After Sir Herbert Austin established his reputation at the Wolseley Tool and Motor Co., he found backing for a venture based in Longbridge, England and successfully produced his own cars. Before the war, Austins were much larger cars of high quality. During the war, they manufactured everything from airplanes to artillery shells. A minor setback […]
Austin 7 “Fabric Saloon”- 1929 Read More »
The Mazda R360 was introduced in 1960 by the Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. of Hiroshima, Japan. Toyo Kogyo had been producing motorcycles since 1929 and in 1931 launched a three-wheel vehicle called the “Mazda-Go”. The Mazda-Go was the vehicle that launched the name Mazda to the world. The name Mazda comes from Ahura Mazda, the
The Shadow Racing team constructed the Shadow Box in 1974 for Universal Oil Products (now Honeywell UOP) as an intended experimental hybrid that was meant to utilize a Wankel rotary engine as a generator to charge batteries that powered electric motors. The lack of parts for development, issues with the Wankel rotary engines, and tightening
UOP Shadow Box- 1974 Read More »
The Enfield 8000 was created on the Isle of Wight by the Enfield company, owned by Greek shipping tycoon Giannis Goulandris. The Enfield had its roots in marine engine manufacturing before hiring an ex-Apollo space program engineer to design a new electric car for the company. The 8000 could obtain a maximum speed of 37mph,
Enfield E8000- 1975 Read More »
The Neracar was the design of Carl Neracher and produced by his company, Ner-A-Car Corporation, in Syracuse, New York. The unique features of a low-slung frame, friction-drive, and hub steering made the Neracar an easy to ride two-wheeler. Unlike motorcycles, these features made the vehicle extremely stable, easy to steer, and allowed for pass-through ingress
Dale Clifft, creator of the Clifft Commutercycle, invented the Go-Ped in the late 1970s. The Go-Ped is a power assisting device for manually operated vehicles, such as a bicycle, which takes the form of a motor which powers a driving wheel. The motor is mounted on a mounting frame, which is connected through a linkage
Clifft Go-Peds- 1978 Read More »
This homemade electric minibike was built by Richard Kulka of Mansfield, Ohio and used as his commuter vehicle for the two-mile ride from his home to the firehouse where he worked. It is believed to have been constructed using plans out of Popular Mechanics or another mechanical interest magazine of the period. The bike is
Electric Homemade Minibike- 1970 Read More »
This small, 49cc, two-wheeled enclosed scooter was made by little known Chinese scooter manufacturer Xingyue. The scooter is meant to achieve high gas mileage and be more practical in inclement weather with its full roof panel, similar to the company’s larger enclosed three-wheel 150cc scooters. Although not confirmed, it appears that Xingyue may have been
Xingyue Shanghai ScooterPOD- 2008 Read More »
