Why three-wheeled cars have stuck around for 140 years

Опубликовано 30 ноября 2024, 17:07

Everyone loves to hate on the Polaris Slingshot, but the truth is it's part of an automotive tradition stretching back 140 years: three-wheelers. But why are they still a thing in the 21st century?

The very first car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, was a three-wheeler for simplicity's sake. In the 1940s and 1950s in post-WWII Europe it was all about cost, as three-wheeled microcars like the BMW Isetta were cheap to manufacture and buy as the economy struggled to recover.

Later on, in the 1970s and 80s in places like the UK, legal loopholes meant you only needed a motorcycle license—which was cheaper and easier to get—to drive a three-wheeler. And when those loopholes were closed by the end of the 20th century, three-wheelers still survived as toys for the moderately wealthy who want a taste of the motorcycle experience without the same risk.

But as we'll explain, there's still *some* risk—and that's because three-wheelers aren't classified as cars in the US, so they don't require crash-testing, airbags, and other expensive safety measures. This makes them a LOT cheaper to build than four-wheeled vehicles, which is probably the main reason companies still bother.

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00:00 Intro
01:13 The Very First Car
03:06 The Cheap Option
05:38 The Licensing Loophole
08:47 The Safety Loophole
11:08 The Reason 3-Wheelers Stick Around

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