People Powered - Velocars, Microcars, the Wars & the Mochets

"Jonee" (Jonee) 09/12/2014 at 13:36 • Filed to: Mochet, microcars, velocar, recumbent bicycle, French

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The other day I wrote about !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! where Bill Buckle Jr. took the import car business his father started to a new level. Today's father and son team are Charles and Georges Mochet, a pair of innovators who helped put France on wheels in the first half of the 20th century.

Have you ever seen one of those dumb looking bicycles where the rider leans back with his feet pedaling away in front of him like he's on a rolling Barcalounger? Those are !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and they were invented in the 19th century, but perfected by Charles Mochet in the years after WWI. Much like after the second world war, Europe was in shambles. Cars were already prohibitively expensive, so most people got around by bike or horse. Mochet was a self-taught engineer who thought he could improve on both, and so the velocar was born.

Mochet's genius was taking the recumbent bicycle, mounting it in a lightweight frame with a plywood body around it, and adding a wheel or two. Voilá , a human powered car! You can double your person-power by widening the seat and adding another set of pedals. Most bicycles at the time were quite stiff and heavy, but Mochet made his velocar frame tubular to save weight, so the cars were really not much heavier than a normal bike. Plus, you were out of the rain and could bring someone to talk to.

The pedals were connected by chains to an intermediate driveshaft located under the seats. From there, two chains with different gear ratios drove the rear axle. The gears were selected with a small lever under the driver's seat that connected to an interesting clutch system. Mochet kept making improvements, adding a third gear and then a separate chain that was permanently engaged. It turned on a freewheel whenever one of the other gears was engaged, and acted as first gear when the lever was positioned in neutral.

As bicycles at the time got more gears, so did velocars finally getting up to 5 in 1940.

The rear wheel hubs had unusual drum brakes with the shoes and linings on the outside of the drum. When you squeezed the brake handle, the brakes squeezed the drum.

The Velocars were quite popular, believe it or not. They weren't built by the thousands by any means, but people used them on holiday, to go to work, or to the store.

You could get one with a little pickup-like box on the back to use as a delivery vehicle.

There were even flimsy trailers you could pull with it.

They filled an untapped market at only 2500 to 3900 Francs. At around twice the price, the cheapest cars of the time were chain driven cycle cars, but they were not particularly reliable. No motor = no worries.

Still, this didn't stop Charles from trying his hand at building his own cycle car. He used the same plywood and simple frame design of the velocars, made it look a little more like a real car, and added a 350cc engine of his own design. It was primitive, but serviceable.

200 were produced, but it wasn't the success Mochet was hoping for, so he went back to concentrating on the velocars. After the start of the Depression, he made one more brief foray into motorized vehicles with what was basically a velocar with a Mochet designed 175cc two-stroke engine under the seats. He called it the Ptitauto and after only 10 cars, and the scuttling of a deal with Simca to license and produce the cars fell through, Charles stopped production and again went back to only pedal power. This is when things started to get interesting.

Chuck noticed two things. First, the recumbent position made cycling much easier on the cycler. You weren't hunched forward over handlebars, so breathing was easier, plus, even without bodywork, you were much more aerodynamic leaning back with the center of gravity near the back wheel as opposed to forward. Velocars were quick, at least on flat ground, but cornered poorly. The second thing he learned was that even 2,500 francs was too expensive for a lot of folks during a depression, so many people were still on bikes. And, Charles figured if they were going to bike, they should be on his bikes. So, he downsized the velocar, cutting it in half and removing the body and, voilá , a bicycle!

Recumbent bicycles had never been popular because, well, they were weird, but also, no one had really figured out how to make them work right until Mochet. The velocar's cornering issue was lessened with only two wheels making the "velo-velocars" as Charles called them, blisteringly fast. To prove this, Mochet had the design certified by cycling's governing bodies and got a cyclist named Francis Faure to race it.

In 1933, Faure broke a 20 year old hour record by going 45.055 km in 60 minutes. Manufacturers of normal slow bicycles were shocked and lobbied to have recumbents banned. They even got Faure's record stripped because he was a "Category 2" cyclist and certified records could only be held by "Category 1" riders. Since they were the establishment, they prevailed and a new definition of racing bicycle was ratified, excluding velo-velocars. Charles Mochet protested the new rules until the day he died. Which, unfortunately, was about two months later. So, the recumbent remained a curiosity, fading from memory only to be resurrected by hippies in the 1970's.

But, the velocars kept the company alive. After Charles's death, his son, Georges took over without a stop in production. Georges had pretty much grown up in the Mochet factory. His father taught him everything he knew. That's little Georges on the left in the picture from 1925 of the first three velocars made. They became a necessity as WWII closed in and gasoline became non-existent. It's said families escaped occupied Paris by night sneaking away in silent velocars.

