2001 Mazda Secret Hideout

Mazda's press release concerning this vehicle:

The Secret Hideout compact concept vehicle is designed to capture childlike thrills and excitement in a vehicle and recreate them in the hearts of today's young people. Young people today are searching for something simple, gentle, friendly and relaxed. They choose from the sometimes confusing array of goods and information available, and coordinate their choices to create their own unique identities.

The Secret Hideout is designed to provide young people with excitement as well as a personalized retreat in which to ease the mind and heart. For that purpose, development aims included: a simple, friendly and warm design; a handmade feel focusing on individual details; and components that allow individual selection and coordination.

The Secret Hideout might have been designed to "capture childlike thrills and excitement" but I think it would have been every parents' nightmare.

PT Cruiser based limousine

 

1946 Hewson Rocket

Coachcraft Ltd was opened in Hollywood, California in 1940. They began building custom bodies. In 1945 William Hewson formed the company Hewson Pacific Corp. and made plans to produce the Hewson Rocket. He projected a price point of $1000. Coachcraft fabricated the aluminum panels and welded them together. Hewson's design was to be very aerodynamic with no projections from the body- glass covered headlights, no door handles and tail lights flush to the body. By the time the car was finished Hewson had run out of capital. Coachcraft kept the car in their showroom until a used car salesman bought it for $650 in a 1959 auction. Coachcraft is still in operation today by one of the founder's sons in Morepark, California. 

Narrow electric

This vehicle is based on a 1993 Fiat Pravda. It was built by Italian mechanic, Andrea Marazzi. It is 19" wide.

Happy Birthday, Nancy

 

Dyna-Panhard Junior

The Dyna-Panhard was in production from 1952 through 1956 and in that time approximately 4700 were produced. It was introduced in 1951 at the Paris Auto Show.

It featured front wheel drive and was powered by an air cooled 2 cylinder boxer type engine. During the production run the car went from a 745cc engine to one of 850cc and a few were fitted with a supercharger. Additional information is available on Wikipedia.

A delicate balance

 

Homegrown camper

 

Movin'

 

1969 Beetle limousine

 This beetle will be offered by Sotheby's on August 15th. The odometer is showing 4830 miles. The preauction estimate is $150-200,000. More information at Sothebys.com

Ford concept 021C

Presented as merely a design exercise and not a proposal for production. it was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1999.
 

The Spirit of Tomorrow

Two guys in their 20's from British Columbia with high school educations built the Spirit of Tomorrow in 1942. The story is told at Autoevolution and I have included the video from that site below.

1932 American Bantam

 Crossing the Pudding River (Oregon) in the 1930's

Opposite ends of the spectrum for modified Geo Metros

 

1953 Ford Vega roadster

Vincent E. Gardner was a designer of some renown. He was submitting car designs and winning contests while still in high school. He worked at Auburn Automobile Company before going to Studebaker to work under Raymond Lowey.

In 1947 he bought a new Studebaker Champion coupe and took it home to disassemble it. He turned it into the Gardner Special and in 1950 it won Most

Magnificent Custom Roadster at the National Roadster Show.

In 1951 he won a design contest sponsored by Motor Trend Magazine and Ford Motor Company with his Vega roadster. It was widely acclaimed and Ford was encouraged to put it into production. The fact that it was based on a (English) Ford Anglia chassis killed the project. The enthusiasm for the two seater roadster is credited for Ford introducing the Thunderbird in 1955.

The Oakland-San Francisco Bridge

The bridge generates $2,080,000 a day in tolls. The $8.00 toll is collected from 260,000 vehicles a day.

Porsche 911 four door

Long before the Porsche Panamera William Dick Jr. asked Porsche to build him a four door vehicle based on the 911. Mr. Dick was a Porsche distributor in Texas. Porsche refused his request so he contacted Troutman & Barnes, of Culver City, California. They were a famed prototype builder and happily produced the car he wanted.

East German VW bus knockoff

 

1933 Pierce-Arrow Model 1239 Silver Arrow

First seen at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. Powered by a 7.6 liter V12 with a three speed manual transmission. There were ten cars produced and they were priced at $10,000. In 1933 the average household income was $1550 and $5750 would purchase the average home.

