"Jonee" (Jonee)
04/08/2016 at 15:14 • Filed to: Microcars
6
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"Jonee" (Jonee)
04/08/2016 at 15:14 • Filed to: Microcars | 6
| 34 |
Every summer up near Boston, my friend Charles Gould puts on one of the best car shows in America, The Gould Microcar Classic. It’s a weekend of fun and tiny old cars. One of the highlights is a show on the lawn at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline. Here are a bunch of pictures from the 2007 gathering that I rescued from my old Macbook. That’s Mr. Gould’s front lawn up there. Those are all his cars. He might have the biggest collection of micros in America now that the museum is Georgia is gone. If you’re an American Pickers fan, you may remember the episode where Mike and Frank visit his storage warehouse.
Nice 3 cyl. Berkeley. I can’t remember what that other little red sportscar is on the right.
Skoda Felicia. Not quite micro, but oddball enough to fit in.
Renault 4CV. I hope it found a loving home.
I don’t remember what this old Auto Union was called, but it’s adorable.
Fiats 5 and 600
Early Fiat Topolino, Italy’s first postwar car.
Fiat based Autobianchi Bianchina Giardiniera
A pair of rare, Australian Goggomobil Buckle Darts and a BMW 700.
The Buckle Dart, the world’s slowest sports car.
3 English Berkeleys
Subaru 360. This one has the rare auto-clutch. I got to drive it around all weekend and it was a trip.
A Peel P50 replica from the Lane Museum. This is the only way to make it look big-ish.
Harley Topper scooter with child swallowing sidecar.
Vespa 400
Mazda R360. This one is one of a handful of LHD R360's built for the island of Okinawa where they drove on the correct side of the road because of all the American servicemen there.
Fuck Tesla. This is how you do minimal. The fuel gauge is a stick attached to the gas cap.
Before Smarts were exported here, they were a fascinating curiosity. This is one of the few that were federalized by Zap Cars.
The ass end of a Bond Bug.
AC Invacar. These could be leased from the British government by disabled veterans.
The amazing Messerschmitt Tiger
Goggomobil Coupé
Inside Charles’s storage space which is literally wall to wall microcars. That’s an HMV Freeway in the foreground.
Fuji Rabbit Superflow, the Cadillac of vintage scooters.
Goggomobil van
A bug-eyed U.S. spec Goggomobil sedan on the left.
This is the wacky Maico Mobil scooter that was sold to the American Pickers guys.
The easiest way to store your Peel is up on a shelf where you can reach it.
Another LHD Mazda R360 that was discovered rotting away in Delaware of all places.
View of Mazda R360 from Subaru 360 cockpit.
Hope you enjoyed that! Microcars are the best.
tiltz
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:18 |
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Fantastic, thanks for sharing!
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:23 |
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I love all the microcars. I really want to own several. I mean, they don’t take up much space.
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Jonee
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/08/2016 at 15:30 |
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They’re like French fries. You can’t have just one. I had 5 at one point and I live in an apartment. 2 were in my garage, 2 in a storage space, and one in the living room.
RallyWrench
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:31 |
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Glad you dug these pictures up, what a cool gathering! I think I just fell in love with the Darts.
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Jonee
> RallyWrench
04/08/2016 at 15:35 |
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They’re so cool. I did a post on Buckle a while back if you’re interested. They were fibreglass pioneers.
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/fiberglass-dow…
smobgirl
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:36 |
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oh god oh god oh god oh god I just can't handle this post
jjhats
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:39 |
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awesome post. I don’t see any 360 vans :(
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Jonee
> smobgirl
04/08/2016 at 15:39 |
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Deep breaths. I know. They get my heart fluttering, too. If you’re anywhere near Boston in July, I can’t recommend going to this enough.
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Jonee
> jjhats
04/08/2016 at 15:41 |
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Yeah, no Subaru vans that year, unfortunately. The Goggo kind of makes up for it.
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jjhats
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:43 |
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true that. any idea why so many of these have suicide doors?
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Jonee
> jjhats
04/08/2016 at 15:45 |
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Easier to get in and out of when the car is that small since the door can open wider is what I’ve always felt was the reason.
Shmevans
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 15:49 |
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Awesome post. Looks like a cool little event. That light blue Vespa 400 really does it for me.
Cé hé sin
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/08/2016 at 16:07 |
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Bring quite a lot of money. If a Tiger takes your fancy they go for six figures.