Suddenly, velocars were not just for the poor. Mochet actually pumped out as many velocars during Nazi occupation as they did in the 16 years prior. Velocars were so simple and used little resources, so the Mochet factory was one of the few that remained open. The market was all theirs since a velocar was the only new vehicle you could buy. People even started putting little moped engines in them and re-selling them with the Mochet badge replaced.

After the war, Georges knew people weren't going to want to pedal their car any more. But, they'll still need transportation. Velocars had really only been a cottage industry. The company had dipped its toes in the automobile business, but Georges was more ambitious than his father. Unfortunately, Europe was back in a postwar mess. So, Georges took the lead from many of his customers who had added little motors to help on hills, and Mochet started selling velocars with 100cc engines in addition to pedals. Cars 125cc and under were sans-permis , which meant they could be driven without a driver's license, so manufacturing them was virtually regulation-free. Georges got to work designing a proper microcar without pedals and, in 1947, the type K was released. It had a fully metal body, one headlight, three on the tree chain driven tranny, and a Zurcher 125cc engine giving it a top speed of 50 kph. It was terrible as far as cars go, but Mochet was now officially an automobile manufacturer, one of only three French microcar marques. The cars sold because they were all that was available.

In 1948, the Citroen 2CV debuted at the Paris Auto Show and was pretty huge and sophisticated next to Mochet's tiny and primitive offering. Georges had designed a slightly larger car with suspension in front AND back he called the CM 125. CM stood for Charles Mochet whose name was still on the build plate of every vehicle the company made. The CM 125 became Mochet's biggest success to date. It had the same Zurcher 125 as the K and was crude, slow, had no doors, kick start, terrible tires, no reverse, still rode like crap, only seated two (barely), cost 35,000 more francs than the Citroen, and sold like hotcakes— er soufflés . Why? Well, you still didn't need a driver's license to use it, and you could get one pretty much right away as opposed to waiting several years for the 2CV.

Like with the velocars, utility versions were made with a little pickup bed in back. Some even had a van-like enclosed box. Mochet would also make modified controls for disabled veterans. Georges kept making improvements to the car. He added comforts like electric start and, for the first time in a Mochet vehicle, reverse gear! A Grand Luxe model was introduced in 1952 costing 40,000 more francs than the standard CM. This featured a much more modern looking 2-door body with roll-back soft top. It's actually quite charming.

In 1953, Mochet made a special edition with a 175cc Ydral engine in it, for the first time offering a car you actually needed a license to drive. A small number were sold to people too impatient to wait for their Renault or Citroen. In '54 Mochet ceased making the wire wheeled base CM, producing only the Grande Luxe body, dropping the price and calling it the CM 125Y. The front grille thing was replaced with a curved metal piece that looks like it's stickling its tongue out coquettishly. A larger delivery van or pickup could now be had and, eventually, production of the regular cars stopped and only the commercial vehicles were made.

Mochet produced 30 to 40 vehicles a month. A pretty good clip for a microcar manufacturer in those days. In 1958, regulations changed and 50cc's became the cutoff for sans-permis cars. Mochet lost its market in one fell swoop. Despite building one prototype for a good looking 750cc roadster, Georges shut the factory down.

After producing cars for 24 years outside Paris, Georges moved to Pont-a-Mousson where he became an engineer in a factory that produced agricultural equipment. Despite his importance to the French auto industry, he toiled in obscurity until he retired when he was rediscovered pedaling a velo-velocar along the Mediterranean.

Doctor Shieldsy > Jonee 09/12/2014 at 19:33

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Very cool story! So interesting about the xenophobic cycling establishment dooming the recumbent design.

NSUAnglia > Jonee 09/12/2014 at 19:37

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I wish these hubcaps came back in style.

1111111111111111111111 > Jonee 09/12/2014 at 19:38

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Awesome! I've been planning a side by side bike, for cozy winter riding, etc... but never knew the history that existed. Now I've got some reading to do.

hismiths > Doctor Shieldsy 09/12/2014 at 20:16

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In 2011 I succumbed to a life-long dream and at 68 rode solo across the US, Port Ludlow,WA to Kittery, ME, with my wife driving gear and acting as concierge. I chose a recumbent for the comfort, and the better view ... you look out at the road and horizon, instead of at the pavement.

In most respects it was a wise choice, but ... 'bents SUCK on hills. Some days I hiked the bike as much as I rode it.

hismiths > Doctor Shieldsy 09/12/2014 at 20:16

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In 2011 I succumbed to a life-long dream and at 68 rode solo across the US, Port Ludlow,WA to Kittery, ME, with my wife driving gear and acting as concierge. I chose a recumbent for the comfort, and the better view ... you look out at the road and horizon, instead of at the pavement.

