What were they thinking?

[accountantpete]

1924 Swiftmobile anyone?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

1924 Swiftmobile anyone?

View attachment 89494

I say, hard cheese old sport!

 

[KneesUp]

I do agree the Atlantic was a bad car, a rake round the parts bin and a oversize body on a basic pre war car.
But remember at that time our definition of sports car was far different to Americans. We want it to go round a corner fast, Americans seem happy to not have this attribute.
Looks like someone described an American car down the phone to a man at Austin and they made what they imagined.

They kept on with the idea into the 50s with the Austin Nash Metropolitan

The Nash Metrolpolitan was American designed by the American company Nash as a second car i.e. the one 'mom' used to do the shopping.

What is baffling is that Austin licensed it so they could make them too.

 

[Crackle]

1924 Swiftmobile anyone?

View attachment 89494

 

[byegad]

Seriously?

This was (some of) the competition...

View attachment 89452

OOH! Drool...... Austin Healey 3000. I want one! Gimmee, Gemmee, Gimmee!

 

[Archie_tect]

A friend had a frog-eyed Sprite.... now that was an ugly car.

 

[AndyRM]

A friend had a frog-eyed Sprite.... now that was an ugly car.

Looks quite a chipper machine.

http://www.thingswithfaces.com/

 

[Archie_tect]

If they'd just put the headlights behind curved glass lenses in the front of the wings it would have been fantastic.... and would have knocked spots off the much later Lotus Elan!

 

[marknotgeorge]

The Nash Metrolpolitan was American designed by the American company Nash as a second car i.e. the one 'mom' used to do the shopping.

What is baffling is that Austin licensed it so they could make them too.

Austin made them all. Nash had concluded that it wouldn't be cost-effective for an American factory, designed to make large cars, to build. They thus turned to a European manufacturer, and Austin won the contract.

 

[raleighnut]

If they'd just put the headlights behind curved glass lenses in the front of the wings it would have been fantastic.... and would have knocked spots off the much later Lotus Elan!

They tried that later with the MG midget version known as the 'Spridget' but that wasn't a Healey.

 

[stephec]

They're still making these, this one is a 1948 build

My RE teacher had one of those, it suited him perfectly as he was a proper eccentric gentleman with a handlebar moustache.