Saw this the other day, could help but take a picture. It did leave me with the question if the Mini craze going to far?

 

Somehow don't think that car's exactly street legal, but have you seen the Fiat 500. First time I saw one of those, looked like the Mini's little kid. Strange thing is, a Chevy Cruze Eco gets better fuel economy than any of them, and is quite roomy. Know a couple people that own Eco's, and really do get the advertised 40 mpg+ highway. Shows GM can do it, if they want to.

 

Looks like a child's "Power Wheels" toy to me...

 

Yep it is a power wheels, it was at a community club house and pool parking lot, but it was parked in the middle of the parking space. I think it gets like a bazillion miles to gallon, though.

 

I bought a Chevy Cruze Eco back in April. It is a nice little car. I'm 6'3" and I use it to commute 40 miles one way each day. It's not as comfortable as my Acadia for the drive, but the 40 mpg (actually what I get on the highway) makes up for it. For any trips longer than that I will usually take the Acadia as at that point the comfort wins out. The back seat in the Cruze doesn't have a lot of leg room, but it hardly ever gets used anyway. The Acadia was into the dealership for some work and they gave me a Buick Lacrosse to drive. I didn't find the Lacrosse to be any nicer than my Cruze, as a matter of fact the Cruze has a lot more get up and go than the Lacrosse did.

 

Worlds smallest production car the p50 haha its a hoot.

 

now i wouldnt mind building a half scale driveable 442, strictly for show though, i'd have it around 250-300 hp just for kicks =P but that peel is insane!!! lol watching him cram in there was quite funny! love Top Gear!


and btw "who stole the car?" lmao the boss driving around the office was priceless.

 

Reminds me of this pic I took of my wife's old Mini alongside my Jetstar I a few years ago:



The cars were parked nose to nose, but parallax error magnified their apparent difference in length. A little.

 

I have seen some 442 bodied go-karts at shows, but only in '78-'87 body styles. Don't expect more than 5hp though but some mods would be cool!
I would love to see someone make an earlier body though!

 

I had in mind something slightly smaller than a Lotus Elise. Then again after driving my Boat (delta 88) I don't think comfort is going to be a luxury

 

I seen one of those 70's MG's( or whatever there called ) the other day and it was probably a bit longer then the Mini , but definitely lower to the ground ..... I would not want to get hit in one of those things !

 

The original Mini had an 848cc engine, 0-60 in about 20 seconds unladen, and it would top out at a staggering 72 mph. But it would return 40+ mpg even for the leaden footed driver.
The original Fiat 500 had an air cooled 500cc twin engine, half a VW Bug if you like. 0-60 erm... forget it, it wouldnt go that fast. However a gallon of petrol (We use it instead of gas) would take you over 50 miles.... eventually.

The new Mini and Fiat 500 have only the names in common with their predecessors, they should be compared to the Ford Focus or similar cars.
The diesel versions do return great fuel mileage although I'm not sure they are available in the USA.

Roger.

 

Know what the original FIAT stood for?

Fix
It
Again
Tony.

 

The Italian "Ford"

 

Had a friend that had a mid 60s austin healy ran a whole year on one tank of gas. From the dealer home and back to the dealer to home etc for a year it only had a year warranty. After one year it was sold to a guy that wanted to put a chevy 6 banger in it.