Want to see more from this Freeway's owner? Follow him on social media! He also owns the Th!nk City and CitiCar that I've featured here before. Instagram: @fellerfactory (instagram.com/fellerfactory/) Twitter: @realKyleFeller (twitter.com/realKyleFeller)
The Trabant was not that bad. Oh it was at the end of production 1989/1990, but at the beginning in the early 60's it wasn't bad at all. The body was very innovative. The rest wasn't that far off from other European small cars around that time. That's even more true for the first version the Trabant 500 from the 50's. It was build at the same time as the Isetta! Only never got updated for various political reasons.
@@MrSpirit99 Nice try to educate, but its hopeless. Its way more fun to laugh about a slow plastic car, with a two stroke engine, small brakes and no airbags. Compared to a 50s Lloyd Alexander, the engineering of the Trabant was a good job. But its more fun to compare it with late 80s cars. And you dont have to know anything about cars to do that, so its easy, too.
@@JohnSmith-eo5sp Trabants could be updated with a four-cylinder engine (Skoda or Polski Fiat) and a lot of backyard engineering, the engine compartment is large-ish enough. This vehicle is doomed to have a lawnmower motor in it.
My guess is they were able to reuse excess plastic (Or the coloring?) from other heavy equipment/construction equipment manufacturers at the time and cut costs
@@bannahpinson3330 no no no you need to think logically everyone has an inner child and look at the freeway it's basically an amusement park ride and it was apparently cheap to buy who wouldn't want one for that reason alone Think About It!!!!!!!!
@@raven4k998 now this is a good point, notice as aging wheels pulled out of that parking lot their was a second freeway sitting in front of the owners house... my guess is two kids !
@@bannahpinson3330 yeah well there's that and think about how Robert reacts when driving it have you ever seen anyone act like that driving a regular vehicle nope they have never had that much fun driving something that slow and loud so it makes sense people didn't buy it as serious transport but more for amusement because it is amusing to watch that thing go from a video it must be hilarious to drive the thing down the street the cars slower then a tribant but it looks like a hell of a lot more fun to drive then a tribant
First, I think it very smart that the car is Yield Sign Yellow. Second, I would think the electric version would be much quieter, which is comforting when you are about to die.
It also won't go as fast, and therefore won't inspire absolute terror trundling down the road at speed. You're not going to get anywhere fast, but you're also not going to feel like you're about to die getting there.
"The whole Go-Pro is vibrating, sorry about that" well you did a good job advertising for Go-Pro cause it clearly does an amazing job canceling out the vibrations!
@@highlypolishedturd7947 Having had personal experience with a couple 70's British cars, I suspect that the carpet had just degraded and was nasty. But it should have been replaced, it really could help the noise level inside, especially with a little dynamat underneath. However, having no sound treatment would save weight... Which really matters with only 12hp or whatever it has.
"Every person I see is staring at me because I'm driving bright yellow suppository with a lawn mower engine." You have got yourself a new subscriber sir!
My college buddy bought one of these, and even belonged to club of fellow owners, who helped each other keep them running. He lived in suburban Chicago, and used his for fun in the warmer months. He did tell me they were pretty terrible, and horrible in any kind of snow and ice. He said they all had fun with them, but knew they were short lived.
@@censusgary I remember him telling me about a club or group,...then recently I read something, that confirmed it. It was an article about how the owners of these vehicles have annual events that the public can attend, where they can see a dozen Freeways,...& watch them drive around.
@@elliotkane4443Well at the time, it seemed like the pathway to a more efficient kind of car, maybe one that saved fuel. Tiny 3 wheeled cars had been around forever. People like "kit" cars built off a recycled VW Beetle chassis. OK maybe this one failed, but no harm in trying something new. Every year someone invents a new mini-three wheeler. Ever hear of The Elio? It tried to launch in 2010, it was kind of kit car based off of: "off the shelf" parts, combining motorcycle parts, meant to a one person car, and it looked really cool. It was going to sell for real cheap, not much more than medium priced motorcycle, with an enclosed driver compartment. It was supposed to be an all-season car, but proved only to be useful in warmer climates without snow or much real weather.
