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Living up to its name, the
Flying Feather was the realization of designer Tomiya's dream"to build an extremely
economical car."It was released in 1954 by Suminoe Works, a Nissan affiliate.
It was Spartan in style, employed only the very basic components, and was designed
to be a functional means of transport. However, in 1955, less than 200 cars
had crossed the assembly line when production was stopped. Its sensible but
stripped-down functionality was not understood at that time. |
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Fuji Motors Co., Nissan's affiliate
engine maker, produced a cabin-style three-wheeler that utilized the epoch-making
FRP for full monocoque construction designed by Tomiya, who also designed the
Flying Feather. It was equipped with an aircooled, two-stroke, one-cylinder engine.
The body weighed only 130kg and it could attain the high speed of 60km/h. Its
aerodynamic body design and other features were revolutionary, but the FRP technology
could not keep pace and only 85 cars were produced. |
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For a period after the war,
cars were restricted to official use in Japan. Later, the popularization of the
car came about through the commercial car. It was the release of the three-wheeled
Midget in 1957 which finally put the car in the hands of the people. It had a
low price and was easy to handle. Furthermore, the fact that it could be driven
with a light vehicle license led to explosive sales. It was the representative
three-wheeler of the time. The first DKA model had a kickstarter and a handlebar,
similar to that of a motorcycle. The efforts to decrease costs and to standardize
were readily apparent. |
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Aichi Machine Industry Co.,
Ltd. launched the Cony Guppy, an ultra-light truck smaller than a minivehicle
with a loading capacity of 100kg. In addition to its low price of ¥225,000,
the Cony Guppy featured four-wheel independent suspension and a torque converter
for clutchless operation. Production ended after a little over one year, with
less than 5,000 units manufactured in total.
The display vehicle was customized by the dealer, Aichi Giant Co., Ltd. Into a
convertible. |
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