I never cease to be amazed at how boring most cars on the road are these days! So many are carbon copies of each other that it drives me crazy! I’ve never been someone who shops for cars with an eye to luxury or performance. No, what matters to me is…uniqueness! In my case that has usually meant cars that were smaller than most.
My first car was a turquoise Chevy Corvair which was relatively small for its time and became notorious for being unsafe, which, of course, lent that element of danger. I went on to own many smaller, but unique cars – a grass-green Datsun B-210 Hatchback, a Ford pinto, a Toyota Echo, but my favorite car of all time is the one I have now, a Scion xA. 
Mine is blue, but I used this picture to try point out how small it is. When it is parked between two normal sized cars in a parking lot, I can’t see it at all. It looks like a baby car in comparison. And yet, inside it’s so roomy that a six foot man can ride comfortably with lots of head room. But the thing I really like about it is that it is cute and unique and doesn’t simply blend in with all the other cars on the road. I may be alone in this Scion xA love because the parent company, Toyota, has discontinued making this model, which I think is just fine. Now I have a “collector’s car!”
But, the downside of that is that, if, heaven forbid, something should happen to her, I couldn’t replace her. So, I’ve been giving some thought to what else is on the road that I would consider a possibility and I came up with two others. One is the Mini Cooper, which I must admit is different enough to meet my requirements.
The other is the Smart Car, which, let’s face it, corners the market on uniqueness!
So, those two were my candidates until my friend, Charles, sent me this You-Tube video of the Peel p50. You absolutely have to see this car in operation to believe it! And I think you’ll enjoy seeing just how convenient it can be to have a car this tiny. It’s a hoot to see where he takes it!
(Of course, I may just wait until it gets a reverse gear!)
I LOVE Mini coopers! LOVE them. I think it’s because they remind me of my very first love in the car world: The VW Beetle. (I maintain that the MCs look more like the classic Beetles than the VW’s newer generations.) I’ve always been a very huge fan of SMALL cars.
And there’s definitely something to be said for German engineering!
But, I have to admit, I’m completely and totally enthralled with Pearl. I see BMW owners at the car wash regularly and more than one has walked by or given an appreciative nod to Pearl.
I wouldn’t want to drive the Peel p50 on an American freeway or any local street for that matter. It could be crushed like a tin can. However, it seems perfectly at home in Britain where they have tiny carriage-wide country lanes and city streets. It also doesn’t appear to have
enough room for a bag of groceries either.
The Mini Cooper gets my vote.
It’s so sad that American cars have lost their ‘personality’ and all look alike! But, then, you never know what clever engineering will come up with!