prewar Americans had microcar options as well, including the 1916 Woods Mobilette cyclecar. In 1929, the American Austin Car Company began producing licensed variants of the British Austin Seven, though this venture ran out of money by 1934. A year later, American Bantam emerged from the ashes of the American Austin Car Company, and it resumed producing passenger vehicles in 1937.
By 1941, the company shifted direction to the war effort, designing a light reconnaissance vehicle (the “Blitz Buggy,” which evolved into the BRC 40) that would eventually become known as the Jeep. Despite its pioneering efforts, American Bantam was seen as incapable of producing the quantity of vehicles needed, so instead it was given the order to build cargo trailers to be towed behind Jeeps built by Ford and Willys.
As American Bantam and the American Austin Car Company learned, microcars were a tough sell to U.S. consumers. Affordable and fuel-sipping compacts, on the other hand, began to enjoy reasonable success in the postwar years as American families expanded from one car to two. Volkswagen’s Beetle taught generations of Americans the three-pedal shuffle, while later cars like the Chevy Chevette gave those with a preference towards buying American an alternative to the imports.
Fiat Jolly.
Vehicles confirmed for the It’s a Small World exhibit include a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle; a Nash Metropolitan; a 1947 Crosley pickup; a Fiat 600D Jolly; a 1937 Fiat Topolino; a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller; a BMW Isetta 300; a BMW Isetta 600; a 1976 Chevrolet Chevette; a Subaru 360 Young Sport; a 1967 NSU Sport Prinz; a 1976 Citicar electric car; a DAF; a Goggomobile; a 1985 Harley-Davidson Tri Hawk trike; a 1959 Autobianchi Bianchina; a 1979 Zastava; a 1939 American Bantam Model 60 coupe; a 1916 Woods Mobilette; and a 1938 MG.
It’s a Small World is scheduled to run from November 22, 2015, through April 22, 2016. For more information, visit AACAMuseum.org.