have a look at this little beauty from the 50's
http://microcarmuseum.com/tour/friskyfamily3.html 

Reckon there would be a market for those now with the green movement picking up momentum.

powered by a villiers engine,used to have a villiers motorbike with a mate when we were teenagers

Micro cars are a great idea. The problem is that it would be impossible to get one to comply with the modern design rules. Even the Mini Minor could not be able to comply.

In fact it was the Mini that put micro cars off the market. Minis are a real 4 seater car with good performance. Most micro cars are a sad joke when it comes to performance. They are invariably under powered, noisy and generally horrible.

The Smart is an exception. The Indians have just marketed a minimalist Tata that costs very little money, but it has a 500cc engine, so it will almost certainly be horrible.

Look at the Lightburn Zeta. What a sad little car that is.

You wouldn't get me in a micro car with all the relatively huge faster cars on the roads if it didn't have at least the same performance. It would be too dangerous.

I'd drive one of those tandem seated VWs. They have good performance.

Not sure if you mean the original '60s Mini, or the new BMW thing. Yes the Mini was a good car in its day, but VW sold four times as many Beetles, and five times as many Golfs. As for the new Mini, the VW Polo is a better car.

VW recently showed an updated L1 concept at the Frankfurt show, but I don't know if it will make production. We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, VW's smallest current model is one not sold here, the VW Fox. It is available in the UK - see http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/fox 

The Lupo / Fox was on TopGear a few years ago, seemed like a good little city car, I'd have the diesel



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OEdx8dOgUw

I came across this little doozy when I was clearing/moving/relocating the stuff in my Dad's shed,he has quite a few old Wheels magazines,motor Manuals etc,they are incredibly good reading.(after reading it I googled it to see what other info was available) The one with the Meadows was January 1958,the editorial strangely enough could have been written this year as it spruiked about teaching kids to drive and the road toll.It seems strange that after all of these years that the same problems exist.
On the upside there was also a road test on the kombi van and it gave a good report.

Phil.

Of course I was talking about the original Isigonos Mini. Why would I consider the new one? It's as like an original Mini as the New Beetle is to an original Beetle.

PS This is not a criticism of the New Beetle, so don't flame me.

I came close to buying a Mini in 1981 as my first car, and would have gotten one if my love of VWs had not come first. My mate had a '67 Mini van and he was rebuilding it and modifying when I was doing the same to my VW - they were good times. I respect original Minis, and BMC/Leyland kicked VW Australia's backside in sales after 1962. They also stayed in Australian manufacturing/assembling longer than VW did.

The Golf certainly used the Mini's tranverse engine arrangement, but the Golf had a separate gearbox as well as a much more modern suspension and body design. The Mini certainly popularised the transverse engine, but it wasn't the first. Cars like the Saab 92, and Borgward Goliath and Hansa, used a transverse arrangement in the '40s. You could even argue that a 'Volkswagen' company invented the idea - the DKW Front had a transverse 2-cylinder engine in 1931 (VW bought DKW/Auto Union in 1967 and turned them into Audi).

For years I always disliked the New Beetle - inefficient use of a Golf platform, not a real Beetle, etc etc. But in recent years my attitude is changing. Now I think it's a good addition to the modern VW lineup, in that it acts as a 'bridge' between the classic 'air-cooled only' people who ortherwise don't like modern VWs (there are lots of them on this forum) and the new VW range. It's a huge jump between old VWs and say a modern Golf Mk6 GTI, TDI or Passat CC for example. The New Beetle is a good 'intermediate' step - it's a more or less modern Golf underneath but it still has the looks and flavour of classic old VWs.

I reckon lots of air-cooled enthusiasts who would never buy a Golf or a Polo WOULD be happy with a New Beetle. And that's good!

No argument, the Golf Mk6 is a sensational car, and the best car in its class you can buy. Wheels, Motor, Drive and Carsguide have all tested it recently, and in every case it has beaten the opposition such as Honda Civic, Holden and Ford whatevers, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 (get the latest issue of Wheels for example). The Golf Mk6 is the current World Car of the Year.

The problem is that it is so far from the air-cooled enthusiast universe that many 'VW fans' won't consider buying one. I have lost count of the number of posts on this forum where people have been advised to go and buy a Magna, or Subaru, or Toyota, or whatever, and 'stay away from modern VWs' - by supposed VW enthusiasts!

Everything you say about the New Beetle is true. If it makes ONE old school VW fan buy a VW New Beetle instead of a Magna, then it has earned its place in the VW lineup. And once you have one modern VW, a whole new wonderful world opens up. The best of all possible worlds is to own old AND new VWs!

I like this one

That is an absolut champion Rose,I can see you sitting behind the wheel.

Looks like a Noddy car, I'll see if I can find one for you Rose though I can't see it doing too well on the 1/4

My daughter rides in one like that when we go shopping at Bankstown Square. I put in $2 and it rocks back and forth for a minute or two...

How would it be Donn ----Rose and Big Ears doing the !/4,reckon Big Ears would be hanging on and mr Plod chasing them.