Trainzguy2472 I just found out someone resumed production of the Peel P50 in 2011, and they are selling maybe 10-15 a year. That is far more then can be said about the FreeWay. Original Peels have been auctioned for insane prices, over £100k. FreeWays... $5k to $6k at best.
Well it was the 70s. The design was like that. Basically what someone from the 40s thought the future should look like. Wonder if all the people living back then where colour blind? Everything was in "light" colours (baby blue, pink or light green) or varying shades of brown.
@@Vollification I can not recall which decade it was, but I can recall years ago going over this basic question in a design class and it mostly came down to new paints/materials that were not available (or were horribly expensive) only a few years before that. So the taste came down to 'because we can, and before we could not'
@@neeneko Wasn't that also why they hade all the non-sense food back then? "We have stuff now that we didn't before so let's make stuff up like pineapple and ham." I used to study to study graphical design and you can clearly see how the taste in marketing went from informative, serious and classy (everyone wanted to look like they where the most serious company in the world) to cheap and downright tacky.
@@Vollification that would not surprise me, though there was also a LOT of marketing involved in the post WWII food industry since there was a massive military-foodstuffs capacity that they wanted to repurposed. But yeah, trends in design over time are really fascinating, with so much 'yeah, it is a bad idea, but everyone is doing it and we don't want to risk being on the out!'
At least the Reliant 3 wheelers had a point as it allowed people with only a motorbike licence in the UK to be able to drive a "car", this doesn't have that advantage.
@rob witt the fact that it stops a forklift has more to do with the brakes it's engaging and less about the handle. I'm sure this vehicle doesn't have a forklift parking brake on the wheel.
My neighbor had one of those. He said to me, "I wish I hadn't bought that darn car." The same neighbor rolled his on a cloverleaf and told me if I ever bought one to be careful with it's instability.
I would LOVE to have one! I'm extremely amused by tiny, impractical cars, but I don't have the money or space to actually collect micro cars. I just have a AH Sprite
@@jimmybarr9411 1969 When I was 12, Mom came home with a Sprite, just for fun. She LOVED cars. She died last year, and left me a bit of inheritance, so I decided to buy something in her memory. She was fond of American muscle, especially Camaro SS convertibles, but I never forgot that little Sprite.
@Carl Brutananadilewski "wat" is a form of slang. It's being used in a casual form, so it's not breaking any rules. Go be a pendant somewhere else, like reddit or 4chan.
Yeah, you don't drive them in the winter here anyway. At first frost I went over a bridge and it was slick. Did a 360 at about 45 mph. Scared the bageezes out of me, so decided to turn around and go home.... Over the same bridge not thinking.... Did the same thing at 50 mph this time. When cold, I didn't use the heater anyway. As you can see from this video, comfort is the last thing you are thinking about.
I love that the owner started walking after you as soon as you started because he knew you'd kill the engine. Also you reused the "leaving" shot for "returning", so I assume it died again
@@KanawhaCountyWX I think that's how they were able to make and sell 700 of these 700 people bought it solely for the comedy factor only cause that's the only thing that thing has going for it
Driving the cutting blades probably uses up to 30% of the engine's power. And I'm willing to bet it's built out of something more substantial than scrap steel tubing, so a bit of weight keeps it at safe speeds. This thing is glorious in its success... at removing anything to which you could associate the word 'safe'.
Arstotzkan But you don’t need registration for your lawnmower, can earn gas money cutting grass during your trip , and depending on your location no dui.
Mega flame404 I’ve been saying it wrong all these years then! Not like it matters since they went belly up and liquid Combustion Technology is much easier to pronounce!
