[By Murray Dewhurst in Auckland] What does an American fridge manufacturer and a small English car manufacturer have in common? The Nash Metropolitan of course.
From what I've read, US production lines of the fifties were set-up to produce somewhat larger machinery so Austin were signed up to produce the ‘Met’. Strangely though for a car designed as a shopping cart it didn’t actually come with a boot! As a result I have a mental picture of a high heeled, beehived, housewife staggering out of her local Safeway trying to stow shopping bags behind the seats – it’s a comical image for sure.
The day I spotted this 1958 model, it was exhibiting a magnetic effect – people couldn't help but stop and look at it – there's something about it’s quirky proportion combined with tonnes of chrome, unusual low-cut wheel arches and funky recessed doors that stops people in their tracks.
From what I've read, US production lines of the fifties were set-up to produce somewhat larger machinery so Austin were signed up to produce the ‘Met’. Strangely though for a car designed as a shopping cart it didn’t actually come with a boot! As a result I have a mental picture of a high heeled, beehived, housewife staggering out of her local Safeway trying to stow shopping bags behind the seats – it’s a comical image for sure.
The day I spotted this 1958 model, it was exhibiting a magnetic effect – people couldn't help but stop and look at it – there's something about it’s quirky proportion combined with tonnes of chrome, unusual low-cut wheel arches and funky recessed doors that stops people in their tracks.