# Three Wheel Cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177 "2011-07-24T15:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/1 "2011-07-24T15:16:47Z")
Does or did Europe have a three-wheeled car? Although just cartoons, one appears in both “Cars 2” and at least one episode of the cartoon, “Mr. Bean”. Seems to me such a car must exist…in Europe. What’s the SDope? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/2 "2011-07-24T15:24:51Z")
The Reliant Robin: > **[Reliant Robin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Robin)** > > The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions (Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3) over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in history after the Chevrolet Corvette, with Reliant being the second-biggest British car manufacturer for a time. > The Robin was first manufactured in October 1973 as a direct replacement for the Reliant Regal. These models feature a 750cc engine, but in 1975, the c... ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/3 "2011-07-24T15:28:03Z")
The [Reliant Robin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Robin) was probably the most popular 3-wheel car. It’s [not a terribly stable car though](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8). Morgan started out making [3-wheel cars](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQh56geU0X8), and they’re about to start making them [again](http://www.morgan3wheeler.co.uk/home.html). There are many others too, see the [list of 3-wheel cars on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-wheeled_car). (Contrary to popular belief, the [BMW Isetta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Isetta#BMW_Isetta_.28Germany.29) is not a 3-wheel car; there are two rear wheels very close together. But I believe there was an early version of the car which had 3 wheels.) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/4 "2011-07-24T15:29:46Z")
Slightly cooler, the [Bond Bug](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_Bug) (but still a Reliant under the skin). And then there was the [Messerschmitt “bubble car”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_KR200). ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/5 "2011-07-24T15:31:19Z")
Reliant Robins sold fairly well in England for a while. [Reliant Robin - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Robin) There were also three-wheeled Morgans and BMW Isettas. Three-wheeled cars cost less to drive and license since they were legally considered motorcycles. SCR4, three-wheel Isettas were exclusive to the British market. The others were as you say. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/6 "2011-07-24T15:36:24Z")
And the [Bond Bug](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_bug). (Do-duh DO-DO duh-do-duh!) Any colour you like, so long as it is orange. No Mr Bond, I expect you to drive a three-wheeler. Blast, pipped by Ximenean! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/7 "2011-07-24T15:36:53Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > SCR4, three-wheel Isettas were exclusive to the British market. The others were as you say. Thanks for the correction. I guess that’s because 3-wheel cars were cheaper to own in the UK, and/or motorcycle licenses were easier to get? And my first Morgan link was supposed to go [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Motor_Company#V-Twin_three-wheelers_.281911.E2.80.931939.29), sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/8 "2011-07-24T15:37:38Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Reliant Robins sold fairly well in England for a while. [Reliant Robin - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Robin) There were also three-wheeled Morgans and BMW Isettas. Three-wheeled cars cost less to drive and license since they were legally considered motorcycles. Yeah, I remember Reliants being a reasonably common sight on British roads (not so common that people didn’t still point and laugh, though), and they mostly seemed to be owned by older gentlemen who were too cheap to pay full road tax for a proper car, or who never got round to having a car driving licence. If the former, it must have been a false economy, because road tax is a small fraction of the overall ownership and running costs of a vehicle. They’d probably have been better off running an economical but conventional small car. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/9 "2011-07-24T15:46:08Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > And then there was the [Messerschmitt “bubble car”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_KR200). Someone in my home town (this was back in the '60s or early '70s) used to drive a Messerschmitt that was painted all over with weird, hand lettered rants, mostly about how society could only be saved if all 16 year old girls were regularly disciplined with a cane (he - I expect it was a he - was very specific about 16 as the optimum age for this). Ah, those were more innocent times! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/10 "2011-07-24T15:50:10Z")
Hmm. I saw a new-looking three-wheeled car on US-15 in Maryland a couple weeks ago. I don’t see any pictures here that look like it. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/11 "2011-07-24T15:59:44Z")
