An apple iCar anyone?
November 13th 2007 12:33
Whatever happened to the small cars of my youth that came with character as standard? Every car had a certain degree of style/ charisma. Wolseleys with the illuminated grille badge, Hillman Imps, NSU's the list goes on.
Where are the new versions of the mini ( the original, not the pretend BMW 0 series ), the VW beetle and the 2cv (Deux cheveau)?
The original versions of these small cars have all ended up as icons in one way or another. They all shared a simple purpose in life, to be a car for the people but they ended up being so much more. All three of them achieved this purpose with a great degree of style ( by mistake more than anything else) and despite the fact the were decades old at the end of their long production runs, they were still a viable product that personified the old " If it aint broke, dont fix it" maxim.
So, if a major manufacturer decided to build a true rival to these legends, would it be possible, considering the myriad of rules and regulations that have to be obeyed now?
The recent Frankfurt and Tokyo motor shows have seen Volkswagen display three and five door versions of the Space-up! This interesting 3.6 metre long rear engined one box will be powered by three cylinder petrol or diesel engines a well as an electric version.
Citreon has shown some concept sketches of the new 2cv, but they have fallen into the same trap as VW with the new beetle, BMW with the Mini and also Fiat with the new 500; the car looks the same the old car, why? The world is ready for a new concept.
Interestingly enough Gordon Murray, designer of the magnificent Mclaren F1, is currently working on a small car, could this be the one to revolutionise motoring as we know it? The car could be built by anyone, even a name from outside the motoring arena. An Apple iCar anyone??
Where are the new versions of the mini ( the original, not the pretend BMW 0 series ), the VW beetle and the 2cv (Deux cheveau)?
The original versions of these small cars have all ended up as icons in one way or another. They all shared a simple purpose in life, to be a car for the people but they ended up being so much more. All three of them achieved this purpose with a great degree of style ( by mistake more than anything else) and despite the fact the were decades old at the end of their long production runs, they were still a viable product that personified the old " If it aint broke, dont fix it" maxim.
So, if a major manufacturer decided to build a true rival to these legends, would it be possible, considering the myriad of rules and regulations that have to be obeyed now?
The recent Frankfurt and Tokyo motor shows have seen Volkswagen display three and five door versions of the Space-up! This interesting 3.6 metre long rear engined one box will be powered by three cylinder petrol or diesel engines a well as an electric version.
Citreon has shown some concept sketches of the new 2cv, but they have fallen into the same trap as VW with the new beetle, BMW with the Mini and also Fiat with the new 500; the car looks the same the old car, why? The world is ready for a new concept.
Interestingly enough Gordon Murray, designer of the magnificent Mclaren F1, is currently working on a small car, could this be the one to revolutionise motoring as we know it? The car could be built by anyone, even a name from outside the motoring arena. An Apple iCar anyone??
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