I purchased, well ordered, one of these during the gas crisis. A fellow college teacher had one, and since it was parked in the college lot all day, he put a small Tupperware sandwich box on the roof full of his 'business cards' that listed him as a dealer of sorts for Freeway; the cards invited interested people to call him, and he would either meet them at the college or drive to their homes, and let them take a spin. I don't recall which engine he had in his, but the one I ordered had the largest gas engine size. When I test drove his, it handled fairly well, and I had no trouble getting it up to 55 mph on the local county highway. I don't recall having trouble keeping it going straight, or having trouble getting it up to speed. Perhaps the car in this video is worm out, or improperly maintained/adjusted or something. But I never did take possession of my Freeway. I had ordered it with the optional electric reverse, which I recall was just a small electric motor, connected to the same battery as the engine's starter motor, with some kind of mechanism to roll the car backwards....it was only supposed to be used for a few feet, to back out of parking spaces. But they told me that I might have to wait for a month or two while they worked out the bugs in the reverse mechanism. That time came and went, and when I tried to finally cancel my order due to the delays, I learned that they had filed for bankruptcy or something, and all down payments for undelivered cars were now voided, so I lost my money....I recall it was perhaps $500 or something like that. I had contacted the Illinois drivers license office, and they told me that these were considered to be cars, and that I would not need to get a motorcycle license to drive it. I vaguely recall that the one I test drove had a seat belt; maybe they were only installed in cars sold in states that required them, or in states that classified them as cars. I recalled asking the manufacturer if they had tested these in (simulated) accidents at highway speeds. They said no, but an early customer had run his into a bridge abutment while going faster than 50 mph, and "survived", whatever that means....he might have been near death or been dismembered or turned into a vegetable, but he "survived". I only went ahead and ordered mine for the short commute of fairly empty country highways I had to make every day. I had no plans to use it for anything longer, faster, or in any kind of inclement weather. Even if I had received the one I ordered, the gas crisis was over soon, and I probably would not have continued to drive it for very long. I went back to driving my Jeep CJ and my Gremlin.
I don't know, 50 miles per gallon? To drove around the neighborhood. I think the guy that drove it way a scared wimp that when he's at a golf course he complains about.. you know there's no seat belts in the golf cart
+Velleity Even "full size" european cars from the 60's and 70's got about 50 MPG with tiny but not terrible 1.0 or 1.1 engines, and could still reach highway speeds.
That drive looked incredibly fun!! From the back it looks pretty sweet, but I can't believe that thing was allowed on the road even for the late 70's early 80's.
Had a 16 hp version back in the early to mid 1980s. They advertised it as highway capable so I bought one for commuting to work . Actually drove it on expressways. I was young and stupid believing all the brochure bullshit. The vehicle was dangerous at speeds above 40mph. I actually got it up to 60 -65 on a smooth straight stretch of Express way and lived. Sold it after putting 7000 miles on it mostly in congested rush hour traffic. The vehicle not practical and was poorly engineered. Trailer brakes in front with stamped out wavy surface drums and non centering shoes for erratic pulsating stops. Rear end assembly with wheel engine & CVT isolated from rear of vehicle with RUBBER. The vehicle would wander and follow irregularities in the road surface
The Robin only tips cause the driver is out of the base of support (2 seater) it would be far more stable with 2 people of equal weight in the front, this 1 seater would be way more stable
Thanks for the hilarious video. In the 60'-70's in the UK we had the fibreglass Reliant Robin if you could'nt afford a car...but it was very capable especially on fuel and you could jump straight into it on a motorcycle licence. Being one wheel forward/two wheels back it could be very hairy on quick bends!
“I didn’t have the fuel pump on.” A trouble known to vintage Land Rover owners. Although in that case, it is that the switch was in the position for fuel pump 1 which burned out in 1986. Fortunately, British Leyland new this would happen, so installed 2.
