There are a number of islands that ban cars such as the Mackinac Islands which have to rely on bicycles and horses though they do allow snowmobiles during the winter months and a police car for obvious reasons. Apparently, a car was smuggled onto the island by the secret service in 1975. It was only there in case a quick getaway was needed for the president’s visit.

Although these islands without cars do seem idyllic this post isn’t concentrated on that specifically. More on that topic later though.

Islands that Embrace Cars

There are, after all, other islands which embrace the motor car such as Amelia Island, Florida. They are due to hold an automobile event in May. It includes an auction of various classical cars.

Developed on the Isle of Man the Peel P50 microcar is the smallest car in production – though there have been smaller homemade (and garage made) cars. It is designed for an adult and a bag of shopping weighing 59 Kg or 130 pounds. Turning in an enclosed area is impossible, the only thing you can do is pick the whole thing up. It is road legal in the UK if not elsewhere.

Seguin Island in Paris, the site of a medieval abbey farm was the location of a Renault factory up until 2005 when the buildings were demolished and is now a cultural centre.

Shetland off Northern Scotland are to have electric cars powered by tidal power. This was created by Nova Innovation, though the charge point does resemble other electrical charge points.

A Portuguese island in the Atlantic – Porto Santo – charges up cars using solar power which in turn can add electricity to the grid (yes, it is still part of the electricity grid) and gives money back into the community.

For some islands, such as the Big Island, Hawaii renting a car seems to be the best way to get around. Even then you can’t go to such places as Mauna Kea or Green Sand Beach. If you wish to travel by public transport, there are taxis, Ubers and Lyfts available – though the latter is fairly new to the island and operates from the three main airports.

So, what about Car Islands that Don’t Work

So far, so picturesque. But the introduction of cars is bad news for paradise island in the Pacific such as the Marshall Islands or South Tarawa. These are littered with broken down cars, buses and even trucks left on the side of the road. You will also find the detritus of abandoned cars by the beach, which is sad as this is where it is believed to enter the ecosystem.

It’s not just vehicles obviously, but these items are highly visible. There’s no space to dump vehicles, the only real option is to export the car. Repairs that would otherwise be made are not carried out due to the lack of trained mechanics and car knowledge on the islands. It could be changed with a bit of training here, but even getting to the island is proving tricky nowadays.

Although pickups seem designed to carry a load, only 15% of them are designed for work. One reason is that they were built as a passenger vehicle only with a little more cargo capacity. Regardless of the original design intent, many car makers have tried their hand at making a pickup and many pickups are quite collectable.

Collectable Trucks

The Lincoln Blackwood doesn’t look like a regular pickup, it barely has enough room for a load. Nor does it have a 4×4. A crossover in all but style, you may say.

The Sierra California Sundancer has such a huge cab and the sunroof is another unusual addition. It was only sold for one year in the state of California in 1987. They appear rather cumbersome and either didn’t catch on or they were just too expensive to make.

VW

The VW Rabbit doesn’t have the iconic VW look but it was a breakaway design created in the 1970s to satisfy those who wanted a pickup with qualities similar to the Datsun Truck and Ford Courier.

Created in a plant in Pennsylvania with a choice of 1.6L diesel and 1.7L it was strange that the VW Rabbit didn’t do better. A notable feature was that the normal gear was marked “E” for economy – a low gear is best for the bank balance – instead of “D” for drive.

Chevy

It’s weird to turn the design of Chevrolet into a pickup but the Cameo attempts this. Again, it had limited manufacture, in this case in the 1950s. Still, it remains a stylish pickup.

Other Chevy pickups include the Chevrolet Colorado has an extended cab size and a payload of 1,575 pounds (the payload is the amount that can be carried); also it can tow 7,000 pounds. The most successful Chevrolet pickup model has been the Silverado which has both basic and luxury models. In 2020 a Silverado HD model came out.

Dodge

A strong red model with a huge hood is the Ram Heavy Duty. It has 1000 pounds weight of torque. The torque is the power it needs to work through gear changes; because a pickup truck carries or tows more weight than a sports car it needs to have more power, especially when driven at low speeds.

Cadillac

How can you improve an ancient pickup? Take the 1949 Cadillac Diamond T201, it’s wise to repaint the black fenders and handlamps and re-upholster the leather interior. Unfortunately, as it’s a traditional pickup it only has a cab so no room for backseat passengers. You still have the 6-cylinder engine and 4 speed transmission to their credit.

With less than 10,000 models around this is an ideal pickup to rejuvenate, especially given the walking cane gear stick – it just oozes class in a way unusual in a pickup, but that’s what you would expect from Cadillac.

In conclusion

Ultimately these types of vehicle require strong suspension to allow them to carry heavy loads, an SUV provides a smoother ride for you. The pickup is there if you want the option to move heavy loads too. You have balance out the need for smoothness or the need for storage space.

When we talk about “bubble cars” we tend to refer to types of micro-cars (being a car with a 700cc engine or less) with a spherical shape. They have no reverse gear meaning they can only turn to navigate a small space. It’s very easy to get them stuck in a small space.

They were mainly produced in Europe and used canopies of aircraft such as Messerschmitt and Isetta, the Messerschmitt production being focused on Germany.

The Isetta is one of the few bubble cars which crossed the Atlantic, if only in places such as Argentina and Brazil. It had both rear wheel engine and rear wheel drive, its front consisted of the door for entry; no hood, radiator, or anything you tend to associate with a vehicle. Despite its small shape it was based on the design for a van.

Because of its micro size it is still the ideal car to improve and you can still buy original parts through the BMW website.

Isetta originated in Italy through Iso before being taken over by other companies, such as Iso. This type of vehicle had four gears and a reverse, so it was an improvement on the Messerschmitt. You could also escape through the sunroof if you were completely boxed in.

The Isetta has had its imitators, the company Zetta created its own Isetta lookalike, consisting of a motorbike engine and manual transmission. Bubble cars are a gift for the hobbyist mechanic and as you can imagine companies enjoyed cashing in on this.

Rust especially affects such vehicles, which makes it harder to read chassis numbers and so on. This means it’s even harder to find the correct part. Indeed, it’s always a good idea to deal with rust whatever car you have.

Related slightly to the bubble cars was the UK produced Peel car – one of the smallest cars ever produced. Unlike the Isetta they don’t have to be factory built, you can choose to build them yourselves, also it has three wheels, rather than four. It’s not quite a bubble, its design is a squarish cube above a more rounded shape.

The top speed of these vehicles varied, the Turbo reached 50 MPH. The Tridents look more bubbly in shape and run on electric motors. Again, production was sadly short-lived, designed for tiny roads not huge freeways. 

There could be something about bubbles which makes for niche cars, such as the bubble top car. The Forcasta, not a micro car by the way but a full-size one, was a modified version of the Cadillac and it isn’t helped by the psychedelic upholstery which can be seen under the sphere.

Another change was now the front half could be raised by hydraulics. As with many modifications it was evidently made by someone who was a fan of the car but felt it was too factory-built. It is a shame that other cars didn’t have the Forcasta treatment, but there may have been economic reasons why not.

Even China has a bubble car although we don’t know much at this moment, beyond that it costs about $750 equivalent, it’s top speed is 30 MPH and a range of 60 miles.

The next question one might ask is…will there be a future for the bubbles? Several people seem to have taking up the call by blending the old idea of the bubble with the newer idea of EVs. Seen below is a possible bubble of the future.