Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.

Contents 1 General description 2 The cyclecars appear 3 Sporting cars and cyclecar races 4 The decline of cyclecars 5 Cyclecars by countries 5.1 Argentina 5.2 Austria 5.3 Belgium 5.4 Canada 5.5 Czechoslovakia 5.6 France 5.7 Germany 5.8 Italy 5.9 Spain 5.10 Sweden 5.11 United Kingdom 5.12 United States 6 See also 7 Books 8 External links

General description

Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other components from this source such as gearboxes were also employed. MotorCycle is the title of a 1993 album by Rock band Daniel Amos, released on BAI Records. Cyclecars were half way between motorcycles and cars and were fitted with lightweight bodies, sometimes in a tandem two-seater configuration and could be primitive with minimal comfort and weather protection. They used various layouts and means of transmitting the engine power to the wheels, such as belt drive or chain drive often to one rear wheel only to avoid having to provide a differential. A Belt is a looped strip of flexible material used to mechanically link two or more rotating shafts Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another

The rise of cyclecars was a direct result of reduced taxation both for registration and annual licences of lightweight small engined cars. In France, for example, a car classed for reduced rates if it weighed less than 350 kg.

On 14 December 1912, at a meeting of the Federation Internationale des Clubs Moto Cycliste, it was formally decided that there should be an international classification of cyclecars to be accepted by the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Austria and Germany. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting It was also decided to establish two classes of cyclecars, as follows;

• (i) Large class
  • Maximum weight 350 kg
  • Maximum engine capacity 1100 cc
  • Minimum tyre section 60 mm.
• (ii) Small class
  • Minimum weight 150 kg
  • Maximum weight 300 kg
  • Maximum engine capacity 750 cc
  • Minimum tyre section 55 mm.

All cyclecars were to have clutches and change-speed gears. This requirement could be fulfilled by even the simplest devices such as provision for slipping the belt on the pulley to act as a clutch, and varying of the pulley diameter to change the gear ratio.

The cyclecars appear

From 1898 to 1910, automobile production quickly expanded. Light cars of that era were commonly known as voiturettes. Voiturette is a word mostly used to describe a miniature car however it has several meanings depending largely on the usage date The smaller cyclecars appeared around 1910 with a boom shortly before the outbreak of World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

The first successful cyclecars were Bédélia of France and G.N. from Britain. This article is about the French cyclecars For other uses see Bedelia Bédélia (in English usually written as Bedelia) was the archetype This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The GN was a British Cyclecar made in Hendon, North London between 1910 and 1920 then moving to Wandsworth, London

Sporting cars and cyclecar races

Some cyclecars such as Amilcar, Major or Salmson of France had good enough performance and handling to be regarded as sports cars. The Amilcar was a French Automobile manufactured from 1921 to 1939 Salmson is a French engineering company initially in the automobile and aeroplane manufacturing areaturning to Pump manufacturing in the 1960s This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Races dedicated for cyclecars were also run with the first event of this kind organised by the Automobile Club de France in 1913 and a Cyclecar GP at Le Mans in 1920. The Automobile Club of France (French: Automobile Club de France) (ACF is a prestigious men's club founded on Le Mans (ləmɑ̃ in French) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River.

The decline of cyclecars

By the early 1920s, the days of the cyclecar were numbered. Mass producers, such as Ford, were able to reduce their prices to undercut those of the usually small cyclecar makers. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Similar affordable cars were offered in Europe such as the Citroën 5CV, Austin 7 or Morris Cowley. The Citroën Type C was a light car made by the French Citroën car company between 1922 and 1926 with almost 81000 units being made The Austin 7 was a Vintage car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Morris Cowley was a name given to various cars produced by the Morris Motor Company from 1915 to 1958

The cyclecar boom was over. The majority of cyclecar manufacturers closed down. Some companies such as Chater-Lea survived by returning to the manufacture of motorcycles. Chater-Lea was a British bicycle car and motor cycle maker with a nine-storey factory in Banner Street in the City of London and from 1928 premises at Letchworth

After World War II, small, economic cars were again in demand and a new set of manufacturers appeared. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The cyclecar name did not reappear however and the cars were called microcars by enthusiasts and bubble cars by the general population. A microcar is an extremely small Automobile, popularly referred to as Cyclecars in the 1910s and 1920s and Bubblecars in the 1950s and 1960s many of which For the modified American sedans also called "bubbles" see Hi-Riser (automobile.

