I love your channel! Fantastic pictures and a mainframe's worth of statistical data invariably have me grinning ear to ear. I really enjoy the inclusion of the European makes. So many of them are pleasing to the eye, no small feat given their dimensions and the budgetary constraints necessary to provide transportation within the means of a population and economy still recovering from the war. Thanks for all the effort you put into these posts.. Keep 'em coming, friend. These are gold!
In about 1973-4 out family car was a Morris Minor….in the USA! My dad put a set of cheeky Chevy Vega steel wheels in it. Fast forward to the mid 80’s my sister drove a Renault Dauphine. She lived in the NC mountains. It would do about 25 mph up the mountain being passed by 18 wheelers climbing up the grade!
There is a Morris Minor Convertible I see running around town occasionally in the summer. I'm sure it is a fun around town car, but I can't imagine anyone attempting to take it out on I-84.
A big thanks for always including the mainstream European and Asian cars. People forget that many were imported to the States albeit in tiny numbers. It was not uncommon to see an Isetta, Subaru 360 or even a Morris Marina running around here into the 1970's. Love your vids.
Thats because if he confined it to us cars, he wouldn't have much of a presentation. The only American brands making small cars in the 50s were Nash/AMC and Studebaker....and the latter not until 1959.
You have the best in depth car channel on You Tube. Very informative,with fantastic choice of content and terrific visuals. A true treasure, thank you for all the outstanding videos.
Studebakers were so stylish! You didn't own a Vauxhall Victor for for long! They could disolve overnight into a pile of rust The Trabant however had an average lifespan of 27 years! Owned a Wartburg 😀 Great car if you love two - strokes!
The Wartburg looks like it is a really nice car - bright colors, chrome trim, bench seats, column gear shift, stylish convertible and coupe models, a nice station wagon. Never have seen one "in the metal", but pictures of it show a nice well appointed car.
My first car was a 61 Vauxhaul Victor, which I bought for $150 in 1978 to do the daily commute to college about an hour away over a mostly mountain BC highway. In good weather I'd push that baby up to 70 mph (I was young and dumb) but in winter.... anemic heater, no windshield washers and the thing that saved my life one morning. That car was almost impossiible to make skid (I tried in an empty supermarket parking lot one Sunday with fresh, wet snow). I set off one morning at about 7 am after big overnight snowfall but the highway was well plowed and bare and about 15 minutes into my drive, going at a conservative 55 mph, came around a sharp corner to a long downhill straight stretch, the bottom of which had another corner. As I rounded the top corner I saw two semis round the bottom, side by side. The problem was that there were only two lanes and the passing semi was in mine. Did he back off? Nope. The shoulder was narrow and covered with recent snow and chunks that the snowplows had left, and beyond that was a drop of about 300 feet to the lake below - no guardrails. O was forced to ease onto the shoulder as the semis, still neck and neck, passed me (ironically they were both sporting the livery of the grocery chain Safeway). I remember the underside of the car thundering as it plowed through the snow but that little car kept on track until the idiots had passed and I could ease back onto clear, dry road. I stopped at a pull-out a short distance later and that's when my knees turned to jelly and the shakes started. I would have driven the wee beastie for a lot longer but for the rust that had eaten it from within. Would definitely love to have another. Stylish, roomy, simple and, not only my first car, but the one I'm convinced saved my life.
I tried to buy one about 15 years ago from a guy that had two if a field with at least 300 cars in it. But he was one of those guys that said they were for sale but when it came to talking price it became clear he wasn't that interested in selling them.
I remember when the King Midget" used to be advertised in the ads in back pages of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines. I never heard whether anyone ever actually actually bought one. In the case of the Studebaker, I believe that when he describes the engine as a "flat-6", he really meant a "flat-head 6". Studebaker did not make a "flat-6".
I was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee a few years ago and was astonished to see a King Midget driving through t'd never seen one outside of the pages of those magazines you mentioned.
My kindergarten teacher in San Mateo, California, had a cute Nash Metropolitan in 1955. It was her first and last year of teaching because, sadly, she was killed in that Nash after her first year. I recall my parents talking about how sad it was. She was very kind.
Amazing character and colors those cars had in those days. Heck, why not bring them back in an EV version with better safety. This homogenized cookie cutter crap we have now is so boring. I'll take a Nash in seafoam green with white trim.
Some manufacturers in other countries have created retro-looking versions of small cars in the last 15 years or so which were never sold in the USA, so we've never seen them. I suspect making them to conform to our safety standards was too expensive for something that would never sell in large numbers.
I was born in 1949. I remember seeing early 50s cars, but I do not remember seeing 40s cars at all (tho obviously there were still a lot of them on the roads at the time). I remember the Nash Metro; I thought the were cool. Today, even in Chicago, I could count the number of 50s cars I see on the road in a year on the fingers of one hand. I owned a '73 VW Super Beetle. It remains one of m,y favorite cars.
The late 1950s were the dawn of the modern car...most of these were unit construction and had many features we take for granted, now. I would like to add the Wolseley 1500 / Riley One-Point-Five / Austin Lancer / Morris Major introduced from 1957. This design was a development of the Morris Minor using the B Series 4cyl (1.5 and 1.6) engine in a new 4 door saloon body. The Wolseley and Riley versions were built in the UK, the Morris and Austin versions in Australia. I own two Morris Majors.
The Nash/AMC cars, and the 58 - 60 Ford Thunderbirds and Lincolns, and the new 1960 Chrysler products, were unit construction, but the rest of the full-size cars all had a separate frame.
Debt, Debt, Debt. It is the nature of Modern Life to have a National Debt, State & Local Municipal Bonds, Mortgages, College Loans, 6 year vehicle loans, & Credit Card loans. AND DINOSAURS USED TO SINK IN THE LA BREA TAR PITS.
DEBT// What I am trying to say is we pay these $3,4,5 hundred dollar per month, 6 year notes for a bloated, Macy's Thanksgiving Day, Parade FLOAT. Plus insurance, gas, & maintenance, as we destroy the planet, & become serfs. We really could get by with something much less to drive to work, grocery, & Starbucks. /// /// I realize there are bucket lists & hearts desire vehicles; but really, over half the country ??
thanks for remind me of my age. I laugh when I hear you say 70mph. most of these cars were popular in Australia. The rambler was a common police high speed pursuit car. THANK YOU FOR THE VID.
