Microcar

{{Short description|Smallest automobile classification}} {{About|small cars|the French car manufacturer|Microcar (brand)|the Sri Lankan car manufacturer|Micro Cars}} {{multiple image | width = 200 | align = right | direction = vertical | image1 = Heinkel Kabine, Bj. 1957 (2016-07-02 Sp).JPG | caption1 = 1957 Heinkel Kabine bubble car | image2 = Renault Twizy (49830648906).jpg | caption2 = 2012 Renault Twizy quadricycle }}

'''Microcar''' is a term often used for the smallest size of cars,<ref name="The A-Z of popular Scooters"/> with three or four wheels and typically with an engine smaller than {{cvt|700|cc|cuin|0}}. Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Karaca |first1=Merve |last2=Bilal |first2=Levent |last3=Topac |first3=Mehmet Murat |chapter=Lightweight Urban Electric Microcars: An Overview |title=2018 2nd International Symposium on Multidisciplinary Studies and Innovative Technologies (ISMSIT) |date=2018 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1109/ISMSIT.2018.8567298|isbn=978-1-5386-4184-2 }}</ref> Microcars are often covered by separate regulations from normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.

== Predecessors == {{main|Voiturette|Cyclecar}} Voiturette is a term used by some small cars and tricycles manufactured from 1895 to 1910.

Cyclecars are a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s. {{clear right}}

== Europe 1940–1970: Microcars == The first cars to be described as microcars (earlier equivalents were called voiturettes or cyclecars) were built in the United Kingdom and Germany following World War II, and remained popular until the 1960s. They were originally called minicars, but later became known as microcars.

France also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called voiturettes, but they were rarely sold abroad.

=== Characteristics === Microcars have three or four wheels, although most were three-wheelers which, in many countries, meant that they qualified for lower taxes and were licensed as motorcycles.<ref name= "microcars at large"/> Another common characteristic is an engine displacement of less than {{convert|700|cc|cuin|0|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite web |title=About RUM (Register of Unusual Microcars) |url=http://www.rumcars.org/a-about.html |website=www.rumcars.org |access-date=18 December 2018 |archive-date=2 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060102021154/http://www.rumcars.org/a-about.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name= "microcars at large">{{cite book |last1=Quellin |first1=Adam |title=Microcars at Large! |date=2015 |publisher=Veloce |isbn=9781845848873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mw62CgAAQBAJ |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Bubblecar Museum and {{as written|i|t's [sic]}} collection |url=http://www.bubblecarmuseum.co.uk/the-bubblecar-museum-and-its-collection/ |website=www.bubblecarmuseum.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> although several cars with engines up to {{convert|1000|cc|cuin|0|abbr=on}} have also been classified as microcars.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Vintage Microcar Club Membership Page |url=http://www.microcar.org/membership.html |website=www.microcar.org |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="The A-Z of popular Scooters">{{cite book |last1=Dan |first1=Mike |title=The A-Z of popular Scooters & Microcars: Cruising in style! |date=2015 |publisher=Veloce Publishing Ltd |isbn=9781845848750 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZdpCgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>{{refpage|page=7}} Often, the engine was originally designed for a motorcycle.<ref name="rideapart.com">{{cite web |title=Experience Microcar History In Mazomanie, WI |url=https://www.rideapart.com/articles/254172/experience-microcar-history-in-mazomanie-wi/ |website=www.rideapart.com |access-date=16 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

=== History === Microcars originated in the years following World War II, when motorcycles were commonly used.<ref name="British Microcars">{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Duncan |title=British Microcars, 1947-2002. |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1784422790 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob9RDwAAQBAJ|date=2018-06-28 }}</ref>{{refpage|page=7}} To provide better weather protection, three-wheeled microcars began increasing in popularity in the United Kingdom, where they could be driven using only a motorcycle licence.<ref name= "microcars at large"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Legal & MOT's |url=http://www.micromaniacsclub.co.uk/legal%20%26%20mot%27s.htm |website=www.micromaniacsclub.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-date=31 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831194634/http://micromaniacsclub.co.uk/legal%20%26%20mot%27s.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> One of the first microcars was the 1949 Bond Minicar.