Cyclecars by countries

Argentina

• Viglione

Austria

• Grofri

Belgium

• SCH

Canada

• Dart Cycle Car Co
• Glen Motor Company
• Gramm

Czechoslovakia

• Vaja

France

Germany

• Arimofa
• Cyklon
• Koco
• Pluto
• Spinell
• Staiger

Italy

• Amilcar Italiana
• Anzani

Spain

• Alvarez
• David
• Izaro
• JBR
• Salvador

Sweden

• Mascot
• Self

United Kingdom

United States

See also

• List of automobile manufacturers
• Kei car
• List of microcars by country of origin

Books

• 'From Cyclecar to Microcar - The Story of the Cyclecar Movement'. The Hampton was a British car made by the Hampton Engineering Company which was based in Kings Norton, Birmingham from 1912 to 1918 and Stroud Gloucestershire Geriatrics is the branch of Medicine that focuses on health care of the elderly The Hill & Stanier was an English Automobile, a 6 hp Cyclecar with a V twin air cooled engine Imperial was the name used for three separate makes of British car The Jappic was an English Automobile manufactured only in 1925 The LAD was a British Cyclecar made between 1913 and 1926 The car was originally made by the Oakleigh Motor Company of West Dulwich, London and was usually fitted The Lambert was a British 3 wheeled Cyclecar made between 1911 and 1912 by Lambert's Carriage Cycle and Motor Works of Thetford, Norfolk The Lester Solus was an English Automobile built in Shepherd's Bush London only in 1913 The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer The company was founded in 1909 by H The Perry was a British car made by the Perry Motor Company based in Tyseley, Birmingham who made cars between 1913 and 1916 The Simplic was an English Automobile manufactured only in 1914 The Skeoch was a Scottish Cyclecar manufactured in 1921 by Skeoch Utility Car Company in Dalbeattie, Kirkudbrightshire The Tamplin was an English Automobile manufactured by Tamplin Motors from 1919 to 1923 in Kingston Road Staines, Middlesex and from 1924 to 1925 in Malden Clayton South is a Suburb of Melbourne, in southeast Victoria, Australia. Wherwell is a village in Hampshire, England. The village is located on the River Test. The Xtra was an English three wheel Cyclecar built from 1922 to 1924 by Xtra Cars Ltd The American was made by American Cyclecar Co of Detroit Michigan in 1914 The Car-Nation (also known as Carnation) was a brand of Automobile manufactured in Detroit Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913-1914 The Coey was an American Automobile manufactured from 1913 to 1917 The Dudly (also known as the Dudly Bug) was a gas powered Cyclecar manufactured in Menominee Michigan, by the Dudly Tool Company from 1913-15 The Hawk was a Cyclecar built in Detroit Michigan by the Hawk Cyclecar Company in 1914 The JPL was a Cyclecar built in Detroit Michigan by the JPL Cyclecar Company in 1913 The Malcolm Jones was an American Automobile manufactured in Detroit from 1914 to 1915 The Mercury was a Cyclecar built in Detroit Michigan by the Mercury Cyclecar Company in 1914 The Motor Bob was an American Cyclecar manufactured in Buffalo New York, only in 1914 The O-We-Go was an American Cyclecar manufactured in 1914 The tandem-seat Automobile sold for $385 it was built in Owego New York. Scripps-Booth was a United States Automobile company based in Detroit Michigan which produced motor vehicles from 1913 through 1923 The Smith Flyer was an American Automobile manufactured by the A The Twombly was a Cyclecar manufactured in the US by Driggs-Seabury between 1913 and 1915 The Xenia was an American Cyclecar designed by P E Hawkins and manufactured in 1914 The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design development manufacture marketing and sale of Motor vehicles In 2007 more than 73 million motor vehicles Kei car, K-car, or ( pronounced /keːdʑidoːɕa/ is a Japanese category of small Automobiles, including passenger cars This is a list of Microcars by country of origin. This list excludes cars over 700 cc and cars where production or manufacture ended before 1945 Author - Michael Worthington-Williams. Publisher Beaulieu Books 1981.
• 'Minimal Motoring - From Cyclecar to Microcar'. Author - David Thirlby. Publisher Tempus Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-7524-2367-3, 2002.

External links

• North American Cyclecars
• Cyclecar rivals to the Morgan 3 wheeler

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