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I remember from my childhood lots of these odd green coloured cars about, they were two seaters I think and were adaptod for disabeled people. What were these cars?
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CABLE cars? www.microcar.org/2003/images/064.jpg
Edited by Hamsafar on 10/01/2009 at 21:04
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Yeah probably, the ones I rememebr were a bit more modern than that and tended to be registered in the early 70's, I remember seeing a lot of L 73 L reg ones.
What was the idea behind them?
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They were light blue rather than green,mostly hand controls.
They were the "motability" cars of their time before the current scheme came into existence.
In old football matches you can sometimes see a load of them at the side of the pitch as they were allowed into the stadiums!
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They were the AC Invacar I think.
www.3wheelers.com/endinva.html
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Blue they were - AC (yes that AC) made them - very odd motorcycle type steering wand (not out of place in a helicopter - combined throttle and directional) 3 wheelers. Monumentally unsafe.Died a death mainly thanks to Motability is one of the great success stories of recent past - a true socialist solution that unusually succeeded beyond their dreams.
Edited by Pugugly on 10/01/2009 at 21:22
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Green, rather than blue...
www.virtualgaz.com/invacarpage.htm
Twas the Thundersley (brilliant name) and AC (yes, that AC) Invacar.
Edit: beaten to it, pah.
Edit edit: even the 'yes, that AC' construction.
Edited by mojolicious on 10/01/2009 at 21:09
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>>they were two seaters I think
>>
A single seater made by one of the, local to me, car makers.
What a contrast in vehicles that AC made :-)
>>Motability is one of the great success stories of recent past -
I agree with PU.
There were so many in my area as it is very close to the AC works .
I certainly do not miss them on the road now and fortunately mised then on the road in their prime.
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Motability is, in fact, a charity and was set up by the Government in 1977.
It is the UK's largest fleet supplier.
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A relative had one - and a very short PU spent hours in it pretending that it was Thunderbird 4
to which it had a passing resemblance at least to the eyes of a 6 year old. What I remember most was the smell of petrol and rubber from the interior, particularly in sunny weather - nightmare combination of dodgy electrics, fiberglass and petrol - and that's before it was let loose on the road.
Edited by Pugugly on 10/01/2009 at 21:40
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Used to be one seen regularly at the car park by the shops in the village I grew up in.
Driven by a rather doddery old lady who crawled along the road at no more than 10 mph. Quaint but would get run off the road today.
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Just remembered there was a Police programme of the late 70s called Juliet Bravo - uniquely it featured a storyline around a juvenile delinquent (you could say that in them pre-PACE days) stealing one of these cars - was followed what must be the most surreal (even by northern standards) car chase of all time - the invalid car (as they were allowed to call it) and a MK1 Range Rover traffic car - there was one scene where the Rangie displayed its supreme off-road skill in descending a steep embankment at full rear suspension articulation !
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At least one variant was allowed on the motorway. Used to go out fairly often to a guy who made a regular run from down south somewhere to Edinburgh. Usually got to somewhere in Cheshire before he called us out. Devil to winch onto transporter. Always had three or four dogs in with him. His was a pale blue AC Invacar. When i was younger there were one or two people around home with hand propelled machines. They were like a three wheeler bath chair with 'pedals' and a chain on the handlebars driving the single front wheel. Some had an apron and a pram hood. I think I've seen versions in one or two motoring museums, etc.
Ted
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You're becoming very forgetful for a young chap Rattle. This came up in a thread you took part in less than two months ago. Or were you just testing us old codgers?
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=69384&...f
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The picture in Hamsafar's post (second post above) looks more like an AC Petite, which wasn't an invalid car but a three-wheled rival to the Bond Minicar. My mum had one in about 1954, my parents mistakenly thinking that it would be a cheap-to-run second car. I was only 6 in 1954 but I can remember that it gave much more trouble than would a secondhand Austin A30 or Morris Minor that they should have had.
The Petite was never successful, partly through unreliability but also because it did look quite like the AC Invacar, and could well have shared some parts.
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Regarding the other post I was a bit drunk at the time so I don't remember reading or replying to it although I clearly did.
I still cannot believe they were called invalid cars! When you pronounce invalid it dosn't sound too bad, but when you break down the word in-valid it is quite scary really.
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Thank goodness for Political Correctness eh ?
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They were made to a government design by four firms-Greeves,AC,Tiffin Delta(really) and another firm.
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Described their use very well, I thought.... Mind you I'm fed up with PC anyhow!
I can't believe that they could do 82mph according to one of those links... the mind boggles...
Oh, and they were light blue from the ones I remember... in some cases it faded into a turquoisy colour, perhaps the "greenies" are remembering them?
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A few drivers seemed to prefer them to adapted "proper" cars supplied through motability. Banned from use on public roads about ten years ago in the face of protest from the small residual band of users.
Remember c1986 coming across a garage in Cornwall that specialised, probably in spares/reapir. Huge stack of them on the forecourt!!
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The 82 mph. may have been from Greeves.They were a trials m/cycle maker and fitted one of their invalid cars with TWO highly tuned,overbored motors-it was somewhat quick.There was another specialized repairer on th A120 near Stansted-also with large numbers around it's buildings.
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My relative's car was an AC wished I'd nicked the badge now ! PC or not her life wasn't invalid in any sense - she was a Consultant and had a way of dealing with people who either patronised or insulted her about her disability and anyone who called her an invalid would have done so at their own risk.
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As i understand it Motab run the biggest fleet in Europe,so that may possibly be the biggest in the world.
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