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Cé hé sin
04/08/2016 at 16:09 |
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I just want a Subaru 360 van, a 500 Jolly and a 2cv
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Cé hé sin
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/08/2016 at 16:19 |
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Sadly, you’ll still need to bring lots of money for a Jolly.
The others, not so much.
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Jonee
> Shmevans
04/08/2016 at 16:28 |
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Thanks. Those little Vespas are awesome. Maybe the smoothest shifting transmission I’ve ever driven.
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smobgirl
> Jonee
04/08/2016 at 16:51 |
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It'll have to happen at some point. I'd love to go this year but I doubt my friend in that area would agree to that as her bachelorette party.
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Jonee
> smobgirl
04/08/2016 at 17:13 |
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Some friend.
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> Cé hé sin
04/08/2016 at 18:51 |
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Yeah I know. Or just secretly chop up a rusty regular 500
Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/09/2016 at 04:29 |
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What an event, the smell of two stroke make’s it’s way straight up into my nose!
No idea what that red car behind the Berkeleys is, looks British?
That Auto Union is a late ‘30's DKW F5 ‘Front Luxus Sport‘ Roadster.
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Jonee
> Jobjoris
04/10/2016 at 03:13 |
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It’s a great show. I love the smell of two-stroke in the morning. Remember that quote?
It’s not British, actually. Here’s another shot. I figured it out.
Ah, thanks. Did you look it up, or do you really know your pre-war DKW’s? It’s a really handsome car.
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Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/10/2016 at 12:30 |
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I remember that quote from Apocalypse Never . Ah, Italian! Another Bertone: Siata’s Amica.
I knew it was an F5, had to look up the name of this convertible.
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Jonee
> Jobjoris
04/11/2016 at 02:53 |
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Yeah, I wasn’t thinking Siata. I forget about them. It’s a pretty little car. Sometimes forget Bertone did cars like that.
Oh, look at you Mr. Don’t Know Anything About Prewar Cars.
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Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/11/2016 at 05:18 |
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Haha, you’re forgetting 3 things:
I did a bit of research on the DKW Monza recently for that LaLD-piece
My late grandfather had DKW’s before he turned to the dark side (Simca)
WE HAD A DKW MUSEUM OVER HERE!!!
And I start to know more about ‘m anyway...
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Jonee
> Jobjoris
04/12/2016 at 00:48 |
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Excuse me, Mr. DKW Authority. I know where to go for all my Das Kleine Wunder info now. Or, do you prefer Des Knaben Wunsch ?
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Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/12/2016 at 05:17 |
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I prefer the actual name it comes from: Deutsche Kinder Wagen . Or was it somewhat Danish?
Nauraushaun
> Jonee
04/12/2016 at 07:37 |
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I hate when cars at shows like this are in poor condition, and it’s because it’s just not worth performing expensive maintenance on them.
You see the same thing at Japanese car shows. There are those in attendance that love their 3rd gen Prelude, and keep it stock, and maintain it...but it’s not worth them fixing the 25 year old paint and returning it to showroom condition because nobody will ever pay money for them...
:(
If only everything could get the respect that old American cars get.
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Jonee
> Nauraushaun
04/12/2016 at 13:38 |
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Microcars have actually exploded in value since this show. That blue Messerschmitt Tiger is now a six figure car. Cars like these were worth almost nothing for the longest time, but people finally realized how interesting they are and that there aren’t many survivors. So, I think they get the love and attention they deserve now.
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Nauraushaun
> Jonee
04/12/2016 at 19:24 |
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Hooray! It will happen to the Japanese cars from the 90s too. Once all the kids who love them grow up and get money, and the cars start to disappear, values will go up. And we’ll all regret selling our old Nissans!
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Jonee
> Nauraushaun
04/12/2016 at 20:04 |
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I think it’s starting to happen already with unmolested cars.
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Jonee
> Jobjoris
04/13/2016 at 00:40 |
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The founder was Danish, but he called the first toy he made Das Kleine Wunder and that’s where DKW came from. At least, that’s the story I and Wikipedia remember.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW
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Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/13/2016 at 04:13 |
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I remember something about Dampf Kraft Wagen as well. It started way before the two-stroke!
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Jonee
> Jobjoris
04/14/2016 at 00:51 |
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Huh. I guess it stood for whatever they felt like at the time. Not way before. It was just two years.
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Jobjoris
> Jonee
04/14/2016 at 05:42 |
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“JUST” TWO YEARS? How old are you???
That’s less then I thought to be honest...