Great stuff. I've had several Dauphines and other Renault's. Plus, several other tiny oddballs that were on ur list. They were a lot of fun but were never very reliable.
The French design what are basically good cars but they have always struggled with build quality. I once talked to a Dauphine owner at a car meet in the UK. They were one of the first imported cars to sell in any numbers but they are extremely rare name. The owner said he had completely remade the wiring loom and installed much better quality connectors throughout. At a stroke the reliability of the car was improved to a very acceptable level and he was happy to drive it anywhere. The wiring loom is hidden but an essential part of the car. The fit and finish of the bodywork and consistent panel gaps around doors and boot/bonnet show that it was probably a better car than when it was new.
8:58 "Cabin Roller", or "Kabenroller", or however they spelled it, sounds ominous. But with 2 wheels in front and 1 in back, it was almost certainly less prone to rolling over than the Reliant cars from the UK.
The term "Kabinroller" had to do with the canopy. It hinged on one side, so to get into/out of the thing, one had to lift up the canopy and get in Formula 1 style before pulling the canopy back down into position. It was a strict 2-str, one behind t'other... The low centre of gravity kept it fairly stable, and there actually followed a four-wheel version with a 500cc engine called Tiger. Allegedly, those brave (foolish) enough could get nearly 90mph out of it, due to the light weight...
The Nash Metropolitan built by BMC in the UK around Austin A35 and A40 parts left BMC with huge pile of parts when sales collapsed. The axles gear boxes and engines were then bought by Colin Chapman to be used on early Lotus models especially the Lotus Seven
Tickled to see you include the Simca. I remember back in the early 1960's, my Mom was jus learning to drive. My Dad found a 'deal' on a Simca (not sure exactly which model, but believe it was either a '58 or '59 model). Since it was a manual, Mom struggled with mastering the shifting. The car also had a number of mechanical issues that never got sorted out, so it was swapped out for a 1962 Ford Falcon. Unfortunately for Mom, that one was also a manual 3-speed. I just remember being so fascinated by the Simca as it was so unusual and there weren't any others to be found in our area. Thanks for the memories!
Thank you for the video. It was an education this time for me. I got to see old GM brands( Opel and Vauxhall) I was not interested in the cars, but I can appreciate the video for the education and the fact you put a great deal of effort in the video.
The Metropolitan was sold in the UK. There is aMetropolitan owners club in the UK. One tested in detail by a UK lady car UA-camr about two weeks ago with much more of the UK Austin connection.
The American compacts and the small foreign cars that were imported to the US were pretty much all blown out of the water when Ford, GM and Chrysler all introduced their compacts in late 1959 for the 1960 model year. The Beetle was one of the few survivors. The Japanese cars which were just beginning to be introduced at this time would surprisingly endure and gradually become huge sellers in the US.
I'm both honored and baffled to have witnessed such an awesome and thorough video about global smaller cars. These cars were simple, styling and economical. My children kept on pausing the video to compare it to "The car of Tomorrow " circa 1948 ? And the villains from Pixar's Cars 2 movie. My 17 year old and I are going to attend an electric/hybrid repair course this fall. My goal is to build nostalgic cars with Prius cars. Thanks for the video and awesome knowledge.
There was an import boom in the US in 1957-59 as the first recession since WW2 hit just as tailfins reached their zenith creating demand for smaller cars. During that era almost every Italian, French, Swedish, West German and four-wheeled British car on this list was offered in the US along with the Datsun and Toyota as the first Japanese cars to enter America starting in 1958. The runaway bestseller was the Volkswagen bug though, some years fully half of all cars imported into the US were VWs!
Henry Fonda: "So what kind of car did you rent?" Jane Fonda:"I don't know what it is, it's ugly and breaks down a lot." Henry Fonda:"Ugly and breaks down a lot.....that sounds like a NASH!" -ON GOLDEN POND
Old man here!...Back in the late 1960s, I bought a used 1959 Datsun 1000 from a co-worker, who had bought it new in Los Angeles, from the only USA dealer back then!...In Seattle, no one had any idea what I was driving. It was a fun car, got 25-30 mpg, and could accelerate about the same as an older VW Bug!...It had an unusual shift pattern, located on the steering column. First was up and close, 2nd was down, 3rd was up and away, and 4th was down and away...reverse was found by pulling out on a knob at the end of the shift lever, then pulling up and close!...A crazy pattern!..I mean, "Four on the column"?...But I eventually sold the car, as I got tired of having to stay to the right, on the freeway. The did indeed top out at around 65mph, and the poor little engine would be screaming by then! These cars never achieved much in car sales..,but in 1962 Datsun re-styled it, and installed a larger engine. The invasion of Japanese cars had begun!
I love cars from 1950's, 60s ,70s,80s and 90s . Now I can't stand them they are so expensive ,so complicated nobody knows how to fix them ,they don't last they are not reliable and are no fun to drive .
Are the prices cited in the video in 1950’s dollars or are they adjusted to 2000’s dollars? If they’re the price in 1950’s dollars, these babies were relatively expensive.
My Dad owned a Nash Metropolitan and an NSU Prinz. He had a thing for cool and unusual cars back in the day, including his Chevy Corvair and El Camino, as well as his VW Transporter with an auto trans and fuel injection.
Cool video. Down under here in New Zealand, we had mainly the English cars featured here, assembled in plants in NZ. American cars were sold here, as Farmers appreciated their robustness and ability to tow. However, they tended to have the smallest engine options due to the higher gas price here. For example, a colleague of my father owned a 1967 car badged as Pontiac Laurentian. It was a full size US car but ran only the 283 Chevy small-block with Powerglide, so no exciting performance. I owned a 61 Rambler Classic wagon, great car in a straight line but it wanted to fall of the road on corners.
