American Style with a British Heart - Nash Metropolitan

Join this channel to get early access to new videos a week ahead of their public release:
/ @rorymacve
Greetings again! :D
In a very prescient move, the Nash-Kelvinator Company during the early 1950s noted that the trend for gigantic American cars of opulent luxury and low fuel economy were likely not to last, while at the same time cutting out a large portion of low income families who simply couldn't afford the prices being put forward by the Detroit Big Three.
Therefore, they opted to make one of America's first dedicated subcompacts, but due to their lack of experience in the field of making a genuine small car with international appeal, turned to the British Motor Corporation at Longbridge to help deliver this task, the result being what is essentially an Austin A40 Somerset with an American-styled bodyshell.
The result was a machine that proved initially not to be the success expected by Nash or BMC, but in the fullness of time would show its worth during the 1958 Eisenhower Recession, while at the same time being the first American car to be promoted largely to a female audience, thereby creating something of a pioneer on the US market.
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated KZbinrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): [e-mail]
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Press the Join button to get access to new videos a week ahead of schedule by becoming a channel member for just £2.99 a month!
Paypal: paypal.me/rory...
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/rory...
Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
AROnline (and their respective sources)
Wikipedia (and its respective references)

[@JagoHazzard]

I remember seeing one of these in Camden and I had no idea what I was looking at. I wondered if it was maybe a Soviet model or something like that.

[@stevenwilgus5422]

I'm about to turn 71. I actually remember seeing those funny little cars with very young eyes.

[@Stevenimich]

Love the cool footage of downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood!

[@jackthebassman1]

Such a delightful, quirky little motor car, I always fancied one, sadly I never achieved ownership.

[@colbypupgaming1962]

I read that comment in a British accent

[@paulf9487]

​@@colbypupgaming1962Which one? There are dozens.

[@jackthebassman1]

By the way, just a comment, another superb post, extremely well presented, thank you for what you do - oh just one think, how do you pronounce your first name?

[@jaytroyer8590]

My parents looked at a Metropolitan, used, and drove it for a day or so. This was probably early, very early, 1960s, if that late. I really loved it, was disappointed when they passed on the car.

[@drstevenrey]

As a kid in the 60's in America, I always thought this thing was amphibian. But the Metropolitain is now such a legend. Cute, sweet, quirky and lovable to bits. I so love these old films from by gone days. Brilliant.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

I had mine in the 1970s. Several times Black kids would come up to me and say, "Is this one of them cars that go in the water?" I had to disappoint them.

[@Mounhas]

It does have the look of an amphibian vehicle.

[@RoadCone411]

When I lived in Berkshire, UK, there was a house in the neighborhood with two Metropolitans in the driveway. It always intrigued me as a kid as I really never saw any others on the road or elsewhere. This was in the early 1980s. Imagine my surprise when in the late 2010s, the house still had two Metropolitans in the driveway, presumably the same ones although I couldn’t say. A very unusual car to say the least, obviously somebody was a collector. Wish I knew the whole story. Thanks for another informative video!

[@mikethecabbie8476]

When I was very young (early 60s), I lived in Maidenhead and was regularly taken to the river there. I often saw a Metropolitan parked at the waterside, loved the looks of the thing, and for the last 60+ yrs have always associated the two together. I STILL love the looks of it...

[@forthbrdge6162]

My dad (who worked in auto styling around this era) pointed out that door pressings demonstrate the original goal of having re-usable components from the front and rear. The door was intended to be symmetrical about its centerline so the same pressing could be used on both sides of the car, with only the location of the door handle swapped.

[@patrickl2195]

My grandparents owned one in the U.K. They quickly decided they didn’t like it (interesting styling, very poor driving experience) and moved on to a Triumph Herald.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

I had one years ago. The shop manual told you how to fix the glove compartment lock. One day, it fell apart on the floor. Good thing I had the manual. I never had trouble with the rear end or the water pump. Everything else was a problem.

[@leifvejby8023]

And now we are told not to drink the battery acid!

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@leifvejby8023 And don't use the crankcase oil to slick your hair.

[@michaeloreilly657]

Nice to see your own work included in the video.

[@kenhanson4015]

I bought a red and white 59 from a neighbor for one hundred dollars when I was 14. I couldn't (legally) drive it for two more years, but I did sneak out on occasion and drive around the neighborhood before dad got home from work. Never got caught. If I would have known how special that car was, I would have taken better care of it and kept it. I'm 69 now, have 13 collector cars, and I wish my Metro was one of them.

