Car City
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From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia A city car
(or urban car) is a small, moderately powered automobile intended for use in
urban areas.
It is comparable in size and features to a neighborhood electric vehicle ("NEV"),
has four seats, and is typically 3.4 to 3.6 metres (11 ft 2 in to 11 ft 10
in) long. These cars have been sold in Europe since the 1960s, and now are
an official car classification. They are also known as A-Segment cars. Most
mainstream automotive industry manufacturers have one or even two city cars
in their lineup.
The city car's convenient speed and occupant protection allow relatively
safe operation in mixed traffic environments and in all weather conditions. |
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Early ages
One of the earliest city cars was the American-made Crosley, a four
passenger vehicle from the late 1940s. While many cars of the 1950s are
small enough to be considered city cars today, these cars have been replaced
by larger cars with each passing generation. Exceptions are the smaller
Fiats, especially the 1957 Fiat 500 and Fiat 126. They were in the region of
3.0 metres (9 ft 10 in) in length, but had seating for four people, putting
them outside the microcar category.
The replacement for the 126, the Fiat Cinquecento was presented in 1991 as a
true city car. At only 3,200 millimetres (10 ft 6 in) long, it had room for
four and entry-level prices.
In Japan, city car regulations were established on 8 July 1949, where they
were known as "kei cars" or keijidōsha (軽自動車?, lit. "light automobile")
manufactured by Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki starting around
1955-1958.
The boom
In the late 1980s, superminis had physically grown so much that many buyers
wanted 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, Mitsubishi Minica and Mitsubishi Minicab, and the Suzuki
Fronte and Suzuki Wagon R. In Europe, Renault followed Fiat in 1993 with the
Renault Twingo, 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 with an original exterior and
interior design, it quickly became a best-seller. In 1996, the Ford Ka was
presented with its radical New Edge design. Its egg-shaped body did not
leave much room in the rear seats, but many customers did not need them and
preferred the Ka over more conservative designs.
In the mid 1990s, South Korean brands Daewoo and Hyundai introduced their
city car entries, both for the Asian and European markets. The Hyundai Atos,
launched in 1997, was 3,500 millimetres (11 ft 6 in) long and 1,600
millimetres (5 ft 3 in) high, which was much taller than any European models
(usually under 1,450 millimetres (4 ft 9 in)) and provided considerable
interior space. Its boxy shape provoked mixed reactions.
The Daewoo Matiz followed in 1998 with a Giorgetto Giugiaro design and a
moderate height (1,500 millimetres (4 ft 11 in)), which proved more
eye-catching. Hyundai tried to react to this with the rounder Atos Prime but
without much success.
These Korean city cars were much cheaper than most of the European models,
especially the Opel Agila (2000) and Volkswagen Lupo (1999), yet were still
reliable. However, sales were dominated by the Renault Twingo and Ford Ka |
More related links about
Car City
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4550 Merle Hay Road > Des Moines, IA. >
515.278.4184. 4550MERLE HAYSTAFF. > Greg Moyer Owner. > Kathie Bradshaw
Sales carcitykathie@yahoo.com.
www.carcityinc.com/ -
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Ram, slam, dodge and spin your way to
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