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Due in large part to the oil crisis of 1973, many startup American car companies were developing and producing electric cars in small numbers into the early 1980s. The Omega Electric Car Company of Huntington Beach, California, was one of these companies. They began building electric golf carts and utility vehicles in 1961. The Omega […]

In 1952, disabled Russian veterans of World War II (or the “Great Patriotic War” as it was called in the USSR) received their long-overdue motorized transportation in the form of a government provided open three-wheeler, the SL1. Built by a motorbike company in Serpukhov, the light vehicle proved that having only 3 wheels was an

The 1954 Bradshaw Utility Estate, a post-war prototype vehicle, was the brainchild of England’s Granville Bradshaw. Bradshaw is credited for many innovative engine designs, specifically the ABC (All British [Engine] Company) flat-twin engines. He also designed the Skootamota scooter, ABC’s Gnat and Wasp aeroengines of World War I, the radical oil-cooled engines used in the

Former SKF Bearing executives Gustav Larson and Assar Gabrielsson saw an opportunity to build cars in Sweden after WWI, and approached their former employer about using an underutilized factory. SKF liked the idea, and backed the pair for years, even allowing them to use a trademarked name, Volvo (Latin for “I roll”) for the new

The Espace debuted in 1984, the same year as the Dodge Caravan. Both were pioneers in the Multi-Purpose Vehicle market. Designs for the Espace had been floating around Chrysler (UK) and SIMCA (France) for nearly a decade, eventually landing at Matra, who finalized the design and manufactured them for Renault. The forward-slanting headlights and orange

The Citroën Visa, conceived in the early 1970s as Project Y2, was envisioned as a replacement for the Ami 8. Initially a joint venture with Fiat, Citroën was forced to redesign the car after its acquisition by Peugeot in 1976. The Peugeot 104 floorpan and engine, along with Citroën bodywork, “express the harmony of approach

Developed with the intent to offer a commercial vehicle with as low cost as possible, Tatra introduced the three-wheeled T-49 in 1930. There were two options available: a one-person freight version (seen below) and this two-seater personal transport model before you. T-49s retained the backbone chassis, with the vertical-mounted engine (in the passenger cars) attached

French inventor Charles Mochet 1880- 1934 had a passion for anything that rolled or flew while transporting people. When Georges, Mochet’s then 9-year-old son, repeatedly asked for a bicycle in 1923, his mother said no for fear he would injure himself. To please his son, Mochet built a lightweight recumbent quadricycle with reciprocating pedals. It