"I
always like all sorts of weird cars, and all of these cars qualify,"
Nelson, 58, said as he stood beside his bright red 1960 Goggomobil
coupe, which tips the scales at just under 1,000 pounds, is less than
five feet wide and comes with the "big" engine option: a 20-horsepower,
two-stroke, two-cylinder model. All for $7,500, and another $1,000 to
have the vehicle shipped from California to Massachusetts.
While
he’s made some repairs to the front shocks and clutch - "it’s a
45-year-old car," he says - it generally runs smoothly.
"My goal is to drive it to Cape Cod," he said.
But, no matter where he’s going, the car elicits the same response from viewers.
"It makes people smile," Nelson said. "They do a double take and then smile."
Ralph
Hough and his wife, Wendy, were married in 1963 and toured Europe, on
their honeymoon, in a Messerschmitt. They even belonged to a
Messerschmitt club. Ralph drove down from Ontario, Canada along with
his son, Richard, and grandson, Spencer to partake in the Gould’s
weekend event.
That
Messerschmitt was sold a long time ago. However, in 1990, Ralph retired
as a police officer and bought a Messerschmitt, which he planned to
trailer behind an RV. He never got the RV, and now he has a ’Schmitt
House in his back yard, which stores his two BMW Isettas, two BMW 600s,
and five Messerschmitts.
"Wherever
you go, people take pictures," Richard said. "It’s unique. It’s not
your typical ’57 Chevy. A lot of people have never seen these kinds of
things."
Ralph’s
favorite is the four-wheeled, bright blue Messerschmitt Tiger - "the
ultimate collector micro car," he said - and at $45,000 to $50,000
they’re not cheap to acquire.
The
first car of any size that Kevin George, 49, owned was a Vespa 400, a
car slightly smaller than Nelson’s diminutive Goggomobil. George bought
it for $10 when he was 16 and after making repairs to it, sold it for
$200.
Two
and a half decades passed before he got back into a mini car. It took
him another three years of searching before he found one of the four
remaining Biscuter Pegasins still in existence.
Though
the car gets between 55 and 60 miles per gallon, it usually takes
George 30 minutes to fill the tiny tank - people at the pumps are
always asking questions.
Because
the Pegasin is so rare, the once-affordable vehicle could now fetch
$20,000 to $40,000 on the market.
"These cars bring more smiles per dollar than any others," said Nancy Gould.
Daniel E. Black can be reached at dblack@cnc.com or at 781-433-8216.
Charles
Gould, organizer of the 11th annual Microcar and Minicar Classic, sits
in his three-wheeled 1961 Messerschmitt. (Photo By Matthew Healey)
