MICROCAR NEWS Online

 In another world; Microcar Collectors and Enthusiasts have their own community.

Like Airplane Enthusiasts that can be part of a community that has a Runway as the main drag so you can park your Plane in the garage, taxi out and take off, the Microcar Community has homes with Garages as the centerpiece of the house and sleeping quarters upstairs or out back.

Vehicles that can exceed 55 mph are banned and tickets are regularly given out for vehicles that are not going slow enough or emitting enough blue smoke.

Every home has a microcar enthusiast in it.  They may own a microcar, they may own several or they may WANT to own one.  Many have tools to work on their cars, some have no tools or no mechanical expertise to do so.

But the neighborhood is friendly and what good is a friend if you cannot borrow their tools?

So a great swap goes on continuously, the same tools are loaned out to neighbors again and again, no one has to own every single special tool needed, they can just go next door or down the block and BORROW it.  As long as it is returned in a reasonable period of time, everything works out well. (more…)

On February 14 2008, we got a call from Marcus Wiedenhoeft, the design director for FLOR, a catalog and web-based seller of upscale flooring products. They were looking for a Microcar to feature in their Summer Catalog and had contacted The Vintage Microcar Club to see if there were any local owners who might be interested in renting their cars out for a photo shoot.

This was going to happen in the dead of winter, with 2 feet of snow on the ground!  I explained it was going to be difficult to find an owner willing to let their car out with the weather conditions being what they were.  After providing them with some photo examples of what was available locally, they were immediately drawn to Jerry Zabin’s (Skokie, IL) Red Isetta Cabrio.  Even though the car is unrestored and has original paint, they said it was perfect for what they had planned. (more…)

Five Velorex Enthusiasts from the Czech Republic recently shipped 4 restored Velorex Microcars to take them on “The Mother Road”: Route 66 from Chicago to LA.

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David Brower demonstrates how to properly push-start your Isetta if you find yourself stranded with a dead battery. (this method only works with the Sliding Window style Isetta because you can easily access the gear shift lever).

1: Ignition ON

2: Parking Brake OFF

3: Hand on Gear Lever ready to put it into THIRD Gear

4: Get car rolling

5: Push Gear Lever into Third, this will crank over the engine, once it starts, IMMEDIATELY pull the Gear Lever back to Neutral or you will be chasing your car.

Jim Garbo organized a great Microcar Event in downtown Racine Wisconsin for Saturday July 26.
Sponsored by The Downtown Racine Corporation, Microcars were on display for the general public from 10am-3pm. Over 20 Microcars attended the show.
The public was invited to VOTE for Best of Show and the winner was Richard Lombardi with his 1957 Messerschmitt KR201.  The previous owner of the car had WON it on the TV Show: “The Price Is Right”.

Photos are available in the Microcars Photo Gallery , click the event logo to go there.

photo by Jim Janecek

Gould’s 13th Annual Microcar Minicar Classic Event was held July 10,11,12 2008 in Newton MA.

A reporter for The Boston Globe filed a report on the meet (but mostly about Smart Cars) you can read it HERE

more photos of the meet at The Bubbledrome

Vintage Microcars have started becoming a “must have” at Concours d’Elegance events since 1996 when Pebble Beach made a separate catagory for them and invited a number of owners to show their cars that year.

Amelia Island Concours also had a Microcar catagory in 2006 and smaller Concours events around the country appear to have taken a cue from this and decided that “it’s OK” to have Microcars at Concours events. The Milwaukee “MASTERPIECE” has had at least one Microcar in their show for the past few years and will continue to do so in 2008, Hilton Head Concours also featured Microcars in 2007.

This year the Forest Grove Concours in Portland OR had two Microcars; an Isetta owned by Phil Richardson and a Messerschmitt KR200 owned by Mark Hatten. Read more coverage of the event at the NEWS TIMES

more coverage of Mark’s Messerschmitt at the Concours is HERE