In most respects it was a wise choice, but ... 'bents SUCK on hills. Some days I hiked the bike as much as I rode it.

T5Killer > Jonee 09/12/2014 at 20:25

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I love they way this one looks.

Jonee > NSUAnglia 09/12/2014 at 20:38

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You can get Mooneyes. Maybe paint them which I don't know if I've ever seen.

RaggedMile > T5Killer 09/12/2014 at 22:56

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It's like a pedal car Prowler.

FirstBlood > Jonee 09/13/2014 at 01:41

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Uhh are the French dudes in the video pullin a baby out of the "trunk"?

Jonee > FirstBlood 09/13/2014 at 02:03

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Ha. That's an engine back there.

FirstBlood > Jonee 09/13/2014 at 04:02

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ya,just jokin

46 and 2 > RaggedMile 09/13/2014 at 15:12

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Only better looking. In fact, dramatically better looking than the Prowler.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/29/2014 at 08:09

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Nice story!

After producing cars for 24 years outside Paris, Georges moved to Pont-a-Mousson where he became an engineer in a factory that produced agricultural equipment.

The same company that made the (manual) gearboxes and engines for Facel? Hope he wasn't involved in the development of the engine that became the end of Facel...

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/29/2014 at 12:21

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That's a good question. I wonder if it was the same company that was connected to Facel. Pont-a-Mousson was an industrial town apparently, so it may not have been.

Jobjoris > Jonee 09/30/2014 at 04:25

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Pont-a-Mouson also was the name of a metallurgy company in that region, which built the 1.6 4-cylinder engine of the Facel Vega Facellia. That engine was so bad that waranty-claims - amongst others - led to the end of Facel Vega.

Only thing I can found about George Mochet's work after his own company online is this at Bruce Weiner's Microcar Museum . Reading the context of the article I suppose he went to the company Pont-a-Mouson.

Jonee > Jobjoris 09/30/2014 at 12:55

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They started out making the transmissions, didn't they? I got the info about Pont-a-Mousson from this book about Mochet, but it only says the same thing as the Weiner web page. It doesn't mention Facel, so it may have been a different company. But, his father did design a couple motors, apparently, so you never know.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Jobjoris > Jonee 10/01/2014 at 01:48

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The way the Weiner-site claims that cousin Alexander Laurant went to 'Company X' (Citroën in this case) does suggest they don't mean the region when claiming George went to 'Pont-a-Mouson', that's all I can think of. Can't find much about it online. I could contact Saint-Gobain (the company that took over Pont-a-Mousson, maybe I'll just do this!

Pont-a-Mouson made the manual transmissions for the first Facel Vegas. When Jean Daninos developed a new, smaller car (the Facellia) he wanted to create a completely French car so the Chrysler engines used in the FV and HK500 were no longer expedient.

I really like the Microcars-series you've written!

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/01/2014 at 02:14

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If we can find out if they also made agricultural equipment at that Pont-a-Mousson, that would answer the question. That was originally a 6 cylinder engine that they cut down to 4, right?

Glad you like the microcar posts. I'm trying to figure out which car to do next. Let me know if you have any requests. I'm going to do Fulda at some point, and maybe Goggomobil, too. The French Rovin is one I'm trying to research as well. It was such a pretty little car.

Jobjoris > Jonee 10/01/2014 at 12:12

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I always thought that 1.6 was a newly developed engine, I doubt it was a cut-down 6. I left a message at Saint-Gobain, don't know if they'll respond. I'd better try it again in French if they don't ;-)

Requests (not sure what the definition of a Microcar is):

- Daf 600/750/Daffodil

- Spatz Microcar (OF COURSE!!!)

- Frisky Family Three

- Messerschmitt KR200 !!!

That Rovin was extremely cool. If you need extra information about that I could contact the Louwman Museum for you, my brother works for the Louwman-company and I know they have a red '51 D4 in their collection.

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/01/2014 at 22:45

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This article implies it was a cut down six.

Pont-à-Mousson already providing excellent transmissions Facel Vega was therefore retained as they had in their boxes a study of a six-cylinder due to Carlo Marchetti. It was therefore reduced by two cylinders and reduced to 1.6 liters.

It could be that it was reduced in the design phase before they had actually built one.

Wow, that's maybe the most impressive car museum on Earth. I used to work at one outside Boston that was similar in concept, but much much smaller. I'd love to know what he knows about Rovin. There isn't all that much written about the company. Their cars were so well built for what they were they kind of put themselves out of business.