I really enjoyed watching you work on your Trabant, but holy crap, these "car" reviews are the best thing ever. I'm glad you are back to putting out videos.
That really did make me laugh . The owner is clearly one of the world's great eccentrics and i think you're denying your desire for a plastic lawnmower powered monstrosity. Brilliant!
Hello. I owned a freeway flyer in 2000, I paid 1500 bucks for the thing. Got it running and discovered that I needed to rebuild the torque converter drive system and also the rear swing arm. I bought it for my girlfriend to drive to work at Kennedy space center as cheap way to work. It was a hit as far as appearance. She was getting 90mpg on the drives but was very slow, and scary at high speeds. I had it up to 63 mph but was very lose in 😢he steering at that speed. The girlfriend ended up rolling it in front of the vehicle assembly building at the cape. I sold it after that. But still doubled my money on the sale.
Just when I foolishly assumed that your 'bottom feeding' automotive interests couldn't sink any lower than the (good grief) Trabant, or the (shudder) Wheego you have come through for your loyal fans yet again. Well done Robert!
It reminds me of the Bond 3 wheeler that we had in the UK. I used to think that was the worst car I had ever seen - until I watched you drive the Freeway! Thanks for an amusing video.
When you want to inflate your resume"Yeah, I built over 700 freeways.". Doug DeMuro: "I review the weirdest cars in existence!"Aging Wheels: "Challenge accepted.".
I love this video !! I laughed my ass off as Kyle (If that's his name) describes how this car performs. It was as if he takes you on the journey with him and you actually get to feel the ride and laugh with him and have a good time. Fantastic job, Great video !!
Company: How cheap can we go on building this? Designer: How about we mix a boat with a lawmower and make it super tiny? Company: Too expensive... Designer: Ok **this vehicle design** Company: Brilliant!
I seriously considered building one of the three wheel vehicles that was (I think) featured in a popular mechanics like publication at the time. It was called the Tri-muter if I recall correctly. I might still have the plans out in storage. With more recent improvements in electric technology, it might be fun to consider ... at least in concept :-)
In 1982 or 83 Popular Mechanics did an exclusive on the Tri-Magnum which was a motorcycle backend and drive system subframed to a Volkswagen Beetle/Type 1 front end. Very stylish and ahead of its time.
God bless the trabant, really this car (the HM freeway) makes you crawl back crying to the trabant saying how sorry you are about all those mean words and curses you insulted the trabant with.
Okay. I’ve been working my way through the catalog, and this video really stands out. Not only is this the first time I was genuinely concerned for his safety? This is also the first time I’ve EVER seen him survive a clown car/medieval torture device and NOT immediately express a deep desire to own it.
Want to see more from this Freeway's owner? Follow him on social media! He also owns the Th!nk City and CitiCar that I've featured here before.
Instagram: @fellerfactory (instagram.com/fellerfactory/)
Twitter: @realKyleFeller (twitter.com/realKyleFeller)
Unfortunately, both links say "Page not found" :(
Thanks Kyle!
Still better looking than the city car
So when are you going to get an elio? Better question, when is anyone going to get an elio?
You think this car is the most basic 3 wheel car. You should get your hands on a "Peel 50"
“Don’t store anything valuable in it” honestly, crooks may just throw free stuff in there out of pity.
nice
Experience living in cities tells me that if anything looks like junk in a public place, people will throw stuff *in* it as trash.
Have a like :D
Yeah, maybe you'll return to the parking lot and the thieves left you a better crappy car.. again out of pity.
@@macwayart like a Honda Civic?
“Cars” like this are why I really don’t consider The Trabant to be that bad.
The Trabant was not that bad. Oh it was at the end of production 1989/1990, but at the beginning in the early 60's it wasn't bad at all. The body was very innovative. The rest wasn't that far off from other European small cars around that time. That's even more true for the first version the Trabant 500 from the 50's.
It was build at the same time as the Isetta! Only never got updated for various political reasons.
