Editing Microcar (section)

== Europe 1940–1970: Microcars ==
The first cars to be described as microcars (earlier equivalents were called voiturettes or cyclecars) were built in the United Kingdom and Germany following World War II, and remained popular until the 1960s. They were originally called minicars, but later became known as microcars.

[[France]] also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called [[voiturette]]s, but they were rarely sold abroad.

=== Characteristics ===
Microcars have three or four wheels, although most were three-wheelers which, in many countries, meant that they qualified for lower taxes and were licensed as [[motorcycle]]s.<ref name= "microcars at large"/> Another common characteristic is an [[displacement (engine)|engine displacement]] of less than {{convert|700|cc|cuin|0|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite web |title=About RUM (Register of Unusual Microcars) |url=http://www.rumcars.org/a-about.html |website=www.rumcars.org |access-date=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref name= "microcars at large">{{cite book |last1=Quellin |first1=Adam |title=Microcars at Large! |date=2015 |publisher=Veloce |isbn=9781845848873 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mw62CgAAQBAJ |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Bubblecar Museum and {{as written|i|t's [sic]}} collection |url=http://www.bubblecarmuseum.co.uk/the-bubblecar-museum-and-its-collection/ |website=www.bubblecarmuseum.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> although several cars with engines up to {{convert|1000|cc|cuin|0|abbr=on}} have also been classified as microcars.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Vintage Microcar Club Membership Page |url=http://www.microcar.org/membership.html |website=www.microcar.org |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="The A-Z of popular Scooters">{{cite book |last1=Dan |first1=Mike |title=The A-Z of popular Scooters & Microcars: Cruising in style! |date=2015 |publisher=Veloce Publishing Ltd |isbn=9781845848750 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZdpCgAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>{{refpage|page=7}} Often, the engine was originally designed for a motorcycle.<ref name="rideapart.com">{{cite web |title=Experience Microcar History In Mazomanie, WI |url=https://www.rideapart.com/articles/254172/experience-microcar-history-in-mazomanie-wi/ |website=www.rideapart.com |access-date=16 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

=== History ===
Microcars originated in the years following [[World War II]], when [[motorcycle]]s were commonly used.<ref name="British Microcars">{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Duncan |title=British Microcars, 1947-2002. |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1784422790 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob9RDwAAQBAJ|date=2018-06-28 }}</ref>{{refpage|page=7}} To provide better weather protection, three-wheeled microcars began increasing in popularity in the United Kingdom, where they could be driven using only a motorcycle licence.<ref name= "microcars at large"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Legal & MOT's |url=http://www.micromaniacsclub.co.uk/legal%20&%20mot's.htm |website=www.micromaniacsclub.co.uk |access-date=28 December 2018}}</ref> One of the first microcars was the 1949 [[Bond Minicar#Minicar 1949–51|Bond Minicar]].

Microcars also became popular in Europe. A demand for cheap personal motorised [[transport]] emerged, and their greater [[fuel efficiency]] meant that microcars became even more significant when fuel prices rose, partly due to the [[Suez Crisis|1956 Suez Crisis]].<ref name="rideapart.com" /><ref name="microcarmuseum.com">{{cite web |title=Museum Information |url=http://www.microcarmuseum.com/info.html |website=www.microcarmuseum.com |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref>

The microcar boom lasted until the late 1950s, when larger cars regained popularity.<ref name="microcarmuseum.com"/><ref name="motortrend.com">{{cite web |title=The History of the Microcar at Petersen Automotive Museum |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-history-of-the-microcar-at-petersen-automotive-museum-736/ |website=Motor Trend |access-date=19 December 2018 |date=15 June 2007}}</ref> The 1959 introduction of the [[Mini]], which provided greater size and performance at an affordable price, contributed to the decline in popularity of microcars.<ref name= "microcars at large"/> Production of microcars had largely ceased by the end of the 1960s, due to competition from the [[Mini]], [[Citroën 2CV]], [[Fiat 500]] and [[Renault 4]].

<gallery widths="200" heights="150">
С-1А.jpg|1952–1958 [[SeAZ|SMZ S-1L]]
Messerschmitt Kabinenroller.jpg|1955–1964 [[Messerschmitt KR200]]
BMW Isetta - Bad Wörishofen (2015-08-29 3164 b).jpg|1959–1962 [[BMW Isetta]]
1965 Peel P50, The World's Smallest Car (Lane Motor Museum).jpg|1962–1965 [[Peel P50]]
</gallery>

=== Bubble cars ===
{{Redirect|Bubble car|the British rail vehicle|British Rail Class 121}}
Several microcars of the 1950s and 1960s were nicknamed ''bubble cars''.<ref>{{cite journal| date =  October 14, 1957 |  title =Babies on Wheels| journal = The Times | pages = 13| quote = In sunny weather too, bubble cars are inclined, like greenhouses, to become uncomfortably hot.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|date=April 1963 | title =65 MPH and 80 MPG-That's the Messerschmitt| journal = Motorcycle Mechanics | pages = 34–35 | quote = This bubble-car has a beetle-like outline }}</ref> This was due to the aircraft-style bubble canopies of vehicles such as the [[Messerschmitt KR175]], [[Messerschmitt KR200]] and the [[FMR Tg500]]. Other microcars, such as the [[Isetta]], also had a bubble-like appearance.

German manufacturers of bubble cars included former military aircraft manufacturers [[Messerschmitt]] and [[Heinkel]]. [[BMW]] manufactured the Italian [[Iso Rivolta]] [[Isetta]] under licence, using an engine based on one from one of their own motorcycles.

The [[United Kingdom]] had licence-built right-hand-drive versions of the [[Heinkel Kabine]] and the [[Isetta]].  The British version of the Isetta was built with only one rear wheel, instead of the narrow-tracked pair of wheels in the normal Isetta design, in order to take advantage of the three-wheel vehicle laws in the United Kingdom. There were also indigenous British three-wheeled microcars, including the [[Peel Trident]].

Examples include the [[Citroën Prototype C]], [[FMR Tg500]], [[Fuldamobil]], [[Heinkel Kabine]], [[Isetta]], [[Messerschmitt KR175]], [[Messerschmitt KR200]], [[Peel P50]], [[Peel Trident]], [[SeAZ|SMZ S-1L]], [[Trojan (automobile)#Bubble and sports cars|Trojan 200]], and [[Kleinschnittger|Kleinschnittger F125]].