About 1964-65, a friend's older brother bought 2 '57-58 Anglias for $50, one of them was the second import I ever rode in. The first was my Uncle's early '50s Austin A40, ( another model beloved by drag racers). An Aunt had a '58 VW Karmann Ghia, and my next door neighbor had a '59 Opel Rekord station wagon (he worked for Buick, which sold them in the US). The Opel and Anglias were in central Michigan, which had very few imports at the time, most were sold on the coasts ( my Aunt and Uncle, from different sides of the family, were both living in suburbs of NYC). Good job on the video, I like hearing the specs, without the overstating of the significance of the model or features, and the photos were great! My first Import was a '71 Simca 1204, which I bought new, a month before Chrysler announced they were halting the importing of them. It was a great Rally car for me, ( 70 hp out of 1.2 liters, while VW only got 57hp out of 1.6 L) until everything needed replacing after 30k miles! 😢👍
@@ramblerdave1339 I knew a guy that bought a Opel Manta as his first car. It was used, but still had the dealer paper over the passenger seat. First time it snowed he wrapped it around a telephone poll.
@@thehopelesscarguy Another memory that came to mind, after re-reading your response, a high school girl friend of mine's brother had a Thames ( panel truck version of the Anglia ), built as a drag car, with a small block Chevy!
My pop rebuilt a Izeta Freta . Made by BMW. Mororcycle engine, front door entry with a left hand gear shit. 4 spd and you could get more crazy funny looks driving this . Great on gas but not a lot is room. Unless you’re getting your girl to sit close to you. My Oh My. 😂
When we moved out to SoCal in 1964 (Dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton MCB), there were quite a few of those Nash Metropolitans on the roads back then. They seemed to be a popular mode of transportation during the summertime as that's the time of year when we'd see them most! Don't see them around anymore. Thanks for sharing.
I was delighted to see the inclusion of so many British cars, many I know from my childhood. The Trabant P50 was nice to see because I own the later Trabant P601 stationwagon (estate) which is one of only 27 drivable ones in the UK. Great video.
Time restrictions, both mine and the videos, mean not everything can be included. A car that was made for decades with minor trim changes, but only 1 year of that was for this time period, was an easy cut, as it will be showing up repeatedly in the future.
If Chevy had built the Lark instead of the early Corvair they would have sold a zillion of them. People were just leery of Studebaker. By the way my Dad had a Studebaker dealership in the late fifties.
Actually, in 1959 and 60, Stude DID sell a zillion of them. What hurt by 1961 was the conversion of the Champion engine to overhead valves. The new cylinder head would crack. That really hurt the cars reputation right after it had recovered from being a rust-bucket in the later 50s. The V8 model in 1961 was fine though.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Also around this time Studebaker wasn't in great financial shape, and folks remembered losing all the other small car makers in the early 50's, so nobody wanted a car where warranty and dealer support might disappear. My "first car" was the Rambler version of the Lark, pushbutton transmission and cracked head. My brother gave it to me when he moved away and I was barely a teenager so I never drove it. Sold it for junk and got $15...
Australian local assembly of Studebaker V8 models had them selling with a bigger market share than other US makes. The Victoria Police used the Studebaker Lark and Cruiser as their preffered Highway Patrol car. Two racing interested Police car guys bought an ex Highway Patrol Studebaker and raced it at the Bathurst 500 mile race up and down the Mt Panorama scenic drive roads . Fastest car on the track but the weight put too much strain on drum brakes and other parts of the running gear to drive them hard the whole race. The Bathurst 500 coverage will give more information. hem
@thehopelesscarguy // I would love to see that episode. I would also like to drive an AVENGING URBAN ASSAULT VEHICLE, desipte two wrongs not making a right. I am really not a bad person, I just hate bullies.
My introduction to the Ford Prefect was from reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you have the base package of the primary model of a Standard, is that a standard standard Standard?
Wow..I never knew that Russian cars were sold in the USA. A NYC cadillac dealer (Victor Potamkin?) wanted to sell the Russian luxury car ("ZIL") in the USA...but the effort collpased when the Russian plant could not equip the cars with curved safety glass (as required by the USSAE requirements).You can read about this in "Krsuchev Remembers"
@@genekelly8467 I don't remember if Ladas were sold in the US at any point, but certainly no Russian cars were coming to America in the late 1950s, which is the period that this video covers.
I remember some of these. Most never made it in large numbers to the US, and most of those few were around large metropolis cities where an importer had enough business to stay afloat, or in California where car culture abounded. The mid-60's in the US brought more and more restrictive rules for cars which small companies couldn't meet profitably so they just stopped doing business here. French and Italian cars gained a well-deserved reputation for rusting out quickly, and English cars become known for unreliability if you didn't constantly work on them. Also you'd need 'Whitworth"- sized tools with them, which weren't commonly available in the US. German meant VW, Mercedes, and BMW in that order with almost no others, but Goggomobil was a common car given away as contest prizes because it was probably the cheapest 'real car' which was legal in every state. Crosley, Nash Metropolitan, and Studebaker Lark formed almost all of the domestics back then. Unlike the rest of the world, fuel was cheap here so that wasn't as important. Roadspeeds were also higher here which strained many of the imports beyond design enough to where they wore out too soon. Few mechanics worked on them and needed parts were sometimes not available except at the factory. Most of the cheaper imports had low build quality too. It was an interesting time for automobiles...
I owned a 1956 Metropolitan. Wish I still had it. My other small cars included a Triumph Herald and of course a TR3 and a TR4. Last one was a Honda 600 Coupe.
I had a 1960 Lloyd Alexander TS. It had a 2-cylinder air-cooled sohc engine mounted transversely in the front with a 4-speed transmission and front wheel drive. It could do 0 to 55 MPH in 19.5 seconds in the quarter mile. It made 38 MPG on the highway.🥰
My stepmother had a Nash Metropolitan when she married my Dad in 1960; thought I recognised the thumbnail 😊 And around the same time, my Mum had a Studebaker! LOL and I had an Austin A35 long after (and now have a Smart ForTwo)
This brings back some memories! I do remember the Simcas, Renaults, Peugeots, Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Volvos, Saabs, Vauxhalls, Opals, Austins, and Morrises. The others though, never saw them here in California. Only the VW and the Volvo were truly reliable cars. The others just didn't seem to hold up, unless driven by a little old lady down the hill to the beauty shop and no further.
Great report! I didn't know how many small car's were out there. Had a few, wished I bought that Ford Cobra 65. Did own VW s Mercedes,Nova,Corvair, and a Chevy lov pick up.
Thanks, that was great. Brings back a lot of memories,good and bad. My brother and I blew through a bunch of those examples and friends had many more. Used, they were fairly cheap and surprisingly durable. Late '50's small cars were pretty slow and made good first cars for kids in the '60's.
