Haymer Drive » Antiques and Classics http://www.haymerdrive.org.uk Driving, motoring, and CARS! Wed, 07 May 2008 19:27:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 en A Back to the Future Look at Cars http://www.haymerdrive.org.uk/2007/08/27/a-back-to-the-future-look-at-cars/ http://www.haymerdrive.org.uk/2007/08/27/a-back-to-the-future-look-at-cars/#comments Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:18:16 +0000 kathryn http://www.haymerdrive.org.uk/2007/08/27/a-back-to-the-future-look-at-cars/ Cars of the future and cars of the past some times collide in concept or even design.  Sometimes it’s just the retro look that is making a strong comeback.  Other times it is a brilliant idea that was too good for its time that is finally making an appearance in main stream.

A perfect example of a great idea that crashed (literally) before it could even take off was the Dymaxion.  This unique looking automobile managed to get 30 miles per gallon (even back in the 1930’s).  It was aerodynamic and able to take sharp turns because of an unusual steering system (a single, steerable rear wheel). 

Unfortunately, its uniqueness may have been its down fall.  During the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, one of the prototypes was involved in a fatal accident that was ultimately pinned on the rear steering system.

Rumors still abound about the exact reason the investors pulled out of the automobile set to change the industry.  What ever the reason, it could serve today’s market to take a look at the past’s future car and see what they can learn from its unique and efficient designs.  Sometimes the past has more to offer the future than the present has even begun to imagine.

 


 

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