Featured The Vintage Pedal Car Thread

These cars are made for 3 to 8 year olds. I'm 6'4". Never crossed my mind.

 

Prior to the depression there were even electric vehicles for children. Not just electric lights and horns, actual electric motors. Bugatti even made a junior version of one their actual production cars.

 

There are now replicas of the 'Bugatti Baby', which Ettore Bugatti had made for his son Roland. The original Bugatti Baby was a 1:2 scale model, the new Baby is 3:4.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news...with-test-drives-of-3-4-scale-bugatti-baby-ii

 

Alexis de Sakhnoffsky learnt at the right place in the right time. he started his career - and probably an apprenticeship on the job - in Switzerland.

 

Wow, I didn't know that they were reintroducing the junior versions. Thanks for sharing that story. Here is a link to their site for all of you that need one in your garage: https://bugattibaby.com

 

Every garage needs one.

 

When I was a kid, we had a place in Brooklyn that we went to for fun. It had rides and an arcade and games etc. I think, but am not sure, they had one of these and it was somehow attached to a screen with a movie so you could pretend you were driving like a grown up.
Where did all the years go???

 

Sounds like the genesis of today's virtual reality experiences. ha

 

Prior to the streamlined moderne cars of the 30s, kids enjoyed cars that were rich with a variety of accessories and features. Below is a 1926 American National Cadillac.(95 years old in original condition) Included in the post is a page from the 1926 Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. Note that this car comes with a two speed shaft drive system that made pedaling much easier on the kid driving it. I'm the third owner of this car after pursuing this acquisition for 17 years.

 

AND IT'S ONLY $35,000.00 !!!! BUY, BY ALL MEANS!!!! LORDY, THEY ARE GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/25/success/bugatti-baby-electric-car-for-kids/index.html

 

Neal, thanks for posting all this.....been a FUN THREAD!!!!!

 

I look at this and I instantly want it.

 

The first time I saw it I instantly wanted it too. Then I patiently waited for almost two decades to acquire it.

 

LOL. But so worth the wait, I'm sure.

 

Now, THAT'S patience!!!!!!!!

 

Well back in the day when this car was being sold, the manufacturer created a word game not unlike some of the mobile app words games of today. They offered 10 of these cars pictured above as prizes. My quest has been to acquire examples of each of the 7 cars the kids could choose from in this specific contest.

 

@Neal Andres - I would imagine there are precious few (if any) of those Packard 8 Coupe cars still around.

 

Your intuition is pretty accurate. There were regular coupes and Deluxe ones. The one in the ad is a deluxe. I know of two deluxe coupes. One of them I just know stories of. It has not come out for sale or auction, still in the original family's hands. There are a few regular coupes known, maybe 4 presentable and 2 more basket cases. One of the basket case coupes is actually an electric motor version. There are also restored coupes out there but in this niche, it's often difficult to tell if something is real or reproduced.The deluxe pictured in this post sold at auction 10 years ago for $40,000 while the non deluxe sold for $38,000. So start searching those attics.

 

@Neal Andres - what materials did they use for the windshields on your 20's and 30's cars?