The Standard 10 was sold in the US and to GI;s in the UK as the Triumph TR-10. My father purchased one from a dealer the came to the RAF station where he was stationed. It was a 1958 model which was at various times it was registered to my older brother, sister and myself. If I was really careful I could get 38 mpg.
SO interesting being a senior born 1952. I'd love to see these 2 doors w/a dropped in V8 on a 1/4 mile race track. I'd like to see names (graphics) on your videos. A lot I didnt know the names. 👍 & sub'd
Thanks for all the work on these videos! But I have a question: since British gallons are 20% larger than US gallons, was British car fuel economy measured in the US or in Britain?
In these days of oversized trucks and undersized garages this is a fun reminder of the “good old days” before most cars became behemoths in later decades. My neighbor had a Yellow and white Metropolitan convertible that he bought for his wife. It became their Sunday summer drive car. He later traded it in for a Rambler and to his last days wishes that he still had the Nash. I have not seen one locally since.
I had a '59 Metropolitan. It did 35mpg on the highway. Probably could have gotten more if I had added a vaccuum gauge to keep my foot light on the gas.
I saw a Nash metropolitan convertible cruising on the road just this weekend but I could not figure out who the maker was. Thank you for your informative video that let me know who made that beautiful little car.
The King Midget was a micro car produced between 1946 and 1970 by the Midget Motors Corporation. The King Midget company started out by offering a kit to build a car, but soon added completely assembled cars and later only offered completed cars.
And of course I remember the Nash Ramblers and Metropolitans, and the Studebaker Lark. The Stude and the Rambler were good cars, as were most American-made cars.
There was a song about the "Little Nash Rambler" by a group called the Playmates. The British version of the song subbed Limousine for Cadillac, and Bubble Car for Nash Rambler...
That Willys you showed in the beginning remained in production in Brazil during this period.
Not surprising as part of Kaiser.
I love your channel! Fantastic pictures and a mainframe's worth of statistical data invariably have me grinning ear to ear. I really enjoy the inclusion of the European makes. So many of them are pleasing to the eye, no small feat given their dimensions and the budgetary constraints necessary to provide transportation within the means of a population and economy still recovering from the war. Thanks for all the effort you put into these posts.. Keep 'em coming, friend. These are gold!
Always nice to hear your input.
In about 1973-4 out family car was a Morris Minor….in the USA! My dad put a set of cheeky Chevy Vega steel wheels in it. Fast forward to the mid 80’s my sister drove a Renault Dauphine. She lived in the NC mountains. It would do about 25 mph up the mountain being passed by 18 wheelers climbing up the grade!
There is a Morris Minor Convertible I see running around town occasionally in the summer. I'm sure it is a fun around town car, but I can't imagine anyone attempting to take it out on I-84.
@@thehopelesscarguy If you stay in the slow lane, you will be OK.
My girlfriend had Morris Minor in the late 1960s. It was a cute car. She loved it.
A big thanks for always including the mainstream European and Asian cars. People forget that many were imported to the States albeit in tiny numbers. It was not uncommon to see an Isetta, Subaru 360 or even a Morris Marina running around here into the 1970's. Love your vids.
Thanks. Although I would never want most of them, I nearly give myself whiplash every time I see one.
@@thehopelesscarguy That's the body's natural response knowing that none of those cars would give you actual whiplash while accelerating. 😀
@@Rico_G lol
Thats because if he confined it to us cars, he wouldn't have much of a presentation. The only American brands making small cars in the 50s were Nash/AMC and Studebaker....and the latter not until 1959.
You have the best in depth car channel on You Tube. Very informative,with fantastic choice of content and terrific visuals. A true treasure, thank you for all the outstanding videos.
Thank you.
Where was the ZA/ZB MG Magnette’s ? Probably the prettiest of this bunch.
Sorry, was off my radar.
Studebakers were so stylish! You didn't own a Vauxhall Victor for for long! They could disolve overnight into a pile of rust The Trabant however had an average lifespan of 27 years! Owned a Wartburg 😀 Great car if you love two - strokes!
My Dad owned a Victor 101 Deluxe which was an unsafe rust bucket before it was 7 years old.
My experience with 2-strokes doesn't extend much beyond dirt bikes and chain saws, and I've never even seen a Wartburg. Cool that you had one.
A late Knight but a superb car and well regarded in East Germany! [Known as old farty]
The Wartburg looks like it is a really nice car - bright colors, chrome trim, bench seats, column gear shift, stylish convertible and coupe models, a nice station wagon. Never have seen one "in the metal", but pictures of it show a nice well appointed car.
The Vauxhall Victor was indeed a rust bucket.
Another good video. I always liked the Nash Metropolitans.
Thanks. I still can't make up my mind about the Nash Metro.
My first car was a 61 Vauxhaul Victor, which I bought for $150 in 1978 to do the daily commute to college about an hour away over a mostly mountain BC highway. In good weather I'd push that baby up to 70 mph (I was young and dumb) but in winter.... anemic heater, no windshield washers and the thing that saved my life one morning. That car was almost impossiible to make skid (I tried in an empty supermarket parking lot one Sunday with fresh, wet snow). I set off one morning at about 7 am after big overnight snowfall but the highway was well plowed and bare and about 15 minutes into my drive, going at a conservative 55 mph, came around a sharp corner to a long downhill straight stretch, the bottom of which had another corner. As I rounded the top corner I saw two semis round the bottom, side by side. The problem was that there were only two lanes and the passing semi was in mine. Did he back off? Nope. The shoulder was narrow and covered with recent snow and chunks that the snowplows had left, and beyond that was a drop of about 300 feet to the lake below - no guardrails. O was forced to ease onto the shoulder as the semis, still neck and neck, passed me (ironically they were both sporting the livery of the grocery chain Safeway). I remember the underside of the car thundering as it plowed through the snow but that little car kept on track until the idiots had passed and I could ease back onto clear, dry road. I stopped at a pull-out a short distance later and that's when my knees turned to jelly and the shakes started. I would have driven the wee beastie for a lot longer but for the rust that had eaten it from within. Would definitely love to have another. Stylish, roomy, simple and, not only my first car, but the one I'm convinced saved my life.
Nice, thanks for sharing.
