1960s Economy car

austin a40 farina mkii countryman 2 piece tailgate



bmc austin-morris mini cross section shows how packaging maximizes passenger space



1965 monte carlo rally winner: 1964 morris mini cooper s

the world s first hatchback, 1958 fr layout austin a40 farina countryman model co-development of bmc , italian design house pininfarina @ time when unusual. had lift rear window , drop down boot lid. sold two-door saloon. built in italy innocenti in uk. 1965 innocenti designed new single-piece rear door combinata version of countryman. top-hinged door used struts hold on wide cargo opening , true hatchback – model never developed in home (united kingdom) market. countryman name has estate type associations, , bmc successor company rover used name on estate cars / station wagons largely forgotten.

the next major advance in small car design 1959 848 cc ff layout austin mini british motor corporation, designed alec issigonis response first oil crisis, 1956 suez crisis, , boom in bubble cars , microcars followed. first front-wheel-drive car water-cooled in-line four-cylinder engine mounted transversely - bmc a-series engine. allowed eighty percent of floor plan use of passengers , luggage. majority of modern cars use configuration. progressive rate rubber sprung independent suspension (hydrolastic 1964–1971), low centre of gravity, , wheel @ each corner radial tyres, increased car s grip , handling on expensive automobiles on market. mini voted second important car of 20th century after ford model t. badge engineered luxury versions modified bodywork , wood , leather interiors made under names of riley elf , wolesely hornet. customised versions made coach-builders harold radford, , popular rich , famous of 1960s london. 1964 jeep version (that had been rejected british armed forces), of mini, mini moke popular king s road / carnaby street, swinging london set. estate car / station-wagon (with non-structural wood frame countryman version), van , pick-up versions successful. in 1962, larger 1098cc (and later 1256cc) version of mini engineering design launched, austin/morris 1100. had front disc brakes standard. had italian styling pininfarina , used front-to-rear interconnected independent hydrolastic suspension. available in sporting mg versions, , luxury wood , leather interior riley, wolesely , vanden plas versions. of 1960s, top selling car in britain, , sold until mid-1970s. sold austin america in u.s., canada, , switzerland between 1968 , 1972. sold in south africa - austin apache , spain - austin victoria, triumph type michelotti re-styling, built in local factories. bmc had hedged bets after launch of front wheel drive mini , 1100 , meet demands of more conservative customers, keeping rear wheel drive austin a40 farina in production until 1967 , morris minor until 1971, while front wheel drive being accepted uk , european markets. demand older customers in particular kept minor in production, despite being outdated.

ford in uk in 1959 launched anglia 105e. had new overhead valve engine , 4 speed gearbox, great improvement on previous model anglia 100e had side-valve engine , 3 speeds. rear wheel drive using rear beam axle , leaf springs, front macpherson struts used predecessor. used lots of miniaturised late 1950s american-influenced styling, including sweeping nose line, , on deluxe versions, full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent eye headlamps, car sported backward-slanted rear window , tailfins. dated car on nine-year production life. anglia s ford kent engine in production in developed form 21st century.

the launch in 1960s of mini cooper exploit exceptional grip , handling of austin mini, along success in rallying, (monte carlo rally in particular) , circuit racing, first showed economy cars effective sports cars. made traditional sports cars mg midget old fashioned. rear-wheel-drive ford lotus cortina , ford escort 1300gt , rs1600, along vauxhall viva gt , brabham sl/90 hb in late 1960s opened market still further in britain. meanwhile, 1950s abarth tuned fiats , gordini tuned renaults did same in italy , france.

1959 daf 600



renault 4 open rear door



1966 subaru 1000



1966 toyota corolla



1966 datsun/nissan sunny

also in 1959 fr layout daf 600, rear-mounted automatic gearbox, launched in netherlands. 600 first car have continuously variable transmission (cvt) system – innovotive daf variomatic. first european economy car automatic gearbox. cvt continued through 1960s , 1970s daf daf daffodil, daf 33, daf 44, daf 46, daf 66, , later volvo after merged volvo 340. 1960s austin mini/austin 1100 compact , innovative automatic gearbox, developed automotive products (with conventional epicyclic / torque converter coupling) less efficient @ transmitting drive.

