ROBERT G. HOWARD wrote:
> There was such a car at that time. It's not included in my 1957
> Observers Book of the Automobile, but it was about then that there was
>
> one in the town where I lived. It was shaped like a disposable
> aircraft
> fuel tank, with plexiglass, side opening top. Seated two, one behind
> the
> other. Two wheels forward, outside the body but covered with cycle
> fenders and, I think, one wheel aft that was the drive wheel.
> Since VWs, Mercedes, BMW, Auto-Union, Borgward, Isettas and others
> were
> coming into the US at that time, my guess would be that its purpose
> was
> not to get around import restrictions, rather to provide
> least-expensive
> enclosed wheels for the home market.
> Bob
> On Wed, 27 Aug 1997 06:02:00 -0500 john.kahoon@pcohio.com (John
> Kahoon)
> writes:
> > Here's one, slightly off topic . A friend of a friend gota hold of a
>
> >Motorcycle/car thing ( as he descibed it ) made by the Messerschmidt
> >aircraft company during the early 50's. He said it was made into a
> >Car/motorcycle thing, due to some kind of import restrictions by the
They were imported into San Diego in 58 or 59, along with the Isettas. I
was stationed at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot at the time.
One of the fellow instructors in our Radio Relay Course bought one.
Seats were for-and-aft and it had a plexiglass cockpit cover. One day he
was on his way to a parade that we were in and spotted another one of
our crew on his way to the parade ground. Good guy that he was, George
stopped and offerred to give Cpl. Leach a ride. When he climbed in he
automatically placed his rifle butt on the deck (floor) with the rifle
upright between his knees. You can probably picture what happened when
George reached over and pulled the canopy over the top. Yep! One great
big hole through the plexiglass. The razzing never did stop.
lbc aspect: Got to San Diego from Massachusetts in a 52TD,
(honeymooning).
Bud Krueger, OF
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