Another excellent video with beautiful photos. The Renault you showed had a U.S. following. I remember my 3rd grade teacher drove one. 👍👍👍
I tried to buy one about 15 years ago from a guy that had two if a field with at least 300 cars in it. But he was one of those guys that said they were for sale but when it came to talking price it became clear he wasn't that interested in selling them.
I remember when the King Midget" used to be advertised in the ads in back pages of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines. I never heard whether anyone ever actually actually bought one. In the case of the Studebaker, I believe that when he describes the engine as a "flat-6", he really meant a "flat-head 6". Studebaker did not make a "flat-6".
I did mean flathead.
I was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee a few years ago and was astonished to see a King Midget driving through t'd never seen one outside of the pages of those magazines you mentioned.
My Parents had an English Ford Car Before I was born. I don't know what happened to it.
Might be interesting to find out.
Very enjoyable . Many cars I've never heard of. You missed 1 American car...the Henry J. We had one in the 50's.
Covered that in my early 50s small cars video.
A lot of those Japanese car makers are still around while many of the european car makers have long bit the dust .
Going into the end of one era, and the beginning of another.
The little Nash Metropolitan is adorable. I’ve seen them before but never knew anyone who owned one so I could check it out!
I understand.
That they were all two-tone added to their high cuteness factor.
@@hebneh I still like a nice two-tone.
My kindergarten teacher in San Mateo, California, had a cute Nash Metropolitan in 1955. It was her first and last year of teaching because, sadly, she was killed in that Nash after her first year. I recall my parents talking about how sad it was. She was very kind.
That is sad.
Yes, very sad. She probably bought that car to save money.
The little Metropolitan would sell today if someone would build it
Possibly.
Amazing character and colors those cars had in those days. Heck, why not bring them back in an EV version with better safety. This homogenized cookie cutter crap we have now is so boring. I'll take a Nash in seafoam green with white trim.
I can relate.
Some manufacturers in other countries have created retro-looking versions of small cars in the last 15 years or so which were never sold in the USA, so we've never seen them. I suspect making them to conform to our safety standards was too expensive for something that would never sell in large numbers.
@@hebneh I suspect you are right.
I was born in 1949. I remember seeing early 50s cars, but I do not remember seeing 40s cars at all (tho obviously there were still a lot of them on the roads at the time). I remember the Nash Metro; I thought the were cool. Today, even in Chicago, I could count the number of 50s cars I see on the road in a year on the fingers of one hand. I owned a '73 VW Super Beetle. It remains one of m,y favorite cars.
I don't imagine the winters there are friendly to the survival of older cars.
The late 1950s were the dawn of the modern car...most of these were unit construction and had many features we take for granted, now.
I would like to add the Wolseley 1500 / Riley One-Point-Five / Austin Lancer / Morris Major introduced from 1957. This design was a development of the Morris Minor using the B Series 4cyl (1.5 and 1.6) engine in a new 4 door saloon body. The Wolseley and Riley versions were built in the UK, the Morris and Austin versions in Australia. I own two Morris Majors.
And there were other options as well.
The Nash/AMC cars, and the 58 - 60 Ford Thunderbirds and Lincolns, and the new 1960 Chrysler products, were unit construction, but the rest of the full-size cars all had a separate frame.
Debt, Debt, Debt. It is the nature of Modern Life to have a National Debt, State & Local Municipal Bonds, Mortgages, College Loans, 6 year vehicle loans, & Credit Card loans. AND DINOSAURS USED TO SINK IN THE LA BREA TAR PITS.
I had a Riley 1.5 and it was a very good car. I drove it 500 miles from where I bought it to my then home in northern Scotland.
DEBT// What I am trying to say is we pay these $3,4,5 hundred dollar per month, 6 year notes for a bloated, Macy's Thanksgiving Day, Parade FLOAT. Plus insurance, gas, & maintenance, as we destroy the planet, & become serfs. We really could get by with something much less to drive to work, grocery, & Starbucks.
/// /// I realize there are bucket lists & hearts desire vehicles; but really, over half the country ??
...and that kids, is why you don't see many of these cars. They were fugly! My eyes are still hurting 😮
Not your speed ay?
Fugly? Nah. A lot of them look good today.
That’s a Ford Prefect? It looks a hoopy frood.
42
thanks for remind me of my age. I laugh when I hear you say 70mph. most of these cars were popular in Australia. The rambler was a common police high speed pursuit car. THANK YOU FOR THE VID.
Great stuff. I've had several Dauphines and other Renault's. Plus, several other tiny oddballs that were on ur list. They were a lot of fun but were never very reliable.
At least they weren't boring.
Boring? Never, satisfying? Rarely.
Even today, most European cars have less than stellar reliability. Many of them are not cut out for being driven at high speeds for hours on end.
@@michaelbenardo5695 But they do tend to be nice on the inside.
The French design what are basically good cars but they have always struggled with build quality. I once talked to a Dauphine owner at a car meet in the UK. They were one of the first imported cars to sell in any numbers but they are extremely rare name. The owner said he had completely remade the wiring loom and installed much better quality connectors throughout. At a stroke the reliability of the car was improved to a very acceptable level and he was happy to drive it anywhere. The wiring loom is hidden but an essential part of the car. The fit and finish of the bodywork and consistent panel gaps around doors and boot/bonnet show that it was probably a better car than when it was new.
8:58 "Cabin Roller", or "Kabenroller", or however they spelled it, sounds ominous. But with 2 wheels in front and 1 in back, it was almost certainly less prone to rolling over than the Reliant cars from the UK.
I've never looked at it quite that way.
The term "Kabinroller" had to do with the canopy. It hinged on one side, so to get into/out of the thing, one had to lift up the canopy and get in Formula 1 style before pulling the canopy back down into position. It was a strict 2-str, one behind t'other...
The low centre of gravity kept it fairly stable, and there actually followed a four-wheel version with a 500cc engine called Tiger. Allegedly, those brave (foolish) enough could get nearly 90mph out of it, due to the light weight...
When citing British MPG, don't forget that the US gallon is only 80% of the Imperial gallon.
I try to use U.S. ratings, even for British cars. When available.
The Nash Metropolitan built by BMC in the UK around Austin A35 and A40 parts left BMC with huge pile of parts when sales collapsed. The axles gear boxes and engines were then bought by Colin Chapman to be used on early Lotus models especially the Lotus Seven
Seems like an effective use of the parts.