in 1960s semi-monocoque/platform chassis 750 cc renault 4 (arguably first small five-door hatchback, viewed small estate car or station wagon @ time) launched in france. had soft controlled ride citroën 2cv. in layout, economy car version of 1930s designed citroen traction avant, in particular commerciale derivative, independent rear suspension (the commerciale used flexible beam axle, similar 1970s vw twist-beam rear suspension). commerciale had been smaller estate car horizontally split two-piece rear door before second world war. when relaunched in 1954 featured one-piece top-hinged tailgate. citroen responded 2cv-based 1960 602 cc citroën ami , hatchback 1967 citroën dyane. in france, in 1966 renault launched midrange renault 16 - although not economy car, recognised first non-commercial mass-market hatchback car. hatchback leap forward in practicality. adopted standard feature on european cars, saloons declining in popularity apart @ top of market on next twenty years. small economy cars more limited in load carrying ability larger cars benefited - long light loads furniture hung out of of car.

in 1960s japanese miti national car class of vehicles, saw launch of isuzu bellett, daihatsu compagno , mazda familia in 1963, mitsubishi colt in 1965, , nissan sunny, subaru 1000, , toyota corolla in 1966. honda introduced first four-door sedan in 1969, called honda 1300. in north america, these cars classified subcompact cars. 1960s toyota corolla, datsun sunny refined conventional small rear-wheel-drive economy cars exported japan postwar international competition , trade increased. japan instituted shaken road-worthiness testing regime, required progressively more expensive maintenance, involving replacement of entire vehicle systems, unnecessary safety, year on year, devalue older cars , promote new cars on home market available low prices. there few cars in japan more 5 years old.

autobianchi primula



1970 fiat 128



simca 1100 hatchback



1971 autobianchi a112



fiat 127 mk1

in 1962 fiat introduced third generation fr layout fiat 1100, called 1100d. restyled 1100r 1966. fiat 1100d made in india 1964 onwards. in 1973 (for model year alone) named premier president. 1974 onwards until discontinued in 2000, known premier padmini.

in 1964 fiat under engineering leadership of dante giacosa designed first car transverse engine , end on gearbox (using different length drive shafts) , hatchback - autobianchi primula, had pininfarina styling bore resemblance austin 1100. put limited production fiat under autobianchi brand. fiat still produced fr layout 1100 of same size, potential technical teething problems not damage brand. primula production ceased in 1970, time 74,858 had been built. replaced autobianchi a112 , autobianchi a111 same mechanical layout. sold in mainland europe, popular 1980s (replaced lancia y10), unknown in uk. french 1967 simca 1100 (who had used fiat technology under licence), 1969 fiat 128, , 1971 fiat 127 regarded first super-mini brought development wider audience. 128 dante giacosa s final project. layout gradually superseded gearbox in engine s sump of bmc austin morris , later peugeot psa x engine, until car in production transmission layout 1990s, long obsolescent austin (rover) mini.

the simca 1100 first small car, designed outset, angled single piece hatchback tailgate enter large scale production. earlier renault 4 tailgate near vertical estate car, , austin a40 had split tailgate. simca successful in france, less elsewhere due tappety engines , body corrosion. total of 2.2 million cars produced 1985. in 1972 renault introduced monocoque renault 5 supermini hatchback, used proven , successful renault 4 mechanicals , suspension. made until 1985, when replaced super cinq . american motors (amc) marketed version sealed-beam headlamps , reinforced bumpers le car in u.s. 1976 1983.

gm s british , german subsidiaries re-entered small car market conventional fr layout cars first time since second world war in 1960s. vauxhall viva, launched in september 1963, , replaced in september 1966. first new small car produced vauxhall since 1936. ha viva powered 1,057 cc (64.5 cu in), overhead valve, 4 cylinder, front-mounted engine driving rear wheels. comparable in size , mechanical specifications new gm germany opel kadett released in 1962 in continental europe. opel featured brand new ohv 993cc engine, in developed form lasted until 1990s. viva , kadett sold alongside each other in many markets. ha viva inch longer ford anglia dated 1959. offered two-door saloon. hb viva, announced in september 1966 , sold vauxhall until 1970, larger car ha, featuring coke bottle styling, , modelled after american general motors (gm) models such chevrolet impala/caprice of period. featured same basic engine ha, enlarged 1,159 cc, added weight of larger body final drive gearing reduced maintain performance. opel kadett b launched in 1965.

in 1968 ford replaced outmoded anglia ford escort sold across western europe. longer , wider predecessor fill gap left increasing size of ford s next model in range ford cortina. had same mechanical layout , suspension cortina , anglia, contemporary coke bottle styling. struggled compete larger , more comfortable second generation 1965 opel kadett in west germany.