I covered the Spatz a bit in my Brütsch article. That was another very well contructed and designed micro. I'm definitely going to do the Frisky and 'Schmitt and I'll give the Daf a go. The story of them coming to America is an interesting angle. "The Dutch Took the Clutch" was the slogan.

Jobjoris > Jonee 10/02/2014 at 03:37

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une étude d'un six cylindres due à Carlo Marchetti

The six was just a 'study', never reached production. If they had they knew how troublesome it was anyway when it comes to cooling and oil-burning. But technically you're right: a cut-down six ;-)

The Louwman is an awesome museum! And being this good lot's of enthousiasts and clubs know how to get there and often gather there and only they are allowed to park 'centre court' creating amazing sceneries. Last time I was there some bunch of Lancia/Ferrari-enthousiasts showed up. If you're ever going to visit it just drop a line, I'll drive up there as well. At the moment there is no special exhibition (like that Martini-exhibition) though. They have quite some microcars as well:

This is the only picture I took which consists of multiple microcars, the one in front is NOT a real Fuldamobil, it's a Fulda-licensed 'Bambino' built in the Netherlands. And yes: That's a Spatz on the right behind the 'Schmitt!

I'll drop a line to see if we can get you in touch with the conservator of the Museum or someone who knows more about the Rovin.

And I never knew the DAF made it to the US!!!!

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/03/2014 at 01:30

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That's an incredible collection at that museum. It's great to see a Bambino. I've never seem one in person. I actually had an NWF 200 for a little while. NWF was another German company that licensed that model Fulda. It was such a neat car, but it had been in an accident and needed a lot of difficult body work.

Let me know if anyone does know more of the Rovin story than the basic stuff that's out there. I'd like to know more about Mr. Rovin himself.

We did indeed get a few Dafs over here. They weren't a big success, but people who got them loved them.

http://www.daf.dse.nl/usa-history.ht…

Jobjoris > Jonee 10/08/2014 at 07:35

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Great site, again: Never new this about DAF going to the States, and they had quite some dealers over there as well according to the pictures!

I've gotten some documentation on 'De Rovin' for you. It's an article in Dutch and a technical French 'revue'.

The Dutch article is 4 pages with pictures (3rd/4th page is quite some text). I'll try to translate it for you this weekend. The French article is more technical but that one is still 'en route', I'll get back to you on that one.

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/09/2014 at 01:07

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That's awesome. Thanks! Obviously a word for word translation isn't necessary, but a good summary of everything would be so appreciated.

I'm working on researching the Daf America story, so stay tuned. I'm out of town this week, but when I get back I'm going to try and put something together.

Jobjoris > Jonee 10/09/2014 at 03:35

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Will do (the translation-part). Provide me with your email-address and I'll get back to you after the weekend.

Jonee > Jobjoris 10/11/2014 at 04:13

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Many thanks. fuldamobil at gmail dot com of course

MrGJS > hismiths 12/05/2014 at 05:32

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At 65 I began riding an ICE Adventure trike and have loved every minute on it. As for hills, I live in the Peak District in Derbyshire and so far I have not found a hill the trike can't handle. OK, it is slow but I just keep going with no fear of falling over. If you have a dealership near you I suggest you give one a try, it may well be a revelation. All the best. Graeme

Andrew > hismiths 12/05/2014 at 18:33

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Firstly, a solo ride across the U.S. is impressive at any age, but my hat is off to you for your accomplishment.

Secondly, not all "'bents suck on hills". I welcome you to take my Cruzbike Silvio out for a spin anytime. I think you'll be more than impressed.

hismiths > Andrew 12/06/2014 at 10:47

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Andrew, let me restate. 'Bent BICYCLES suck on hills. It's not the hillclimbing that is the problem, but the lack of balance at low-low speeds

Jugstopper > Jonee 12/24/2014 at 19:55

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What's up with the blacked-out headlights on these cars?

Jonee > Jugstopper 12/24/2014 at 19:59

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I'm not sure of the date of that photo, but it could be from during the War which would explain it.

Sixtimestodaysofar > Doctor Shieldsy 07/17/2015 at 07:26

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...as it continues to block innovation to this very day...

Sixtimestodaysofar > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 07:40

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Not exactly a smooth Moon, but Moon Saturns that I bought at the Santa Fe Springs store for my VW woodie in Brazil. Bottom photo shows it plain, top painted in copper, shaded in pearl, with Candy Apple Red wheel and orange pinstripe.

Mustang 'DontHitTheCrowd' GT > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 11:21

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Disregard the constabulary!

Ladymopar > Sixtimestodaysofar 07/17/2015 at 13:03

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Those are cool!!