City car

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about City car. For the urban all-electric car, see CityCar.
Not to be confused with town car.
The Fiat Panda, European market leader in 2011[1]
A city car (also known as urban car or a mini) is a small car[2] designed to be
used primarily in urban areas[3] and conurbations.
The term is used along with other terms for small cars including subcompact in N
orth America. The Euro NCAP calls all small cars superminis.[4] The European Com
mission refers to A-segment (Utility/city class: entry level small passenger car
).[5]
In Japan, the kei car (???? keijidosha?, lit. "light automobile") is a specific
type of small car.
Contents [hide]
1
Internal combustion engine city cars
1.1
Early history
1.2
The boom
1.3
Larger city cars
2
See also
3
References
4
External links
Internal combustion engine city cars[edit]
Early history[edit]
The original concept for the city car came about as a result of the growing mark
et for entry level vehicles in the 1920s and 1930s. The great depression caused
the market for large, luxurious vehicles to collapse. As a result, manufactures
had no choice but to build small, cheap vehicles that people could afford, simil
ar to early 20th century "runabouts". However, these vehicles were not specifica
lly branded as vehicles to use in cities or congested areas. They were purely fo
r use as people's cars; cars designed to be cheap, sell a large number of units,
and put people who had not owned cars on wheels. A number of these small, cheap
cars were sold before the war, including the 1920s Austin 7, 1930s Fiat 500 "To
polino" and the 1940s Crosley.
A German ad depicting the BMW Isetta's front hinged door.
After the Second World War, a number of manufacturers introduced microcars, whic
h contained many of the elements that City Cars would come to be known for, such
as small size and good maneuverability. Microcars were also among the first car
s to marketed on their good parking ability; for example, Iso, and later BMW use
d the Isetta's front hinged door as a marketing advantage, saying you could pull
into a parallel parking spot nose forward and exit onto the sidewalk using the
door.
Some of these early city cars included the Bond Minicar and AC Petite in Britain
; the Iso Isetta in Italy in 1953; the Fulda, Messerschmitt Kabinenroller, and B
rtsh in Germany in 1954 (all two-seaters with a Fulda and Sachs two-stroke engine
); the Goggomobil, and the Dornier-designed Zndapp Janus,[6] which placed passeng
ers back to back, and featured two front hinged doors similar to the Isetta's. H
owever, these early microcars weren't true city cars; most were designed, built,
and sold cheaply, mainly for poor customers in war ravaged Europe. With the exc
eption of a few examples, these were also not designed for specific use in citie
s.
Fiat 500

As the European economy improved, Fiat launched the new 500 in 1957 and in 1959,
BMC would introduce its well known city car, the Mini. DAF joined Italian motor
ing magazine Quattroruote and Turin coachbuilder OSI to produce the DAF - OSI Ci
ti Car, which used Daffodil mechanicals and interior, and was one of the first c
ars with a continuously variable transmission.[7] There were other new projects
from 1969 through 1972.[8] In 1972, Daihatsu proffered an electric model, while
Toyota showed the Town Spider, with a choice of petrol or electric power,[9] and
General Motors displayed three two-seaters, one electric, one gasoline, and one
(unfortunately for GM, not a precursor) hybrid. The GM products were capable of
only 0 30 mph (0 48 km/h) in 15 seconds and 30 45 mph (48 72 km/h) maximum, not good en
ough for normal city driving, nor could they meet the safety regulations which w
ould be introduced in 1974.[10]
While many of these cars can be considered city cars today, these cars have been
replaced by larger cars with each passing generation. Exceptions are the smalle
r Fiats, especially the 1957 Fiat 500 and 126. They were in the region of 3.0 me
tres (9 ft 10 in) in length, but had seating for four people, putting them outsi
de the microcar category. In the 1970s the Citron LNA and related three-door Peug
eot 104 offered compact city sized cars of around 3.3 m, and the Fiat Panda foll
owed in 1980.
In Japan, regulations defining kei cars were established on 8 July 1949. Product
ion of compliant vehicles started around 1955 1958 by Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Subaru
, and Suzuki.
The boom[edit]
2008 Smart Fortwo convertible
In the late 1980s, superminis had physically grown so much that many buyers want
ed even smaller four-seat cars. In Japan, buyers had a wide selection to choose
from in passenger cars, microvan and kei trucks, such as the Honda Today and the
Honda Acty, Subaru Sambar and Subaru Vivio, Daihatsu Atrai and Daihatsu Mira, M
itsubishi Minica and Mitsubishi Minicab, and the Suzuki Fronte and Suzuki Wagon
R. In Europe a number of small cars were launched, including the Lancia Y10 (3,3
90 millimetres (11 ft 1 in) long) in 1985 and the Renault Twingo in 1993, which
featured a MPV-like design and interior room, despite its size and height 3,430
millimetres (11 ft 3 in) long and 1,420 millimetres (4 ft 8 in) tall. Combined w
ith an original exterior and interior design, it quickly became a best-seller, a
lthough it was not officially imported to right-hand drive markets including the
United Kingdom. However, the Fiat Cinquecento, launched towards the end of 1991
, was made for right-hand drive markets, and was hugely popular.
In 1996, the
ped body did
eed them and
popular with

