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Enthusiast Essentials: have a good read of the history of microcars

4 November, 2015

Microcars at Large by Adam Quellin, examines a period in motoring history following World War II when raw materials were in short supply and many simply couldn’t afford a full-sized car. With war-ravaged economies suffering, automakers turned their hand to building basic transportation.  The result was a series of what are now known as microcars or, in some instances, ‘bubblecars’. Even manufacturers such as BMW cashed in on the trend, Messerschmitt got in on the act, and British firms such as Reliant and Bond came up with their own quirky designs.

This lavishly illustrated guide covers the weird and wonderful world of microcars, from the basic bubblecars of the ’50s to the sophisticated modern models.

Microcars at Large is available now as a full-colour eBook, as well as a black-and-white e-ink version. For more information, visit veloce.co.uk. 

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”

Tradie’s Choice

30 August, 2024

Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Holden FJ Panelvan as an unfinished project, or as he says “a complete basket case”. Collected as nothing more than a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted and primed shell travelled the length of the country from the Rangiora garage where it had sat dormant for six years to Clint’s Ruakaka workshop. “Mike, the previous owner, was awesome. He stacked the van and parts nicely. I was pretty excited to get the van up north. We cut the locks and got her out to enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. “The panelvan also came with boxes of assorted parts, some good, some not so good, but they all helped.”