The advantage of a Reliant Robin was that you could be a biker for 9 months of the year and then during the worst months you could drive on the same licence and keep under some sort of protection. The alternative was to pass you full car licence as well. Back in those days, one could pass a full car licence, and you would be allowed to ride a bike up to 250CC, but when fast water cooled 2 strokes came along, you could soon get yourself into some serious trouble - and thats just what happened, you’d get car drivers buying these 250cc 2 strokes, which were much more powerful than anything they had previously ridden, and they would get themselves wiped out. It also made the need to do full big bike lessons and tests a bit redundant, since these bikes were as fast as the large, 4 stroke 750cc machines - or near enough as made no differance. The restriction for car drivers to ride a bike on their licence was dropped to 125cc, but developments in 2 strokes soon made that a nonsense too, inexperienced bike riding car drivers getting themselves killed. Rules again were changed, so that a car driver or learner bike rider was restricted on power and not engine capacity - and everyone has to do a basic bike riding certificate even for a 125cc. You still needed to pass a seperate test to ride larger machines though. Once you have mobility by bike, and you also drive a Reliant Robin, there never seemed to be any pressing need to pass your car licence - why bother paying out for all those lessons, tests and ending up at the bottom of the insurance no-claims discount pile merely to drive around in a cage for a few months of the year? The good thing about Reliant Robins was that unlike so many British cars, they were reliable and didn’t rust away after a British winter, so you leave them in your shed for 9 months and they would kick straight back into life. Riding a bike as primary transport was never really about economy, anyone who tells you that isn’t a biker. I had Reliant Robins and Rialtos for years - but eventually got my full car licence - first time pass - because every biker knows, the bike test is harder than the car test, and bikers have more appreciation of defensive driving and better road awareness. Thing is, that it is not really a great career move to turn up for a job that involves driving - such as service engineer etc in your Reliant Robin. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/12 "2011-07-24T16:01:38Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Hmm. I saw a new-looking three-wheeled car on US-15 in Maryland a couple weeks ago. I don’t see any pictures here that look like it. That’s not much to go on… 2 rear wheels or 2 front wheels? Streamlined or more open structure? [Campagna T-Rex](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Rex_(automobile)) is a possibility, as is the [Corbin Sparrow (aka Myers NmG)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbin_Sparrow). ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/13 "2011-07-24T16:17:15Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > …and they mostly seemed to be owned by older gentlemen who were too cheap to pay full road tax for a proper car, or who never got round to having a car driving licence. If the former, it must have been a false economy, because road tax is a small fraction of the overall ownership and running costs of a vehicle. They’d probably have been better off running an economical but conventional small car. Don’t forget, one of the big selling points of Reliants were their GRP body - back in their heyday rust was a big, big problem in cheap cars. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/14 "2011-07-24T16:33:27Z")
I think the Isettas were imported into the US. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/15 "2011-07-24T16:52:11Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > That’s not much to go on… 2 rear wheels or 2 front wheels? Streamlined or more open structure? Two rear wheels. The closest thing I can find in some searching around now is the [Persu Hybrid](http://www.virginmedia.com/images/Persu-Hybrid-431x300.jpg). It didn’t occur to me at the time that it might be a tilting vehicle, but I never saw it take a turn. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/16 "2011-07-24T17:14:18Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > I think the Isettas were imported into the US. I don’t think they were ever officially imported, but they were sold in the days when there were few obstacles to importing foreign-spec cars. I’ve heard that a lot of the Isettas that made their way over here were brought home as souvenirs by GI’s serving in post-war Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/17 "2011-07-24T23:09:57Z")
There was also the [Thundersely Invacar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundersley_Invacar), a three wheeler for disabled drivers. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/18 "2011-07-25T00:08:28Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > That’s not much to go on… 2 rear wheels or 2 front wheels? Streamlined or more open structure? Two in front is far more stable. Even Jeremy Clarkson would have trouble rolling one. ---
**Author:** ![Dano83860](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Dano83860](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dano83860)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/19 "2011-07-25T02:14:11Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > I think the Isettas were imported into the US. David Simmons had one on the base at China Lake. It never went any further that the hardware store in Ridgecrest. It had two one gallon gas tanks and he kept running out of gas because he would forget that her had already used the other.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177/20 "2011-07-25T07:29:11Z")
A number of three wheeled urban delivery vehicles also exist - some electric, others based on small motorbike type engines - an example of these is accidentally driven into a swimming pool by Clouseau in _Return of the Pink Panther_ (as the previous vehicle he crashed there is being hauled out - a 2CV or Diane van) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-wheel-cars/590177.md?page=2)