Ford Ka was presented with its radical New Edge design. Its egg-sha
not leave much room in the rear seats, but many customers did not n
preferred the Ka over more conservative designs. It was especially
British buyers.

During the second half of the 1990s, South Korean brands Daewoo and Hyundai intr
oduced their city car entries, both for the Asian and European markets. The Hyun
dai Atos, launched in 1997, was 3,500 millimetres (11 ft 6 in) long and 1,600 mi
llimetres (5 ft 3 in) high, which was much taller than any European models (usua
lly under 1,450 millimetres (4 ft 9 in)) and provided considerable interior spac
e. Its boxy shape provoked mixed reactions. The Daewoo Matiz followed in 1998 wi
th a Giorgetto Giugiaro design and a moderate height (1,500 millimetres (4 ft 11
in)). These Korean city cars were much cheaper than most of the European models
, especially the Opel/Vauxhall Agila (2000), a badge engineered Suzuki Wagon R,
Volkswagen Lupo (1999) and the two-seater Smart Fortwo (1998). By the year 2000,
city cars had increased massively in popularity with buyers in the space of a d
ecade.

Larger city cars[edit]

Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car.[11] India is the world's number one produce
r of basic cars.[12]
SimpCit, electric city car.
As small family cars and superminis grew in the 1990s to the 2000s, so did city
cars. After some new superminis grew to be over 3,900 millimetres (12 ft 10 in)
long (like the Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, the SEAT Ibiza and the Volkswagen Polo),
some automakers developed city car models more than 3,650 millimetres (12 ft 0
in) long. The first of these models was the Nissan Micra (2002), which is 3,720
millimetres (12 ft 2 in) long and smaller than many superminis of the late 1990s
. Other cars are the Citron C2, Suzuki Swift, Smart Forfour, Tata Indica, and Peu
geot 1007 (the last one which can also be labelled as a mini MPV). Fiat launched
their new Fiat 500[13] in 2007, somewhat bigger than the first 500, but still o
nly 3,546 millimetres (11 ft 8 in) long.
In addition, since the 2000s there has been a return of smaller city cars with l
engths well under 3,200 mm such as the Tata Nano and Toyota iQ. Slightly larger,
but still around 3,300 mm city cars released in the 2010s include the electric
Bollor Bluecar and Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and traditionally powered Citron C1 and rela
ted Toyota Aygo.[14]
See also[edit]
Car classification
Economy car
Kei car
Microcar
MIT Car (using "City Car" as a brand name)
Neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV)
Supermini car
Vehicle size class
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Europe Full Year 2011: Top 318 All models ranking now available!". Au
to Week. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Patton, Phil (March 28, 2005). "Little Cars in the Big Apple: Still On
ly a Good Idea". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010
. Retrieved March 2, 2010. In Europe, the "city car" is a well-understood concep
t ...
Jump up ^ Ruppert, James (October 10, 1998). "Motoring: The City car to be seen
in". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010. Retri
eved March 1, 2010. (City cars) are meant to be cheap, small, easy to park and y
et practical, with good manners on the open road.
Jump up ^ "Superminis". Euroncap. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
Jump up ^ "Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 - Merger Procedure (page 8)" (PDF). Offic
e for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg. Retri
eved 24 April 2013.
Jump up ^ Casucci, Piero. "City Cars: The Answer to the World's Traffic Problems
?", in Northey, Tom, ed. World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Vol. 4, p.
383.
Jump up ^ Casucci, p. 384.
Jump up ^ Casucci, pp. 384 85.
Jump up ^ Casucci, p. 385.
Jump up ^ Casucci, p. 386.
Jump up ^ The Nano, world's cheapest car, to hit Indian roads, Reuters, 23 March
2009, retrieved 27 August 2009
Jump up ^ India becomes biggest player in littlest cars, MSNBC, Associated Press
, 12 December 2009, retrieved 7 April 2011
Jump up ^ "BEST CITY CAR: Fiat 500". Auto Express. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 8
January 2015.

Jump up ^ "Best city cars". Car Buyer. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 8 January 201
5.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to city cars.
Fifth Gear television programme reviews the city car segment
Auto Express magazine chooses the best city car