At this point I got excited, as I assumed she was going to finish with ‘RMB’, which is the Chinese currency. 40,000 RMB is around $7000 USD / $8000 CAD / 6000 euros. My excitement came crashing down when she said it was 40,000… euros! As much as I like the car, the price was a LITTLE steep, and I wasn't sure my bank card would agree, so I had to leave without making the deal. I took one last look at the car before going, and couldn't help once again picturing it as a sad doggy in the window, longing to go outside and play...
Paying attention really paid off the other night. I was taking a taxicab home after a late dinner, and was watching the city as it rolled by. All of a sudden I saw a flash of a little yellow car in a window, not too far from where I live. I barely had time to see it, but knew what it was right away: an Isetta. For those that don’t know it, an Isetta can’t be mistaken for any other car. It’s a tiny 2 seater egg-shaped car with a single door in the front. Produced from 1955 until 1962, the BMW version was one of several versions either copied or built under licence from ISO, an Italian manufacturer of scooters and 3-wheeled trucks. The Isetta is like no other car I know. It’s tiny. Really tiny. Only 2.29 m (7.5 ft) long and 1.37 m (4.5 ft) wide, it’s not hard to see how it earned the nickname ‘bubble car’. A single-cylinder engine under the seat drove the rear wheels. The Isetta may have been light, but with only 13 horsepower, it took well over 30 seconds to get to 60 km/h, and the top speed was somewhere around 75 km/h (47 mph). The Isetta’a claim to fame was its fuel economy: it was the first mass-production car to reach a fuel economy rating of 3 L/100 km (78 mpg US). I went back the following morning and discovered the Isetta sitting quietly in a showroom window. The dealership specialises in various brands of luxury vehicles, and the Isetta looked out of place with the large SUVs in the showroom. To my eyes it looked like a sad little puppy dog that wanted to go for a walk. I was able to take a very close look, and even open the door to check out the interior. The car was nearly perfect, with a spotless interior and flawless paint. The odometer only showed 974 kilometers, and I could easily believe that it hadn’t yet rolled over the counter. After thoroughly checking the car out, I went and asked about the price. The person in the store didn’t speak English, so he put me on the phone with a woman that did. She told me the car was in fact for sale, and that it was 40,000… At this point I got excited, as I assumed she was going to finish with ‘RMB’, which is the Chinese currency. 40,000 RMB is around $7000 USD / $8000 CAD / 6000 euros. My excitement came crashing down when she said it was 40,000… euros! As much as I like the car, the price was a LITTLE steep, and I wasn't sure my bank card would agree, so I had to leave without making the deal. I took one last look at the car before going, and couldn't help once again picturing it as a sad doggy in the window, longing to go outside and play... This poor little guy needs rescuing! There's nothing sadder than a lonely pooch in a pet shop window, so I think I'll have to go back and see how he's doing soon.
5 Comments
Richmond2000
11/1/2015 10:48:58 pm
it really looks like it wants to go out and play
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Paul
11/3/2015 11:18:32 pm
Apparently the going price in Europe would be closer to 15,000 euros, so 40,000 IS excessive. That said, in capatalist China, supply and demand is at play...
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6/9/2016 04:58:19 am
Paying attention really paid off the other night. I was taking a taxicab home after a late dinner, and was watching the city as it rolled by.
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Paul, and I am an old-fashioned, low-pressure, low-buck car fan with lots of automotive stories to tell! Archives
February 2020
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