1986 Citroen Eole concept

The Eole was designed entirely by computer. It was based on Citroen CX platform and had a 0.17 Drag Coefficient. The production CX had a Cd nearly twice that. Achieving a Cd of 0.17 requires extreme design measures like a highly streamlined shape, minimal frontal area, smooth underbody, and advanced aerodynamic features (e.g., active shutters, flush door handles). A new Honda Accord has a Cd of 0.26

Extra-Terrestrial kit car

Based on a Chevrolet Aveo (or others) this vehicle came from a company called "The Car Factory" in Florida. Carscoops reported in an article from 2009 that The Car Factory offered one on eBay with a Buy it Now price of $86,000.

Perhaps chaining your load would be a great idea?

 

1951 Studebaker Woody

This Studebaker began life as a four door sedan before becoming a woody fastback. The top was chopped 2 1/2" and the fenders were extended 18". Power is supplied by a 427 Ford. Additional information is available at Vintage News Daily.

The Nanico P50- The world's smallest car

The Nanico measures 51" in length, 54" tall and 30" wide. The platform is from a motorized wheelchair. The entire production time from drawings to finished car was less than a month. It is available with either a 50 or 100cc gasoline engine.

1960 Mazda R360

The Mazda 360 was the company's first passenger car. It had a 69.3 inch wheelbase and weighed 838 pounds. It was powered by a rear mounted air cooled V-twin engine with a 356 cc displacement. It was capable of 52 mph and came with either a four speed manual gearbox or a two-speed automatic. The suspension was front and rear rubber "springs" and torsion bars.

You never know where you might need a lift

 

BMW Alpina C1 318i

In 1981 this experimental vehicle participated in the Shell Economy Challenge. It is based on the E21 3 series and won its class by achieving 88mpg. 

Tandem Ebike

 

Trouble at the tracks

 

Refrigerated city transport

This rig made moving goods through the streets of Amsterdam a bit easier.

 

Early 50's Buick

Someone's bad day in 1942

I found this in an old family album from 1942. I believe it is a 1941 Pontiac. No explanation was included.

Subaru Tortoise

 I have posted about the Tortoise in the past but thought it was worth another post with additional information. It was a one-off car based on a Subaru 360 and it was made for a Japanese television show. Read about it here.

1954 Suminoe Flying Feather

 

Powered by a 12.5hp Nissan single cylinder engine. The wheels were modified motorcycle rim. The unibody construction was of very thin steel. It weighed 490 pounds. 200 were sold.

1950's full service

 

1954 Chic-ito

Leopold Garcia built this car in Bernalillo, New Mexico. Total cost came to $800 due to using mostly used and scrap materials. It was powered by a ford engine. It had an 80" wheelbase and weighed in at 2200 pounds.

 

1920's German snowmobile

1967 OSI Silver Fox Prototype

 

OSI was a highly respected but low volume coach builders in Italy during the 1960's. The Silver Fox was built in 1967 to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It debuted that year at the Turin Motor Show. It was powered by a 1 liter four cylinder Renault Alpine engine housed in the left pod to counter balance the weight of the driver in the right pod. It reached a top speed of 155mph. The fastest car in the world in 1967 was the Lamborgini Muira. It was powered by a 3.9 liter V12 and topped out at 173mph.

The Silver Fox didn't make it to the race track after completing a number of test runs. OSI went out of business early in 1968. There was only one car produced.

1953 Siata 208CS Balbo Berlinetta

The Siata was based on a Fiat platform and powered by a 2.0 liter V8. Carrozzeria Balbo was the coach builder using a Berlinetta body. Only a few of these cars were built.

1956 Leningrad Cabriolet

It is unusual to find a sports type vehicle with Russian origins. This vehicle has an interesting story not only from its inception but including its restoration. It is not unlike the extensive restoration to bring back the Jawa 750 I posted in March.

You can see additional photos and read about the Leningrad Cabriolet at Undiscovered Classis .

Almost the perfect solution

 

1976 Peugeot Peugette

Apparently Pininfarina was looking for work and used an existing Peugeot 104 platform to build the Peugette in hopes of appealing to the younger crowd. Apparently the concept was well executed but the timing was not right. Peugeot had just taken over the failing Citroen and had no interest in taking on a low volume convertible.

Biwak concept

 The Biwak was a concept from the design firm EDAG. It was based on the new Volkswagen Beetle and introduced at the 2006 Geneva Auto Show.