Trabant was just a plastic box on wheels, powered by a lawn-mower engine(two stroke) aka: an obsolete motorcycle engine
@@MrSpirit99 Nice try to educate, but its hopeless. Its way more fun to laugh about a slow plastic car, with a two stroke engine, small brakes and no airbags. Compared to a 50s Lloyd Alexander, the engineering of the Trabant was a good job. But its more fun to compare it with late 80s cars. And you dont have to know anything about cars to do that, so its easy, too.
@@JohnSmith-eo5sp Trabants could be updated with a four-cylinder engine (Skoda or Polski Fiat) and a lot of backyard engineering, the engine compartment is large-ish enough. This vehicle is doomed to have a lawnmower motor in it.
dream for me would still be a nice trabant shell n pop in an electric engine ^_^
Why are all weird cars from the oil crisis era yellow, plastic and designed by Walt Disney's animation team?
Aerodynamics and lightness probably. Yellow is just stylish 😂
Yellow was a really popular color in the late 70s. It was never bright yellow, more of a harvest gold.
Maybe yellow plastic was particularly cheap.
My guess is they were able to reuse excess plastic (Or the coloring?) from other heavy equipment/construction equipment manufacturers at the time and cut costs
@Mike L anti theft devices. 😆😂🤣
When you want to inflate your resume
"Yeah, I built over 700 freeways."
I am shocked you could find 700 people to buy something like that you'd think it would be no one but eh it's a strange strange world we live in
@@raven4k998 think of smoking crack in the 70s, these are the people who purchased these machines
@@bannahpinson3330 no no no you need to think logically everyone has an inner child and look at the freeway it's basically an amusement park ride and it was apparently cheap to buy who wouldn't want one for that reason alone Think About It!!!!!!!!
@@raven4k998 now this is a good point, notice as aging wheels pulled out of that parking lot their was a second freeway sitting in front of the owners house... my guess is two kids !
@@bannahpinson3330 yeah well there's that and think about how Robert reacts when driving it have you ever seen anyone act like that driving a regular vehicle nope they have never had that much fun driving something that slow and loud so it makes sense people didn't buy it as serious transport but more for amusement because it is amusing to watch that thing go from a video it must be hilarious to drive the thing down the street the cars slower then a tribant but it looks like a hell of a lot more fun to drive then a tribant
"A silly little micro car with 3 wheels and no hope." I love this guy!!!!
how can it feel like it's going to tip over it has two wheels in the front🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@raven4k998 I know, right.🤣🤣🤣
Doug DeMuro: "I review the weirdest cars in existence!"
Aging Wheels: "Challenge accepted."
I am honestly expect an "AW score table" to apprear any episode.
Regular Car Reviews: first time?
This is more interesting than Top Gear at times lol
The funny thing is that Doug Demuro actually reviewed the Aging Wheels Trabant 601S
@@VeraTheTabbynx And his Zastava Yugo.
When a car makes you long for the sophistication and comfort of a Trabant that's saying something;)
Trabant: i wobble
Freeway: *hold my beer*
when a car makes you dream of the sophistication and reliability of a model A .... lol.
I'll take a go-cart please .
like whole families went here on holidays with a trabant or a polski fiat, soo, it is much-much worse
"...sophistication and comfort of a Trabant..." is a phrase I never thought i'd read.
When a "car" fails to be as reliable, well engineered, and as powerful as a Trabant.
They are called chevy.
A Trabant is a high quality muscle-car compared to this.
‘Kaa!?' - The sound a crow makes when one approaches.
First, I think it very smart that the car is Yield Sign Yellow. Second, I would think the electric version would be much quieter, which is comforting when you are about to die.
that's gotta be a safety feature🤣
Now, add a pair of _Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses™_ and you won't even see Death when he arrives!!
It also won't go as fast, and therefore won't inspire absolute terror trundling down the road at speed. You're not going to get anywhere fast, but you're also not going to feel like you're about to die getting there.