Tickled to see you include the Simca. I remember back in the early 1960's, my Mom was jus learning to drive. My Dad found a 'deal' on a Simca (not sure exactly which model, but believe it was either a '58 or '59 model). Since it was a manual, Mom struggled with mastering the shifting. The car also had a number of mechanical issues that never got sorted out, so it was swapped out for a 1962 Ford Falcon. Unfortunately for Mom, that one was also a manual 3-speed. I just remember being so fascinated by the Simca as it was so unusual and there weren't any others to be found in our area. Thanks for the memories!
That's cool
Thank you for the video. It was an education this time for me. I got to see old GM brands( Opel and Vauxhall) I was not interested in the cars, but I can appreciate the video for the education and the fact you put a great deal of effort in the video.
Thanks, small cars are not really my thing either.
Great video. Very informative. I'm in the UK...always wanted a Nash Metropolitan.
Thanks. Austin did sell them there.
The Metropolitan was sold in the UK. There is aMetropolitan owners club in the UK. One tested in detail by a UK lady car UA-camr about two weeks ago with much more of the UK Austin connection.
The American compacts and the small foreign cars that were imported to the US were pretty much all blown out of the water when Ford, GM and Chrysler all introduced their compacts in late 1959 for the 1960 model year. The Beetle was one of the few survivors. The Japanese cars which were just beginning to be introduced at this time would surprisingly endure and gradually become huge sellers in the US.
The implosion of the European market and the implementation of the double nickel really helped the Japanese become viable options.
VW had the classic Think Small ads. They sold tons of them in Southern California.
I'm both honored and baffled to have witnessed such an awesome and thorough video about global smaller cars. These cars were simple, styling and economical. My children kept on pausing the video to compare it to "The car of Tomorrow " circa 1948 ? And the villains from Pixar's Cars 2 movie. My 17 year old and I are going to attend an electric/hybrid repair course this fall. My goal is to build nostalgic cars with Prius cars. Thanks for the video and awesome knowledge.
I'm honored.
Nash Metropolitan was my favorite so different and so ahead of its time
There was an import boom in the US in 1957-59 as the first recession since WW2 hit just as tailfins reached their zenith creating demand for smaller cars. During that era almost every Italian, French, Swedish, West German and four-wheeled British car on this list was offered in the US along with the Datsun and Toyota as the first Japanese cars to enter America starting in 1958. The runaway bestseller was the Volkswagen bug though, some years fully half of all cars imported into the US were VWs!
Yep
I think it was often well over half! It, and the Volvo, were among the few affordable foreign cars that were reliable.
Love your subject matter, great videos
Thanks, I try to cover a little bit of everything.
Henry Fonda: "So what kind of car did you rent?"
Jane Fonda:"I don't know what it is, it's ugly and breaks down a lot."
Henry Fonda:"Ugly and breaks down a lot.....that sounds like a NASH!" -ON GOLDEN POND
Been awhile since I've seen that.
Old man here!...Back in the late 1960s, I bought a used 1959 Datsun 1000 from a co-worker, who had bought it new in Los Angeles, from the only USA dealer back then!...In Seattle, no one had any idea what I was driving. It was a fun car, got 25-30 mpg, and could accelerate about the same as an older VW Bug!...It had an unusual shift pattern, located on the steering column. First was up and close, 2nd was down, 3rd was up and away, and 4th was down and away...reverse was found by pulling out on a knob at the end of the shift lever, then pulling up and close!...A crazy pattern!..I mean, "Four on the column"?...But I eventually sold the car, as I got tired of having to stay to the right, on the freeway. The did indeed top out at around 65mph, and the poor little engine would be screaming by then! These cars never achieved much in car sales..,but in 1962 Datsun re-styled it, and installed a larger engine. The invasion of Japanese cars had begun!
I am aware there were column 4-speeds, but have never driven one.
V8 Studebaker 0-60 in 10 sec, :)
You.ld think those little cars would get better mileage MPG. I used to get 26 mpg with my 1978 Chrysler LeBaren with a 318 ci electronic ignition V8
Most of them were working too hard to be efficient.
I love cars from 1950's, 60s ,70s,80s and 90s . Now I can't stand them they are so expensive ,so complicated nobody knows how to fix them ,they don't last they are not reliable and are no fun to drive .
I understand.
Are the prices cited in the video in 1950’s dollars or are they adjusted to 2000’s dollars? If they’re the price in 1950’s dollars, these babies were relatively expensive.
1950s money
My Dad owned a Nash Metropolitan and an NSU Prinz. He had a thing for cool and unusual cars back in the day, including his Chevy Corvair and El Camino, as well as his VW Transporter with an auto trans and fuel injection.
Why be normal?
Cool video. Down under here in New Zealand, we had mainly the English cars featured here, assembled in plants in NZ. American cars were sold here, as Farmers appreciated their robustness and ability to tow. However, they tended to have the smallest engine options due to the higher gas price here. For example, a colleague of my father owned a 1967 car badged as Pontiac Laurentian. It was a full size US car but ran only the 283 Chevy small-block with Powerglide, so no exciting performance. I owned a 61 Rambler Classic wagon, great car in a straight line but it wanted to fall of the road on corners.
Interesting. The Impala could be ordered the same way, and quite frequently was.
My folks had a 1961 Rambler Classic. Actually, a very nice looking car. I learned to drive in it.
@@dicksanders8206 Nice.
I have met these cars, specially the most exotic, or egg shaped ones, in the streets of Havana, in 1986. Such an experience!!!!!!
I bet.
DKW wasn’t a twin engine, it was a 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine.
You are correct.
The Vespa car was made in Italy, not in France!
you car correct.
I was going to comment that same thing.
I think it wasn't sold in Italy but mostly in France even if Vespa is Italian
Outstanding video, as always!
Thanks.
i had a 56 Nash Metropolitan, a 62 Studebaker Lark and a 59 Volvo at one time or another when i was younger
Interesting group of cars.
I have a 1959 Triumph "standard" estate wagon. reference 3:47 minutes on video
Cool.
The ME KR200 carries 2. The 2nd sits behind the driver. Head on, it reminds me of Kermit.
I can see that.