Microcars also became popular in Europe. A demand for cheap personal motorised transport emerged, and their greater fuel efficiency meant that microcars became even more significant when fuel prices rose, partly due to the 1956 Suez Crisis.<ref name="rideapart.com" /><ref name="microcarmuseum.com">{{cite web |title=Museum Information |url=http://www.microcarmuseum.com/info.html |website=www.microcarmuseum.com |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref>

The microcar boom lasted until the late 1950s, when larger cars regained popularity.<ref name="microcarmuseum.com"/><ref name="motortrend.com">{{cite web |title=The History of the Microcar at Petersen Automotive Museum |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-history-of-the-microcar-at-petersen-automotive-museum-736/ |website=Motor Trend |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=15 June 2007}}</ref> The 1959 introduction of the Mini, which provided greater size and performance at an affordable price, contributed to the decline in popularity of microcars.<ref name= "microcars at large"/> Production of microcars had largely ceased by the end of the 1960s, due to competition from the Mini, Citroën 2CV, Fiat 500 and Renault 4.

<gallery widths="200" heights="150"> С-1А.jpg|1952–1958 SMZ S-1L Messerschmitt Kabinenroller.jpg|1955–1964 Messerschmitt KR200 BMW Isetta - Bad Wörishofen (2015-08-29 3164 b).jpg|1959–1962 BMW Isetta 1965 Peel P50, The World's Smallest Car (Lane Motor Museum).jpg|1962–1965 Peel P50 </gallery>

=== Bubble cars === {{Redirect|Bubble car|the British rail vehicle|British Rail Class 121}} Several microcars of the 1950s and 1960s were nicknamed ''bubble cars''.<ref>{{cite journal| date = October 14, 1957 | title =Babies on Wheels| journal = The Times | pages = 13| quote = In sunny weather too, bubble cars are inclined, like greenhouses, to become uncomfortably hot.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|date=April 1963 | title =65 MPH and 80 MPG-That's the Messerschmitt| journal = Motorcycle Mechanics | pages = 34–35 | quote = This bubble-car has a beetle-like outline }}</ref> This was due to the aircraft-style bubble canopies of vehicles such as the Messerschmitt KR175, Messerschmitt KR200 and the FMR Tg500. Other microcars, such as the Isetta, also had a bubble-like appearance.

German manufacturers of bubble cars included former military aircraft manufacturers Messerschmitt and Heinkel. BMW manufactured the Italian Iso Rivolta Isetta under licence, using an engine based on one from one of their own motorcycles.

The United Kingdom had licence-built right-hand-drive versions of the Heinkel Kabine and the Isetta. The British version of the Isetta was built with only one rear wheel, instead of the narrow-tracked pair of wheels in the normal Isetta design, in order to take advantage of the three-wheel vehicle laws in the United Kingdom. There were also indigenous British three-wheeled microcars, including the Peel Trident.

Examples include the Citroën Prototype C, FMR Tg500, Fuldamobil, Heinkel Kabine, Isetta, Messerschmitt KR175, Messerschmitt KR200, Peel P50, Peel Trident, SMZ S-1L, Trojan 200, and Kleinschnittger F125.

== Worldwide 1990–present == Recent microcars include the 2001 Aixam 5xx series, Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami, and XEV Yoyo.

Electric-powered microcars which have reached production include the 1974 Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar and its derivatives, 1987 CityEl, the 1990 Automobiles ERAD Spacia, the 1999 Corbin Sparrow, the 2001 REVAi, the 2005 Commuter Cars Tango, the 2009 Tazzari Zero and the resurrected Peel P50 of 2011 (the original model of 1962 - 65 being petrol powered).

The Smart Fortwo is often called a microcar in the United States;<ref name="latimes.com">{{cite web|date=17 July 2014|title=Smart's tiny Fortwo microcar gets redesign for 2016|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-autos-smart-fortwo-redesign-2016-20140717-story.html|access-date=21 December 2018|website=www.latimes.com}}</ref><ref name="autoweek.com">{{cite web|title=Smart Vehicles|url=https://autoweek.com/vehicles/smart|access-date=21 December 2018|website=Autoweek|date=26 January 2012 }}</ref> although it requires a regular licence to drive.

