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Bianchi was established by Edoardo Bianchi in 1885 Milan Italy, making Bianchi the world’s oldest bicycle company still in existence. Edoardo Bianchi was considered to be the Henry Ford of the bicycle industry. Bianchi also pioneered the front wheel caliper brake and equal-size wheels with pneumatic rubber tires. In 1897, Bianchi expanded into motorcycle production, […]
Bianchi Avanti – 1964 Read More »
Rosario Di Blasi (1919-2008), a former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer, began developing a folding scooter in 1952. In postwar Rome, bicycle theft was common, as any kind of personal transport was in short supply. The story goes that while carrying his bicycle up the 8 flights of stairs to his apartment, Di Blasi
DiBlasi R7 Scooter – 1981 Read More »
The Centaur Folding Scooter was designed by James Wilford Foster, formerly an American employee of Lambretta, an Italian scooter manufacturer. Marketed as America’s only “full-size” folding scooter, the relatively heavy 90 pound Centaur folded down into its own seat, becoming a 20” x 30” x 16” box to be stowed in a car, boat, or
Centaur Folding Scooter – 1964 Read More »
Following the introduction of the 850 Sedan in 1964, Fiat debuted the 850 Coupé in 1965 at that year’s Geneva Auto Show. The 850 Coupé was powered by a rear-mounted, water-cooled, 843cc four-cylinder engine. It’s pretty Italian exterior had a smooth, grille-less front end. The 850 Coupé was rear-wheel drive, so although the car was
Fiat 850 Coupé – 1965 Read More »
Harley- Davidson (H-D) started by making motorized bicycles in 1901. By 1904, after testing, they moved on to a bigger engine and loop-frame design that took it out of the motorized bicycle category and down the road to succeeding motorcycle designs. By 1917, they were a very successful company, producing over 20,000 motorcycles for the
Harley-Davidson Motorcyke – 1918 Read More »
Bill Devin was an innovative car designer from Fontana, California. He began as a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer and moved up to exotic cars. He was also an accomplished racer and owned a string of incredible competition Ferraris. When Devin sold his Ferrari 250MM to a buyer in Michigan and came back with a 1953 Deutsch-Bonnet (DB)
Devin-Panhard – 1954 Read More »
According to the Smithsonian, in 1817, Baron Karl Drais, a German agricultural engineer and inventor, is credited with the first public demonstration of a 2-wheeled human-powered vehicle. He called it the “Laufmaschine” (running machine), but after he demonstrated it in Paris, the French referred to it as a “Draisine”. Drais claimed he could cover the
Poncet Velocipede “Boneshaker” – 1869 Read More »
Carlo Lavezzari, an Italian designer, decided to design a microcar, powered by a 125cc Innocenti Lambretta engine, and built by Scattolini in Italy. He unveiled it at the 1966 Paris Salon where Henri Willame, President of Lambretta SAFD, became interested in it. From 1967 they joined forces to create Lawil (LAvezzari + WILlame) which would
Willam City A3 – 1969 Read More »