I owned a 1959 Ford Anglia for a few years. Back window was the headrest for the passengers and it had 39 HP!
The earlier Anglias were once popular for Hot Rodding, and there are still a few around.
About 1964-65, a friend's older brother bought 2 '57-58 Anglias for $50, one of them was the second import I ever rode in. The first was my Uncle's early '50s Austin A40, ( another model beloved by drag racers). An Aunt had a '58 VW Karmann Ghia, and my next door neighbor had a '59 Opel Rekord station wagon (he worked for Buick, which sold them in the US). The Opel and Anglias were in central Michigan, which had very few imports at the time, most were sold on the coasts ( my Aunt and Uncle, from different sides of the family, were both living in suburbs of NYC). Good job on the video, I like hearing the specs, without the overstating of the significance of the model or features, and the photos were great! My first Import was a '71 Simca 1204, which I bought new, a month before Chrysler announced they were halting the importing of them. It was a great Rally car for me, ( 70 hp out of 1.2 liters, while VW only got 57hp out of 1.6 L) until everything needed replacing after 30k miles! 😢👍
@@ramblerdave1339 I knew a guy that bought a Opel Manta as his first car. It was used, but still had the dealer paper over the passenger seat. First time it snowed he wrapped it around a telephone poll.
@@thehopelesscarguy Another memory that came to mind, after re-reading your response, a high school girl friend of mine's brother had a Thames ( panel truck version of the Anglia ), built as a drag car, with a small block Chevy!
I really want to the Metropolitan as my first car. Couldn’t find a used one and certainly couldn’t afford a new one.
I understand.
Thanks I so enjoyed your emission, really worth watching.
Thanks.
I don't know. A little too many for me. Pick one or two and spend a bit more time. I mean I get it. None of these cars is gonna beat a hemi.
A couple of cars of the late 50s?
My pop rebuilt a Izeta Freta . Made by BMW. Mororcycle engine, front door entry with a left hand gear shit. 4 spd and you could get more crazy funny looks driving this . Great on gas but not a lot is room. Unless you’re getting your girl to sit close to you. My Oh My. 😂
I see.
@@thehopelesscarguy looked like a mobile egg. Izeta will blow yur mind!
I'd be afraid to go to sleep at night knowing that this thing was sitting out in my driveway. 8:58
It's alive!
I remember Kaiser is it a small car
I must be getting old - I remember quite a few of these cars and even drove several of them
Hopefully you remember at least some of them fondly.
Watched from Jamaica and I Knew some of those cars back in the days.
Cool.
OMG, those poor Citroens -- they were always so ugly!
So much so they were a fashion statement.
When we moved out to SoCal in 1964 (Dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton MCB), there were quite a few of those Nash Metropolitans on the roads back then. They seemed to be a popular mode of transportation during the summertime as that's the time of year when we'd see them most! Don't see them around anymore. Thanks for sharing.
Are there any of these fantastic vehicles still available in the USA.??
If you look hard enough.
I was delighted to see the inclusion of so many British cars, many I know from my childhood. The Trabant P50 was nice to see because I own the later Trabant P601 stationwagon (estate) which is one of only 27 drivable ones in the UK. Great video.
What about the Austin and Morris mini introduced in 1959?
Time restrictions, both mine and the videos, mean not everything can be included. A car that was made for decades with minor trim changes, but only 1 year of that was for this time period, was an easy cut, as it will be showing up repeatedly in the future.
If Chevy had built the Lark instead of the early Corvair they would have sold a zillion of them. People were just leery of Studebaker. By the way my Dad had a Studebaker dealership in the late fifties.
You may be right.
Actually, in 1959 and 60, Stude DID sell a zillion of them. What hurt by 1961 was the conversion of the Champion engine to overhead valves. The new cylinder head would crack. That really hurt the cars reputation right after it had recovered from being a rust-bucket in the later 50s. The V8 model in 1961 was fine though.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Also around this time Studebaker wasn't in great financial shape, and folks remembered losing all the other small car makers in the early 50's, so nobody wanted a car where warranty and dealer support might disappear. My "first car" was the Rambler version of the Lark, pushbutton transmission and cracked head. My brother gave it to me when he moved away and I was barely a teenager so I never drove it. Sold it for junk and got $15...
Australian local assembly of Studebaker V8 models had them selling with a bigger market share than other US makes.
The Victoria Police used the Studebaker Lark and Cruiser as their preffered Highway Patrol car.
Two racing interested Police car guys bought an ex Highway Patrol Studebaker and raced it at the Bathurst 500 mile race up and down the Mt Panorama scenic drive roads . Fastest car on the track but the weight put too much strain on drum brakes and other parts of the running gear to drive them hard the whole race.
The Bathurst 500 coverage will give more information.
hem
Very well presented, thank you
Thank you
I am sooooo tempted to sell my new, smaller mid-size. Buy a beat up, old pickup, install extended bumpers, and go after the road hogs that devil me.
I think I saw that on an episode of CHiP's.
@thehopelesscarguy //
I would love to see that episode. I would also like to drive an AVENGING URBAN ASSAULT VEHICLE, desipte two wrongs not making a right. I am really not a bad person, I just hate bullies.
My favourites are all the Standards , Ford Prefect and Vauxhall Victor !
My introduction to the Ford Prefect was from reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
If you have the base package of the primary model of a Standard, is that a standard standard Standard?
@@thehopelesscarguy Yes ! I hadn't thought of that 😊
And since it would not have had an automatic transmission, it would have been a standard standard standard Standard.
Pound feet. Thought it was foot pounds of torque.
Yeah.
Renault Dalphene
Honestly I would like to have any of these drive on back road these would be fun to drive 0 to 60 takes forever lol
Drag cars they are not. At least not until someone inevitably dropped a V8 in one.
@@thehopelesscarguy might be fun drag racing show might take a while but ya get your money's worth lol
Wow..I never knew that Russian cars were sold in the USA. A NYC cadillac dealer (Victor Potamkin?) wanted to sell the Russian luxury car ("ZIL") in the USA...but the effort collpased when the Russian plant could not equip the cars with curved safety glass (as required by the USSAE requirements).You can read about this in "Krsuchev Remembers"
Interesting
Russian cars weren’t sold in the US. I never saw an old Russian car till I visited Cuba in 2012.