Electric one also won't stall out because of the fuel pump.
6:50 I love how the other guy is just casually walking after you at almost the same speed as the 'car'.
happens all the time with that car🤣
Did the 16hp version come with a hitch?
Speeding fast.......Semi at your tail !!!!.
Comes with optional wagon so you can bring the family on outings.
The local bullies can pick it up and walk off with it.
No, but I have seen people add their own hitch.
For what purpose, my uncles 22hp lawnmower cant pull a loaded trailer
"The whole Go-Pro is vibrating, sorry about that" well you did a good job advertising for Go-Pro cause it clearly does an amazing job canceling out the vibrations!
Yes, we see the car vibrating but the world is steady.
That looked more like warb-stabilization done in post
The shag carpet WAS the sound absorption material, and now that it's gone, what do you expect?
Maybe the shag carpet was just too 70's for a previous owner?
@@highlypolishedturd7947 Having had personal experience with a couple 70's British cars, I suspect that the carpet had just degraded and was nasty. But it should have been replaced, it really could help the noise level inside, especially with a little dynamat underneath.
However, having no sound treatment would save weight... Which really matters with only 12hp or whatever it has.
@@jonnda Yeah, you're probably right.
Dynamat it.
Shag carpet is exactly what this thing is missing.
"Every person I see is staring at me because I'm driving bright yellow suppository with a lawn mower engine."
You have got yourself a new subscriber sir!
My college buddy bought one of these, and even belonged to club of fellow owners, who helped each other keep them running. He lived in suburban Chicago, and used his for fun in the warmer months. He did tell me they were pretty terrible, and horrible in any kind of snow and ice. He said they all had fun with them, but knew they were short lived.
It must have been a pretty small club, if only 700 of these gizmos were ever built- and I assume not all of them went to Chicago.
@@censusgary I remember him telling me about a club or group,...then recently I read something, that confirmed it. It was an article about how the owners of these vehicles have annual events that the public can attend, where they can see a dozen Freeways,...& watch them drive around.
@@Davett53 People have some strange hobbies for sure, but this... Why?
@@elliotkane4443Well at the time, it seemed like the pathway to a more efficient kind of car, maybe one that saved fuel. Tiny 3 wheeled cars had been around forever. People like "kit" cars built off a recycled VW Beetle chassis. OK maybe this one failed, but no harm in trying something new. Every year someone invents a new mini-three wheeler. Ever hear of The Elio? It tried to launch in 2010, it was kind of kit car based off of: "off the shelf" parts, combining motorcycle parts, meant to a one person car, and it looked really cool. It was going to sell for real cheap, not much more than medium priced motorcycle, with an enclosed driver compartment. It was supposed to be an all-season car, but proved only to be useful in warmer climates without snow or much real weather.
The more excited he gets, the more he sounds like Kermit the Frog.
That's true!!! Lol
He sure is a whiney fellow.
Way to go. Now I can't unhear it. Thanks alot
I thought he sounded like Chris Griffin from Family Guy 😂
@Voltaic Fire 🤦🏻♂️😂💯
"she'll go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene"
Put it in H
Zagravev min zlotny dev
ruclips.net/video/9HXT7fDkf9I/видео.html
"she'll mow 50 feet of lawn on a quarter of a tank"
I'll be a duck, smashed by a house, ....and a metal plate !!!
Daddy, can Billy borrow the car?.
It isn't a Peel P50, but it is just about as hilarious!
@Deon Denis or made you sweat like a pig during summertime?
Somehow, a Peel Trident is still a better car than the HM FreeWay.
The Peel actually had decent bodywork and design.
@@DeerKoden Just stick your head out the window.
Trainzguy2472 I just found out someone resumed production of the Peel P50 in 2011, and they are selling maybe 10-15 a year. That is far more then can be said about the FreeWay. Original Peels have been auctioned for insane prices, over £100k. FreeWays... $5k to $6k at best.