[@victorm.photovic9983]

The thumbnail looks like the car Lois Lane drove in the original Superman TV series!🤣

[@gregorylenton8200]

still looks modern and classy..enjoyed...thanks

[@stanwbaker]

As an American who lives quite close to Wilhelmi AMC/Douglas Rambler & Metropolitan, this is the one for which I have waited. How our world would be different if the collaboration between AMC and BMC lasted just a few more years. Excepting the exterior door handles.

[@brettbuck7362]

I cannot see why in the world any US car company would associate themselves with the various junky British car companies, it assured failure due to unreliability and poor performance. The US was *far ahead* of the British even before the war, they could have done better on their own.

[@m3cvfm]

My very first car,in 1969.

[@fletcherchristian1611]

Same here🙂👍

[@ianbower7756]

I think I’m correct in saying that, in the UK, it was sold as a Metropolitan (not Austin Metropolitan) even though it was sold through Austin dealerships.

[@grahambell4298]

Correct. No Austin badges anywhere on the body - only under the bonnet.

[@thiswasnoboakingaccident6368]

2:48 It's like he's being forced to smile at gunpoint while watching someone getting beaten to death.

[@drstevenrey]

2:47. Same picture, the prototype. Me like a lot. In my eyes this grill looks better than the one that was actually sold. And OMFG, have you seen what these cute cars fetch nowadays. Can't afford that, sadly.

[@Charliecomet82]

These were still a common sight in the 1970's San Francisco Bay Area; it seemed like most drivers were oldsters, using them as grocery-getters.

[@limeylive8182]

Memories of my best mate Ed. He loved this car, his was a red and white hard top. ✌

[@joekulik999]

I was born in 1949 and there were still many around America when I was a teenager. I can say that the Metropolitan made more of an impression on me than any other car back then, even more than muscle cars like the GTO and the Camaro. The overall design of the Metropolitan evoked from me the same emotions as my well worn bedroom slippers. A feeling of comfort and familiarity. That's the way that I remember this car. I wish now that I had bought one.

[@asa1973100]

I remember these still being on the road in the early 1970s , mostly driven by older people shopping

[@Mounhas]

The UK Metropolitan was always recognized by its two tone colours & the wheel on the back.

[@henryrodgers7386]

I've been seeing a lot of people starting to restore and save old Nash and AMC models. Which is great, because most of them are weird. And I appreciate that. Fairly recently, a Metropolitan won a national contest in the US, and was made into a Hot Wheels car! I have one of said little cars on my computer desk. Very stylish.

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Even as a kid - I'm 67, and in UK - I thought the Metropolitan a joke as being very good looking but so small for an American type car. Toy like. Maybe if Austin had restyled it - that front end and given it decent wheel arches - to look less American it might've found more favour in Britain as a personal/couples little car more practical than the Brit sports cars of the time.

[@edwardallan197]

Fascinating story of an unusual car!

[@ChatterboxFM]

It’s funny, even though it was aimed at women, I can’t think of a single person I encountered that wasn’t charmed by the lil’ guy.

[@jameshepburn4631]

With its size and rounded Nash styling sitting on small narrow tires it was often described as looking like “a bathtub on wheels”. It was ahead of its time in an age when American cars were ‘built for comfort’ and gas was dirt cheap.

[@tommunyon2874]

My friend and I would walk to his mother's workplace after catechism class and get ride home in her Metropolitan. The time his mother gave her 300 pound co- worker a ride as well as us two is something I will always remember. The back seat was basically an upholstered shelf.

[@nilo9456]

Thank you for this interesting video, I had no idea of how wide a market this car had. I live in the States and believed that the car was US designed and manufactured. Good to learn differently.

[@AledPritchard]

I really like these cars. I remember seeing one with a red over ivory / cream paint job. Great channel!

[@joellamoureux7914]

A shame they didn't produce something much closer to the two prototypes you showed. I bet they'd have sold many more. I do not like the product as released. The low grille in the prototype looks great. The Fiat drawing looked fantastic. The end product came out frumpy looking to me. Kudos to them for the creativity.

[@gwine9087]

Oh my. My wife had one.

[@AndrewDederer]

One notable flaw (especially for a "second car"), the first 3 models required you to move the rear seats to access the trunk. And that neat spare is right in the way when they finally gave the trunk a lid. They are eye-catching in the wild (being so tall for their size, and inevitably two-toned). Cool to drive, cool to be seen in, not very practical..

[@DaBlazesUSay]

My family had one back in the day! It was a 1959 hardtop & it was pink and white. It was my family's first "second car." Dad drove it mostly. He enjoyed driving a stick shift more than my Mom did. But, I didn't like sitting in the back seat because it had almost no legroom, even for a kid! We had it until my uncle borrowed it and wrecked it. Dad replaced it with a Simca, a French subcompact.

[@CarlosVazquez-p4c]

My mother had one in 1956.

