The Japanese make reliable cars, the Americans make solid, roomy cars, the Germans make luxury cars, the Italians make stylish cars and the French make .... well, who else would have thought to put four wheels and an engine on a tent?
Laugh at it we may, but it has been in continuous production since the 1980's and even today you can get yourself an electric version for 25k€ or thereabouts.
If you Google something like "mad French cars" you will see that the Méhari frequently appears in the lists, though it never beats the maddest French car of all time, the Helicron, a propeller-driven vehicle with rear wheel steering. Here's a Youtube vidéo from a US museum, skip to the final third to see it being driven.
😂 loved the video! And the mindset of giving things a go, how else do we innovate and improve but through willingness to experiment? Although I guess knowing when to discard an idea is important too, couldn’t imagine streets full of prop cars!
