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Buckminster Fuller had a long and productive career. He was a visionary that worked in many fields, from the environment to architecture. The Dymaxion, which is an acronym for DYnamic MAXimum TensION, was his most famous automotive project. In 1933, Fuller convinced socialite and friend Anna Biddle to fund the building of the Dymaxion. Progress […]
Dymaxion (replica) – 1933 Read More »
MG, or Morris Garages, began automobile production in 1928, but the debut of the T-Series in 1936 firmly established MG as a sports car company. The MG TC hit the market immediately after the war, following on the success of the pre-war MG TA and TB. Outwardly similar to the TB with a folding windshield,
MG TC Midget – 1948 Read More »
The Cushman family began making farm machinery and two-cycle boat motors in Lincoln, Nebraska and founded Cushman Motor Works in 1902. After some success, including the development of the famous single-cylinder four-stroke “Husky” engine (1922) and inevitable down-turns, by 1933 the Cushman family was no longer associated with the company. As it was dissolving, John
Cushman Standard Cast Iron Eagle – 1957 Read More »
In 1940, Marcel Mennesson had a prototype built for a bicycle equipped with a motor on the front wheel. The 38cc engine was outfitted with a roller transmission, carburetor and tank, and mounted on the front 700-millimetre wheel. Due to the events of World War II, however, the Model 45 didn’t debut until 1946. Unlike
Solex VeloSolex 45 – 1951 Read More »
Off-road motorcycling exploded in popularity in the early 1960s, with many riders modifying existing designs into trail-ready bikes known as scramblers. In 1962, Honda introduced their factory-built light duty trail bike, the CT, or Cub Trail series. The recipe was simple: take the Cub’s engine and semi-automatic gearbox (no clutch) and place them in a
Honda CT90 Trail “Suitcase Cycle” – 1970 Read More »
This Honda CB 450 “Black Bomber” is widely considered one of the most important motorcycles ever to come out of Japan. The first of the “big Hondas”, the CB450 was the world’s first production dual-overhead cam bike. Paired with unusual torsion valve springs and other refinements, it was a technological tour de force that the
Honda CB 450 – 1965 Read More »
In the late 1970s, Peugeot was known as a manufacturer of large, relatively luxurious sedans, but the company was floundering in the global market. Their takeover of both Simca-Talbot and Rootes Group in 1978 infused the company with a new vitality and excellent small car platforms upon which to build. The 205 is often heralded
Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6 – 1986 Read More »
Production of the Valmobile “suitcase scooter” by the Hirano Motorcycle Company of Japan began in 1956, after the previous manufacturer Martin-Moulet struggled to find success for the Valmobile in its native France. In the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, Japan and the United States were going through a bit of scooter-mania, and Hirano used clever
Valmobile Fold Away Scooter – 1961 Read More »
Hercules was founded in 1886 by Carl Marschütz as a bicycle manufacturer in Nuremberg, Germany. The first Hercules motorcycle debuted in 1904. Marschütz, being Jewish, fled to America during World War II, and by the end of the war 75% of Hercules’s factories had been destroyed. German automotive parts company ZF Sachs purchased the company
Hercules E1 electric scooter – 1974 Read More »