1959 studebaker lark



1959 rambler american



1960 chevrolet corvair



1960 ford falcon



1960 plymouth valiant sedan



chevy ii 4 door sedan



1966 zaz-966

in u.s. market, in 1959 studebaker launched studebaker lark, 1960 brought chevrolet corvair, ford falcon, , plymouth valiant market segment dominated rambler. these vehicles lower priced , offered better fuel economy standard domestic full-size models, had grown in size , price through 1950s. corvair, chevrolet s rear-engined compact car, brought market compete directly vw beetle. ford falcon , plymouth valiant conventional, compact six-cylinder sedans competed directly rambler american. in 1962 chevrolet introduced chevy ii / nova line of conventional compacts first offered 4- , six-cylinder engines. these american vehicles still larger fuel-efficient economy cars popular in europe , japan. corvair twenty inches longer, 7 inches wider, 8 hundred pounds heavier , includes engine twice size of beetle inspired it. corvair offered vw s rear engine advantages of traction, light steering, , flat floor chevrolet s six-passenger room , six-cylinder power american buyers accustomed to. later versions of corvair considered sports cars rather economy cars including monza spyder models, featured 1 of first production car turbocharged engines. corvair monza followed falcon-based ford mustang, introduced in 1964, establishing pony car class included corvair s replacement, chevrolet camaro in 1967, expanding domestic pony car market segment started in mid-1960s.

the 1960s saw swan song of rear-engined rear-wheel-drive car rr layout. first models designed layout in central europe before second world war, had better traction other 2 wheel drive car layout. capable in mountainous country there, had lots of unsurfaced roads, how capable shown performance of 2 wheel drive military kübelwagen version of vw beetle. layout had better interior space utilisation front engine rear-wheel-drive cars, , better ride live rear beam axle. affordable way produce car round independent suspension, without need expensive constant-velocity joints needed front-wheel-drive cars, or axle arrangements of fr layout cars. have road-holding issues due unfavorable weight distribution , wheel camber changes (rear wheel tuck under), of lower-cost swing axle rear suspension design. these highlighted , little exaggerated ralph nader. these problems ameliorated on later beetles , eliminated on second-generation chevrolet corvair switch four-link, independent rear suspension. hillman imp, nsu prinz , soviet zaporozhets had styling cues derived original corvair. connections corvair mentioned on respective wikipages. economy cars layout launched since 1960s have been turn of millennium ultra compact 2 seater city car smart fortwo , indian market tata nano.

1960s launched rr layout cars:

the 874 cc hillman imp - uk.
the relatively unsuccessful attempt @ diversification of volkswagen type 3, volkswagen type 4, , 583 cc nsu prinz - west germany.
the 956–1289 cc renault 8/10 , 777–1294 cc simca 1000 - france.
the 2296 cc chevrolet corvair - us.
the first 1960s air-cooled two-stroke in-line twin-engined generation of 360 cc keicar class - 1958 subaru 360, mitsubishi 360 1961, mazda carol 1962, daihatsu fellow 1966, honda n360 , suzuki fronte 1967 along non keicar, renault based hino motors 4cv replaced 1961 contessa - japan.
in communist eastern europe there Škoda 1000mb/1100mb developed 1970s Škoda s100/110 , 1970s–1980s Škoda 105/120/125 estelle - czechoslovakia.
centrally planned small soviet car, zaporozhets ukrainian zaz factory (1960-1969 styled fiat 600), (1966-1994 styled nsu prinz 4), sold in ussr , warsaw pact/comecon countries of eastern , central europe. had low price , fuel economy , designed diy maintained customer, because of lack of maintenance facilities in communist countries. issued soviet war amputees state through social welfare system. in total, 3,422,444 air-cooled zaporozhets made. - soviet union