Autobianchi was a little known Italian carmaker, known for brutally simple little cars like this one. The Bianchina was based on the Fiat 500, and the performance stats are daunting. This model, one of the rarer 'Specials' had a 499cc engine which produced 21 horsepower, as opposed to the clearly insufficient 17hp of the base models. Charming.
A series Land Rover really might be the perfect car for New York. People love them, first of all. Also, no car thief will take one, because it's not worth much as parts, they're very unique looking, and you would struggle to find alloys or a stereo in it. In the summer, take the doors off, and the tiny wheelbase means you can park pretty much anywhere. Also, after this last winter, do you really want a car in the city without four wheel drive?
Now, at the risk of this blog becoming a bit Benz-heavy, I've added this photograph because it's one of the few biodiesel cars I've seen in New York. This is what we all should do. The engines in these things are as reliable as the planets, they're not that expensive to buy, and they've all long since worked off their carbon footprint. Buying a Prius seems to be a false economy to me. Why do we insist on something being new to save the environment? Buying a secondhand car that gets great, sustainable fuel economy is, in the long run, a better idea than buying a costly and environmentally questionable stopgap technology. Plus, what a marvelous city we would have if everyone drove a vintage Mercedes! Have one of these until hydrogen power is made more available. That's a technology that convinces me that a whole new line of production is merited. Then when you have your hydrogen BMW, the old Merc will be a fantastic weekend cruiser.