@@hebneh The Russian FIAT ("LADA") was sold in Canada in the 1970s
@@genekelly8467 I don't remember if Ladas were sold in the US at any point, but certainly no Russian cars were coming to America in the late 1950s, which is the period that this video covers.
I remember some of these. Most never made it in large numbers to the US, and most of those few were around large metropolis cities where an importer had enough business to stay afloat, or in California where car culture abounded. The mid-60's in the US brought more and more restrictive rules for cars which small companies couldn't meet profitably so they just stopped doing business here.
French and Italian cars gained a well-deserved reputation for rusting out quickly, and English cars become known for unreliability if you didn't constantly work on them. Also you'd need 'Whitworth"- sized tools with them, which weren't commonly available in the US. German meant VW, Mercedes, and BMW in that order with almost no others, but Goggomobil was a common car given away as contest prizes because it was probably the cheapest 'real car' which was legal in every state. Crosley, Nash Metropolitan, and Studebaker Lark formed almost all of the domestics back then.
Unlike the rest of the world, fuel was cheap here so that wasn't as important. Roadspeeds were also higher here which strained many of the imports beyond design enough to where they wore out too soon. Few mechanics worked on them and needed parts were sometimes not available except at the factory. Most of the cheaper imports had low build quality too. It was an interesting time for automobiles...
And in spite of the small sales figures, many small importers were highly dependent on the U.S. market.
No Goggomobils or even Isettas?
I was sure I included Glas.
I owned a 1956 Metropolitan. Wish I still had it. My other small cars included a Triumph Herald and of course a TR3 and a TR4. Last one was a Honda 600 Coupe.
Interesting list.
I had a 1960 Lloyd Alexander TS. It had a 2-cylinder air-cooled sohc engine mounted transversely in the front with a 4-speed transmission and front wheel drive. It could do 0 to 55 MPH in 19.5 seconds in the quarter mile. It made 38 MPG on the highway.🥰
Well that's something.
My stepmother had a Nash Metropolitan when she married my Dad in 1960; thought I recognised the thumbnail 😊 And around the same time, my Mum had a Studebaker! LOL and I had an Austin A35 long after (and now have a Smart ForTwo)
So there is a history of small cars in the family.
This brings back some memories! I do remember the Simcas, Renaults, Peugeots, Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Volvos, Saabs, Vauxhalls, Opals, Austins, and Morrises. The others though, never saw them here in California. Only the VW and the Volvo were truly reliable cars. The others just didn't seem to hold up, unless driven by a little old lady down the hill to the beauty shop and no further.
Many sold in very small numbers.
Great report! I didn't know how many small car's were out there. Had a few, wished I bought that Ford Cobra 65. Did own VW s Mercedes,Nova,Corvair, and a Chevy lov pick up.
Cool.
Had a metro the floor disappeared
I hate it when that happens.
Thanks, that was great. Brings back a lot of memories,good and bad. My brother and I blew through a bunch of those examples and friends had many more. Used, they were fairly cheap and surprisingly durable. Late '50's small cars were pretty slow and made good first cars for kids in the '60's.
Nice.
The Standard 10 was sold in the US and to GI;s in the UK as the Triumph TR-10. My father purchased one from a dealer the came to the RAF station where he was stationed. It was a 1958 model which was at various times it was registered to my older brother, sister and myself. If I was really careful I could get 38 mpg.
Nice.
SO interesting being a senior born 1952. I'd love to see these 2 doors w/a dropped in V8 on a 1/4 mile race track. I'd like to see names (graphics) on your videos. A lot I didnt know the names. 👍 & sub'd
Thanks. Unfortunately I have time restraints.
Where is the VW Karna Giga?
I guess I did overlook that.
Karmann Gia is the correct name, not "Karna Giga".
Thank you for putting al this together! As a boomer from the American Midwest I've owned two of these, plus a Honda 600.
Thanks.
My, you really know all the facts! And of both American and British cars! So I've subscribed!
I try, thanks.
Thanks for all the work on these videos! But I have a question: since British gallons are 20% larger than US gallons, was British car fuel economy measured in the US or in Britain?
In an effort to keep things comparable I tried to stick to U.S. ratings.
In these days of oversized trucks and undersized garages this is a fun reminder of the “good old days” before most cars became behemoths in later decades. My neighbor had a Yellow and white Metropolitan convertible that he bought for his wife. It became their Sunday summer drive car. He later traded it in for a Rambler and to his last days wishes that he still had the Nash. I have not seen one locally since.
wow
I had a '59 Metropolitan. It did 35mpg on the highway. Probably could have gotten more if I had added a vaccuum gauge to keep my foot light on the gas.
Nice.
What about the Crosley?
Crosley was gone by this point.
I saw a Nash metropolitan convertible cruising on the road just this weekend but I could not figure out who the maker was. Thank you for your informative video that let me know who made that beautiful little car.
It is nice when things work out.
What about the two cylinder Hillman?
What 2-cylinder Hillman is that?
Even the smallest Hillman Imp rear engine car had a four cylinder 875cc motor.
An awesome survey - thanks for doing all that research! Some familiar vehicles among them!
Glad you enjoyed it
My Mom drove me to elementary school every day in her Austin A30. Cheers from Australia
Cheers.
Originally built to help with the rush hour and parking problem beginning to creep into the cities
Perhaps it is time for micro pickups.
I wish a lot of these autos were available now. I wouldn't mind spending my money on a new one.
Might find them a tad under powered.
The King Midget was a micro car produced between 1946 and 1970 by the Midget Motors Corporation. The King Midget company started out by offering a kit to build a car, but soon added completely assembled cars and later only offered completed cars.
Yep.
Built for 24 years ?? !!
(1) They must have done something right.
(2) I was intrigued.
(3) Thank you.
In high school I had a friend who owned a Metropolitan. It was a real fun car just to cruise around in.
I bet it was.
And of course I remember the Nash Ramblers and Metropolitans, and the Studebaker Lark. The Stude and the Rambler were good cars, as were most American-made cars.
Certainly a different time.
There was a song about the "Little Nash Rambler" by a group called the Playmates. The British version of the song subbed Limousine for Cadillac, and Bubble Car for Nash Rambler...
I love the way you've taken UTE Into your lexicon.
I feel like I should put a "My cousin Vinny" reference here but it just wouldn't work without sound.