Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/03/04/video-of-a-cute-bubble-car-fro.html
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Bee-yoodeeful!
But - the enevitable but - I wouldn’t let it out of eyesight lest it be poached.
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The ‘Automodule’ was even more spherical:
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I’ve never been overly car enthusiastic but a few years ago my company’s holiday party was held at the car museum in Tacoma Washington and it was genuinely interesting. My favorite part was the area with older cars like this that were thinking outside of the typical car design. If you are ever in the area and have a few hours to use, well worth it.
-Not a car guy
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I got to see one of these in person not too long ago, when an exhibit of experimental cars came through town… very neat to see in person. I still would love to be tooling around in one of these guys.
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Most bubble cars (microcars) seemed to arrive in the '50s and '60s, so this guy was ahead of his time (and maybe inspired others) in design, and was way ahead of his time re electric drive.
Here’s some more bubble cars:
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My daughter keeps complaining because we don’t have a car, maybe I should buy this just to really piss her off.
In the future, everyone will wear little tiny electric cars on their head…
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That design is so Microman.
Well worth a visit, especially if you have a thing about Bugattis (or Maseratis).
The Schlumpf (yes, really) brothers amassed the largest collection of Bugattis ever. There is at least one specimen of every model Bugatti ever made. I think of one or two models, they have all of them that were ever made. Plus prototypes, original tools from the factory and whatnot.
As the museum is in Alsace, you can round off your visit with excellent food and wine.
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There’s a reason for that…
This electric car is not round but is about the same weight, speed and autonomy and is still built:
Buckminster Fuller had his own three-wheeled bubble car designed in the 1930’s. I can’t say I like the idea of steering via the one wheel in back though-- parking might be easy but high speeds might be trouble.
I’ve long been fascinated by the old bubble cars, micro-cars, and bicycle cars as they offer many insights into the possible design of open source locally-fabricated EVs. One of my favorites is the Czechoslovakian Velorex from the 1950s, a company also well known for making sidecars used by Harley Davidson motorcycles. It was based on a tubular steel space frame covered in leather. I’ve long thought this could have been a more practical successor to the failed Africar as an open source vehicle that could be made in the developing world.
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