The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
Monday, November 13, 2017
Driving "the worst car in the world"
Jalopnik's Jason Torchinsky drove a 1951 Hoffman three-wheeler. It didn't go well.
You can read more about his (mis)adventures with the Hoffman here. I'm glad vehicles have improved since those days!
The video, the article, and the the Wikipedia entry all omit a pertinent fact: Which Germany? The powerplant seems Trabant-like, but both Germanys were so poor after the war . . . Now I want to drive one. Does that make me a bad person?
I attended the Woodward Dream Cruise during the Ford Centennial. I remember stepping to the edge of Woodward Avenue and the first car I laid eyes on was a Trabant heading South on Woodward Avenue in a cloud of blue smoke.
PhilB: It was a West German effort. I found a bunch of details at https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2012/11/16/little-hoffman-bug-that-sank-an-empire.
Rear wheel steer!!! Holy Cr... What that thing replicates is a tail-dragger aircraft. As long as you don't go faster than a warehouse forklift, it should be tolerable. Sort of. Sheesh.
Aluminum bodywork. I'll bet Hoffman worked in the aircraft industry during the war.
The video, the article, and the the Wikipedia entry all omit a pertinent fact: Which Germany? The powerplant seems Trabant-like, but both Germanys were so poor after the war . . .
ReplyDeleteNow I want to drive one. Does that make me a bad person?
I would reckon that it is an East German effort - by 1951, West Germany had recovered economically so would not have attempted anything like this.
ReplyDeleteUnless it was their revenge on the world for losing two world wars in succession ...
Phil B
I attended the Woodward Dream Cruise during the Ford Centennial. I remember stepping to the edge of Woodward Avenue and the first car I laid eyes on was a Trabant heading South on Woodward Avenue in a cloud of blue smoke.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the love child of a Volkswagen and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car.
ReplyDeletePhilB: It was a West German effort. I found a bunch of details at https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2012/11/16/little-hoffman-bug-that-sank-an-empire.
ReplyDeleteThere are worse cars.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8
Try the Reliant Robin. Jeremy Clarkson Demos the beast.
Rear wheel steer!!! Holy Cr... What that thing replicates is a tail-dragger aircraft. As long as you don't go faster than a warehouse forklift, it should be tolerable. Sort of. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteAluminum bodywork. I'll bet Hoffman worked in the aircraft industry during the war.