[@annenelson5656]

My grandma had a black and white one

[@SurfBandFan]

A family friend bought a his and hers pair of new'59 Metropolitans, a blue /white and a red/white. Unfortunately, they rusted out rather quickly.....(in the salt belt).

[@drstevenrey]

Those poor men that had to drive this thing around some test track. They all look seriously embarrassed. Don't get me wrong, I like this quirky cool car a lot.

[@john1703]

There never was a 1.4 litre. 1.2 (1199 cc) and then 1.5 (1489 cc). Nerdy, I realise, but you started this. 😁 They were sold in Britain from 1957 to 1961 with RHD and boot lids, as Metropolitans (1.5). They were certainly made at Longbridge, but did not carry an Austin badge. The pressings for both doors were the same, only the holes for handles were reversed. BMC did a similar trick with the 1800, Maxi and 3 Litre, which all shared similar doors.

[@Inerturn]

Oops I stayed up too late again

[@dougjones4007]

Had one!

[@greenseaships]

Welp! I'm off to eBay motors to see what Metropolitans are up for sale....

[@nakoma5]

I think I heard this is what the classic bumper cars were inspired by.

[@Tiberius_Edgeworth]

You know, you ought to consider doing one on the origin story of the Mazda MX5 and how it sought to imitate earlier British models like the MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, and Triumph TR6 (unless you already did and I missed it)

[@brettbuck7362]

The Miata had little to do with the Spridgit or Triumph - it was a conceptual redo of a Lotus Elan.

[@Charliecomet82]

@@brettbuck7362 It was sold as one, though.

[@cerealtiller]

IIRC the second version had a BMC. 1.5 Engine?(Edit ..it was the Series 3)

[@maxcleveland3446]

One of Zippy's favorite cars.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

Yow!

[@maxcleveland3446]

@@lawrencelewis2592 Favors the '51 Studebaker too, you know, the one with the point!

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@maxcleveland3446 Ah yes, a bear's natural habitat!

[@CM73878]

Honey, I shrank the auto

[@PerfectInterview]

My father purchased a brand new, full sized, base level Chrysler Plymouth with a slant six engine for $2,000 in 1960. So clearly the Nash Metropolitan was substantially overpriced.

[@Danger_mouse]

6:48 It's um, not a terribly attractive looking conveyance, is it? 😳 Looks like an Amphicar...

[@drstevenrey]

3:50. America, again, overestimating itself badly. Europe and Asia have the same roads as America does, but you need to be a seriously better driver than American will ever be. So many American land yachts were used in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and many others with so called narrow roads. A narrow road is the drivers problem not the cars. Case in point, there are more and better American vintage cars in these countries than in the USA.

[@SteveMillar-t3f]

Trouble as well it look to American plus being under powered but I liked it.

[@EuropaSman]

11:53 the statement regarding compression ratio doesn't make sense. Do you mean it was raised from 7.2:1 (seven point two to one) to 8.3 :1 (eight point to one) as per what is written on Wikipedia? It's just that 7-2-1 to 8-3-1 is meaningless Ruairidh. Other than that it's an interesting video.

[@a11csc]

❤️👍😊

[@AndreasGlad-rq7vx]

Not "powered by",underpowered by.

[@rjs1138]

That's a no from me...looks like an expensive pedal car 🤯🇬🇧 Still, tastes were different then...

[@KarlHamilton]

The worst of both worlds.

[@drstevenrey]

2:47. Please note: If you are trying to sell a new product, DO NOT use such people that look like portraits from a bottle of poison without the crossed bones. Did his dog die or did his cat die or did his wife run away with the dog and the cat.

[@TTTzzzz]

This is a design classic. One of the worst ever.

[@SuperMcgenius]

You are making a car video , add specs, 0-60, hp rating, torque. Top speed.

[@sutherlandA1]

He does much more than car videos

[@turkeytrac1]

They look really weird, yet cool with a small block chevy V8 up frontband a narrowed 9 inch ford rear axle between silly sized slicks.

[@TheGrimStoic]

a white goods approach to car design - and it looks it

[@JenniferinIllinois]

I was saying it looked like a refrigerator on wheels. Makes sense with Kelvinator being a refrigerator manufacturer. 😉

[@TheGrimStoic]

​@@JenniferinIllinois to be fair, america also gave us giants like harley earl and virgil exner - so a few duds here and there are amusingly instructive about design evolution

[@macjim]

I’m not saying this car, and brand, was the same but there was a car that looked very similar to this one that could go on water… if you can find it, it might make a good story to cover, Ruairidh. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 I’m sure there was article and technical drawing of the car in the Eagle comic.

[@stanwbaker]

The [West] German Amphicar 770 shared no aspects with the Metropolitan.