<gallery widths=200 heights=145> Squad Solar Car (Fully Charged 2022).jpg|Squad Solar, a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle TangoSide.jpg|The Commuter Cars Tango, {{cvt|8|ft|5|in|cm}} long and {{cvt|39|in}} wide </gallery> ===Kei cars=== {{main|Kei car}} In the 1950s, Japanese legislatures created the class of Kei cars, offering reduced taxes for cars below a size limit. At the program's inception in 1955, the limit for engine capacity was below 360 cubic centimeters, with a length of under {{convert|126|inches|cm}} also required. The limits have since increased, with kei cars today allowed to use engines of up to 660 cc and attain a length of {{convert|134|inches|cm}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nunn |first=Peter |date=January–February 2005 |title=Minicars: Cheap and Cheerful |url=http://www.jama-english.jp/europe/news/2005/jan-feb/peternunn.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709134258/https://www.jama.or.jp/english/europe/news/2005/jan-feb/peternunn.html |archive-date=9 July 2022 |access-date=10 May 2012 |publisher=JAMA}}</ref> Although most kei cars are designed in Japan, some, such as the Smart K, are versions of foreign-made cars designed to comply with Japanese regulations.

=== Quadricycle legislation === {{main|Quadricycle (EU vehicle classification)}}

The European Union introduced the quadricycle category in 1992. In several European countries since then, microcars are classified by governments separately from normal cars, sometimes using the same regulations as motorcycles or mopeds. Therefore, compared with normal cars, microcars often have relaxed requirements for registration and licensing, and can be subject to lower taxes and insurance costs.

=={{anchor|Junior}} Junior cars== Junior cars are motorized cars for children, typically copies of real designs. Originally powered either by electric engines or small internal combustion engines, electric engines currently dominate. From the 1926 Baby Bugatti until today, junior cars are often as expensive as a real car and are built to a higher standard than a ride-in toy car. As with the Bugatti, these are frequently sold directly by real car manufacturers such as Porsche and Ferrari. In the 1990s, Aston Martin built a half-scale junior car version of the then-new Aston Martin Virage Volante, with a handmade aluminium body, leather interior, and 160-cc Honda engine. It cost as much as a brand new Mercedes-Benz 190E at the time.<ref name="TV1091.15">{{cite magazine | ref = CJ91 | title = Salongsberusning | trans-title = Salon drunk | language = sv | magazine = Teknikens Värld | publisher = Specialtidningsförlaget AB | location = Stockholm, Sweden | page = 15 | date = 1991-05-16 | issue = 10 | volume = 43 | first1 = Claes | last1 = Johansson | first2 = Jonas | last2 = Fröberg }}</ref>

Manufacturers include Pocket Classics, the Little Car Company, Eshelman, and Hackney.

<gallery widths=200 heights=140> File:Bugatti Type 52 - Ettore Bugatti et ses fils Roland et Jean Bugatti.jpg|Roland and Jean Bugatti in their Baby Bugattis File:BMW 328 for Junior (25816177934).jpg|Sbarro 328 Baby </gallery>

== Microcar trucks == There are also a variety of microcar trucks, usually of the "forward control" or van style to provide more cargo room. These might be used for local deliveries on narrow streets that are unsuited to larger vehicles. The Piaggio Ape is a three-wheeled example.<ref name="Green Car site">{{cite web|url=http://www.greencarsite.co.uk/GREENCARS/piaggio-ape.htm |title=Piaggio Ape Commercial Vehicle |publisher=Greencarsite.co.uk |access-date=2018-05-08}}</ref> The Honda Acty is a four-wheeled example.

== Microcars by country of origin == {{Main|List of microcars}}

== See also == {{Commons category|Microcars}} * Car classification * Economy car * Kei car * Neighborhood Electric Vehicle * Velomobile

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |last1=Topaç |first1=Mehmet Murat |last2=Karaca |first2=Merve |last3=Bilal |first3=Levent |title=The 30th SIAR International Congress of Automotive and Transport Engineering |chapter=Conceptual Design of an Urban Electric Microcar |date=2020 |pages=525–532 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-32564-0_61|isbn=978-3-030-32563-3 }}

{{Automobile configuration}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Microcars Category:Car classifications Category:Quadricycles