MICROCAR NEWS Online

This video pretty much sums it up. What other car could you make a video like this with?

What is a bit astonishing is that this was made by the BMW Museum in Munich.
Listen to the lyrics and in particular to ” …without you I would never rise again”

Does this mean BMW is finally acknowledging the Isetta’s place in their history as “the car that saved BMW”?
Maybe it is just coincidence but this commercial is all stop-motion animation with KinToy Isettas zipping about, having fun and mixing it up with all the other BMW marques as well as modern day traffic. To think they just randomly selected a song to run in the background is difficult to believe.

What do you think?

Micros In Madison 2009 and The National Meet of The Vintage Microcar Club is over.

A bit o’rain did not seem to make any difference, when it rained, people just went under numerous canopies or in the barn and continued until it stopped. The only thing dampened by the rain were the late night campfires.

415 people Registered
96 Microcars Registered (that showed up)
25 smarts of all variety Registered (that showed up)

Winners of People’s Choice awards include:
“smartest”: Sue Shelton of GA
“smartest guy in the room”: Leonard Ingle for his 2002 smart “glider
3rd place Microcar: Kerry & Linda Erendson’s 1965 Scootacar MK II
2nd place Microcar: Burt Richmond’s 1956 Fiat Abarth Zagato Double Bubble coupe
1st place Microcar: Wayne Parrish’s 1956 King Midget III Prototype
Best of Show: Buster Tankersly’s 1949 Bantam

"smartest" (voted 1st place smart class)

3rd Place Microcar Class

2nd place Microcar class

1st Place Microcar class

Best Of Show

Some people have uploaded photos, you can see Flickr sets from Cecil Clontz and TL Spangler
as well as a set from Arnie & Lena Press

a more detailed report in the next print issue of MICROCAR NEWS magazine!

But is it a real one?

Check out the “official” Ripley’s video below.
They talk about how rare it is and how it gets great gas milage but that “this one is electric”.

I am pretty sure this car is a replica that was built for a TV show last year
(no, not the blue one that was on Top Gear)

another film crew “needed” one that could be driven indoors and the original 2-stroke motor threw out too much smoke, making it electric drive solved that problem. I am waiting for confirmation from the person that provided the car before posting my speculations but I am pretty sure this is the car they used.

Update: the car was purpose-built for Ripleys Museum.

For many years there has been quiet talk and rumors of a Microcar Collector in Thailand.
It seems the rumors were true!
Jesada Dejkulrit is the collector who has a large Private Collection of all sorts of vehicles under the name “Jesada Technik Museum”. He appears to have a special interest in Microcars and Bubblecars of all sorts.

His first Microcar was a Messerschmitt, purchased in 1997 at an auction, since then the collection has grown quite a bit. Rumor has it that a number of the cars sold at the recent BubbleCar Museum Auction in the UK will be going to this collection in Thailand.

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After squashing a previous rumor that they were closing, the UK-based Bubblecar Museum sent out announcements that there was to be a large Auction of Bubblecars and related parts at the Bubblecar Museum and yes a number of the microcars in the Museum would be sold.

??? So what is it?  They are closing?  They are not closing?

They are selling all the contents?  They are not?

Turns out they ARE CLOSING….but they close EVERY YEAR at this time until the Spring…when they….RE-OPEN.

This time is a little different since they are moving and are “downsizing” the Museum collection and focusing more on British Cars.  While a number of the cars in the recent Auction were from the Museum Collection, the Auction also had Microcars and spares from other people as well mixed in.
There were 186 “Lots”.  About 86 were Microcars.
You can find a list of Auction Results HERE.