Space Station Wagon

Before there were mini-vans, before there were crew cabs......
1963 family hauler

click a couple of times to make way bigger.

Messerschmitt kr 200

The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), was a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt .

1955 English ad.



Always wondered how they sold these in England so soon after the war. I would have thought they'd at least have changed the name of the company.




2/10 of a liter engine. Looks very comfy too!





They made 40,000 of these from 1955 to 1964.

Engine Fichtel & Sachs two-stroke single cylinder, operable in both directions of crankshaft rotation

Transmission Four speeds forward or reverse (depending on engine rotation), sequential, unsynchronized.

Wheelbase 79.9 in 

Length 111.0 in 

Height 47.2 in

Curb weight 506 lb

had a steering bar reminiscent of that of an aircraft. Operated by pushing rather than by turning, the steering bar was connected directly to the track rods of the front wheels, providing an extremely direct response best suited to small, measured inputs.The gearshift lever had a secondary lever on it which, when actuated, would put the car in neutral regardless of what gear it had been in before, although the transmission would have to be shifted back to first before the car would be able to move from a standstill.

Smeggy's Garage- GURGEL

Welcome to Smeggy's Garage, where I'm going to blather on about some of my favorite cars and if you're so inclined you may add your comments and observations.

Gurgel was the brand name of Gurgel Motores (later Gurgel Motores S/A), a Brazilian automobile manufacturer, named after its founder João do Amaral Gurgel. The company was founded in 1969 and first specialized in buggies and off-road vehicles. Early models were fiberglass bodies installed on Volkswagen Beetle chassis and machinery, but VW bodies and chassis were later replaced by a unique solution made of Plasteel - which consists on fiberglass and steel joined together, a system patented by Gurgel. Gurgel also introduced Brazil's first fully domestically designed and manufactured car, the BR-800.

The 800, foiled by a tree.




The trade mark Gurgel expired, and have been bought from another business, now used by a small Brazilian importer of tricycles. The current Gurgel has nothing in common with original Gurgel company, except the name.

The vehicles produced by the original factory are still running on Brazilian roads nowadays. It is not uncommon to see X-12, Tocantins, Supermini or BR-800 models on the streets, despite of the reduced number of specialized workshops and lack of specific parts for replacement.