Bubble
car
All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I don’t recall the make – I wasn’t interested in cars then and only noticed more unusual ones. My friend’s mother had an Austin Metropolitan, which seemed quite flashy at the time, but other than that, and Mrs Ball’s car, I don’t remember any others.
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The entire front of a car like Mrs Ball’s bubble car was hinged so that it could be completely opened to allow entry. It was powered by a two-stroke motorbike engine and could achieve 70 miles per gallon. It carried just under three gallons, so a full tank would allow a journey of 210 miles. As its top speed was about 47 mph, a journey of any appreciable length would take a very long time. I think its main purpose was as a runabout, a little vehicle to get its driver short distances from A to B.
I remember seeing some of those on TV when they first were made and didn't "Mr Bean" (Rowan Atkinson) drive one too? I seem to remember him folding those extra long legs into some kind of tiny vehicle.
ReplyDeleteIt was either that or a Mini - not easy to get in and out of.
DeleteSince retiring from the work force, I have used my car largely for shopping, appointments and taking grandchildren around. So a Bubble car sounds perfect, on two grounds:
ReplyDelete1] fuel-efficiency and
2] ease in parking.
Only room for the driver, or, in some models, one passenger, so no good for more than two people.
DeleteMy Dad used to hate those very small cars - he said they were unstable and very vulnerable if knocked. I thought they were cute but I did see his PoV. xx
ReplyDeleteI agree - they were unstable. x x x
DeleteI'd totally forgotten about the bubble car, although they were still quite a common sight when I was a child in the 1960s. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteLove the paintwork on the Austin.
Cheers, Gail.
We were so conventional that anything slightly different was a shock.
DeleteOne of our neighbours daughters had one of these bubble cars. He was very conscious of how vulnerable it seemed compared to the usual cars of the era - Morris Oxford, Austin Cambridge etc, but she survived unscathed for several years until upgrading to more upmarket wheels. I have a memory that may be false that they didn't have a reverse gear, you either pushed them back or lifted the back around?
ReplyDeleteYes! Correct...No reverse gear, the Messerschmitt
Deletedid'nt have one either....Those were the days, when
you found out who your friends really were....HeHe! :O).
Get out, turn it round, get back in and drive on. Important not to take too many wrong turns!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou've left one out...The Messerschmitt...Three of us
ReplyDeletebought one at college for fifty quid...though only a
two seater, three of us managed..HeHe! Did we ever...! :).
And that was a three wheeler to...We kept it at college for
the two years we were there, then sold it on..Wonder if
it's still running..! :O).
Love those old solid built cars...nearly gone forever....
Hate all these new ones, especially electric cars, my
daughters car, the dash looks like 'mission control'
horrid thing....but then, l'm still happy on a skate board..! :).
✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛✨ ✨💛✨💛✨💛
Sorry...meant to say...
DeleteThe first bubble car was built by the German
aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt...
BMW taking over in 1961...And it was of Italian
design..Iso Rivolta..
Some 30,000 Bubble Cars were produced in all.
The British car industry died a long time ago. Cars today all look much the same. They used to have beautiful lines, but now the only difference is the badge.
DeleteThe good old days, when there were no Chelsea Tractors on the roads to squash you.
ReplyDeleteI was living on a farm when the original Chelsea Tractor was released - the Range Rover. Some of the "gentlemen farmers" bought them as a somewhat more comfortable option to the run of the mill Land Rover to drive across the fields to follow the pheasant shoots in winter. I also recall the original Motoring Which? review - no slumming it around Kensington and Chelsea for them, it was getting stuck into boggy Welsh hillsides to see if the off-road claims held up. They did, and the Which? reviewers even managed to smash the rear differential on the test car but still took 1 in 4 muddy hillsides in their stride. These days, I bet that the nearest any of them get to off-roading is being parked on a pavement!
DeleteThey are monsters, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteOf course I've only seen cars like these in movies. But they were in a very odd way what I would call cute. I'm not a car person either, but I do like older models that had designed to them. Of course today like you say they all look alike.
ReplyDeleteCute to look at, but uncomfortable to drive, I should think.
DeleteIt's a rather cute car but practically must have been awful to drive. I'm sure your Mercedes is much nicer.
ReplyDeleteWe do like comfortable cars, though the Dog Box isn't comfortable at all.
ReplyDeleteMy b in law had one of these and would take us girls for a spin occasionally, one at a time of course 😂
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I bet that was fun, like sitting on the back of my friend's Vespa - the freedom:-) x x x
DeleteI am reminded of that song, "Beep, beep, his horn went beep beep beep. Was that about a bubble car? I've always imagined it was but will have to google it now!
ReplyDeleteI had to look it up!
Deletehttps://www.google.com/search?q=Beep%2C+beep%2C+his+horn+went+beep+beep+beep&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB881GB881&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ece67ce4,vid:enqNl7tdLR4,st:0
You only needed a motorbike licence to drive three-wheelers so could drive them at 16 if you had passed the bike test, not that anyone did. What 16-year-old would be seen in one of those?
ReplyDeleteCheaper than a 'proper' car, so attractive to those who wanted to travel independently.
DeleteAww. cars were so cute back then.
ReplyDeleteMy granny used to have the old minis which I absolutely love and she used to drive me around in. :)
Cars used to have some character. Now they all look like carbon copies.
ReplyDeleteHow cute is that bubble car! I think car brands were much more recognizable back then. Now they all look more or less the same in my book.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we had three-wheeled cars in Belgium. The first ones I ever saw were on my first visit to the UK in the mid-1970s. xxx
It must have been like sitting in a large, solid soap bubble.
DeleteHow adorable! I don't know if I've ever seen a three-wheeled car in the states.
ReplyDeleteThey look amusing - I think they were quite unstable.
DeleteMust have been like driving a wheelbarrow with extra wheels. I think I'd feel safer on a bike.
ReplyDelete2 wheels front and 1 back, or 1 wheel front and 2 wheels back - neither arrangement appeals to me.
DeleteHave to say the Bubble Car does look quite cute!
ReplyDeleteCan a car look cute?!
I think cars nowadays are all so similar looking.
Enjoy these last two days of February.
All the best Jan
At least cars had some character, unlike today.
DeleteWe had a front opening Heinkel. we used it to go on our honeymoon from Suffolk to Portsmouth, It deveoped a leek in the soft roof and the only thing I could find as he was driving was a sock out of his luggage!! It worked very well and when we stopped we wrung it out and dried it out and he wore the socks as he only had a few pairs with him. Val
ReplyDeleteOh, that is so funny! What a wonderful start to a marriage:-)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I have never seen a bubble car. I would be petrified to be in one!
ReplyDeleteUnstable, very low to the ground and taking in exhaust fumes from other vehicles - not ideal!
DeleteMy husband and I had a bubble car with front opening door It was a Heinkle and lots of fun. we drove it from Suffolk to Portsmouth and left it in Southsea for a week while we went on the hovercraft to the Isle of Wight for our honeymoon. In 1963 you could do these things and not worry about it being stolen!! I remember the Hovercraft was very noisy and i felt a bit sick it was very bouncy.! Val
ReplyDeleteHovercraft were so exciting, but, as you say, very noisy.
ReplyDelete