Found for sale: Weird green microcar!

"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv) 04/10/2020 at 11:45 • Filed to: Unnecessary Car Shopping

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It’s called an HMV Fr eeway (although the thought of actually driving one on the freeway is terrifying), it was manufactured from 1979 to 1982, and they built about 700 of them. They were said to get between 60 and 100 mpg depending on speed, and most of them came with either a single-cylinder 12 or 16 hp Tecumesh engine. They are not fast. Th ey are not comfortable. They only have enough space for you and a couple grocery bags. However, they are microcars, and that means that they are a hoot! The buy it now price   for this one is $6,000 , which sounds like a lot of money for what you get (heck, that’s more than what I initially paid for my Thunderbird) , but when you consider that a lot of the more desirable classic microcars like BMW Isettas and Messerschmitts go for $2 0,000+, then the price starts to look a little bit better. Plus, this one appears to have a dinosaur sticker on the window, and that’s gotta count for something!

So if you like microcars, mpgs, and the color green, you can find this HMV Freeway for sale here:

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XJDano > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 11:55

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Hayabusa swap!!! 

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 11:56

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Oh neat!

The buy it now price for this one is $6,000

Hard no.

I love the idea of something like this (I think my partner still has a deposit down on an Elio) but $6k for a novelty car opens this up to a lot of competition .

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 11:56

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CP

Chariotoflove > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 11:59

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... but when you consider that a lot of the more desirable classic microcars like BMW Isettas and Messerschmitts go for $20,000+...

Nice try, but t his is not valuable by association. :p

Just Jeepin' > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 12:01

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Looks like this one isn’t for sale any longer, sadly.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/dumpity-1828682042

Kiltedpadre > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 12:03

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I’ve actually seen a few listings for these as of late. I hadn’t seen any that showed or mentioned issues with the shocks punching through the fiberglass before. I wonder what the story is behind that claim.

I actually saw one sitting beside another vehicle for sale that I posted here in the last couple weeks.

Jim Spanfeller > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 04/10/2020 at 12:06

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Yeah... Thing is, though, microcar enthusiasts seem to be willing to pay that much or more for cars like this. It’s absurd, but microcars are surprisingly expensive. 

Jim Spanfeller > Chariotoflove 04/10/2020 at 12:12

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Just sayin’, it’s a cheaper way to get into the microcar scene...

But yeah, they want $500 more for that car than what I paid for my Thunderbird, which is, of course, a significantly more substantial vehicle to say the least . If I had 6 grand burning a hole in my pocket, I wouldn’t be able to justify spending it on this, simply because I’ve got that comparison in my mind. 

Jim Spanfeller > XJDano 04/10/2020 at 12:12

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:D

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 12:34

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Cool! I would never pay $6000 for an American-built Microcar from that period as most of them were....well, to put it mildly....crap.

Would love to have it though! $6000 USD WOULD get you a far more capable and practical MINT Fiat 126p from Poland though, likely even including shipping!

Aging Wheels did a h ilarious video review on one of these awhile ago!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 12:52

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For whatever reason, I’ve seen five different listings for five different Freeways in the last week.

As far as taking one on the freeway, I don’t see why not. I was reading about GM’s displacement on demand system- for a 5000 pound truck, it only takes 40 horsepower to maintain speed on the highway. A Freeway II has a 700 pound curb weight, so let’s pretend cargo space exists and the pilot is very large, giving a loaded weight of 1000 pounds. If drag coefficients are similar, it should only take about 8 horsepower to maintain speed on the highway. This would do just fine.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 13:14

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But this could have a larger fart vent if you opened the rear hatch. Seems like a good deal to me.

ranwhenparked > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 13:38

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I always kind of liked Free-Ways, but the lack of highway capability is too limiting . I think they have a top speed of 65, and can only safely hold somewhere around 50-55 for cruising. Also no reverse gear.

Jim Spanfeller > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/10/2020 at 13:48

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Relative to body size, perhaps.... Although I think my Thunderbird is a bit more practical in most situations. I bet they’d make a fantastic team, with the Thunderbird being used for most things, and the HMV Freeway being used whenever possible so that the 60-100 mpg helps balance out the Thunderbird’s dismal mileage...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 13:51

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Yes but one is fun, comfortable, and relatively practical while the other only fun for short stints. I think I know which one would get used more. And if the T Bird broke you might have to drive the Freeway on the freeway, which is no bueno. 

Jim Spanfeller > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 04/10/2020 at 14:15

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After watching that video... WHY DO I WANT ONE EVEN MORE NOW? Probably because as a kid, I wanted to drive all the amusement park/fairgro und vehicles I ever rode in on public roads...

Jim Spanfeller > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 04/10/2020 at 14:19

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True. Guess I’ll just have to keep saving for an I setta...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 14:28

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That’s why I love small, basic cars like the original FIAT 500, Ci troen 2CV, Trabant, and FIAT 126p so much...they would be a laugh at any speed :P

Also, Aging Wheels is hilarious, go check out his Trabant series videos as well! The video where he rallycrosses it is especially amusing! :D

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzV2uljPvyAe1K8ArgPHGBmfZ7Y-7JKhv

carcrasher88 > Jim Spanfeller 04/10/2020 at 14:32

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6k seems a bit steep for this, IMHO. Knock it down to $3,500 and find me a Honda Grom engine and transmission to swap in (they get 135 mpg, apparently, and can hit the 55mph speed limit), and we can talk.