I can imagine the designer marveling at his sleek futuristic car on the drawing board.
Well it was the 70s. The design was like that. Basically what someone from the 40s thought the future should look like. Wonder if all the people living back then where colour blind? Everything was in "light" colours (baby blue, pink or light green) or varying shades of brown.
@@Vollification I can not recall which decade it was, but I can recall years ago going over this basic question in a design class and it mostly came down to new paints/materials that were not available (or were horribly expensive) only a few years before that. So the taste came down to 'because we can, and before we could not'
@@neeneko Wasn't that also why they hade all the non-sense food back then?
"We have stuff now that we didn't before so let's make stuff up like pineapple and ham."
I used to study to study graphical design and you can clearly see how the taste in marketing went from informative, serious and classy (everyone wanted to look like they where the most serious company in the world) to cheap and downright tacky.
@@Vollification that would not surprise me, though there was also a LOT of marketing involved in the post WWII food industry since there was a massive military-foodstuffs capacity that they wanted to repurposed.
But yeah, trends in design over time are really fascinating, with so much 'yeah, it is a bad idea, but everyone is doing it and we don't want to risk being on the out!'
@@neeneko The history of marketing, do what everyone else does but louder :p
"This is so unsafe, let's give it more gas."
I have an off road go-kart that has better performance and safety.
Wow, it's like someone saw a Robin Reliant and said "I wonder if I could do worse" and then somehow succeeded beyond all their hopes and dreams.
At least it has two wheels in the front instead of the back so it won’t flip as easily.
At least the Reliant 3 wheelers had a point as it allowed people with only a motorbike licence in the UK to be able to drive a "car", this doesn't have that advantage.
@@dglcomputers1498
Isn't this also technically a motorcycle?
@@roadent217 he stated it was.
Reliant Robin, NOT Robin Reliant. You wouldn't say Escort Ford or Golf VW...
That emergency brake is from a forklift 😂 lol
My dad’s 03 GMC C4500 uses the exact same one too.
maybe they just found a surplus stock of forklift emergency brakes and just decided they would make a fine addition to their “car” haha
I think I'd feel safer driving the forklift
It also looks like the same ones in HMMWV's. Except those work in the normal fashion, up = engaged.
@rob witt the fact that it stops a forklift has more to do with the brakes it's engaging and less about the handle. I'm sure this vehicle doesn't have a forklift parking brake on the wheel.
"Don't pull out in front of me" is something I say out of irritation, you said it out of pure terror 😂
I've done it a few times in my Beetle, which is a paragon of automotive excellence compared to that thing.
Its a Death trap!!
My neighbor had one of those. He said to me, "I wish I hadn't bought that darn car." The same neighbor rolled his on a cloverleaf and told me if I ever bought one to be careful with it's instability.
Add the training/racing 4th and 5th wheel kit!
Whoa whoa whoa. A cloverleaf? As in he actually drove this on the interstate?
@@stevethepocket No, he went into a turn and ran over a leaf.
What was he thinking anyway when he bought that thing
Like you’re ever going to buy one, after seeing his?
Aging Wheels: “I don’t want one of these”
Me: I want one of these
Part of me feels this way too, but I'd have to reengineer a few things on it!
With a good motorcycle pushing and a real stering / suspension, that could be a viable ride.
I would LOVE to have one!
I'm extremely amused by tiny, impractical cars, but I don't have the money or space to actually collect micro cars.
I just have a AH Sprite
@@cymond I have a 1976 MG Midget, what year is your Sprite?
@@jimmybarr9411 1969
When I was 12, Mom came home with a Sprite, just for fun. She LOVED cars. She died last year, and left me a bit of inheritance, so I decided to buy something in her memory. She was fond of American muscle, especially Camaro SS convertibles, but I never forgot that little Sprite.
"Mommy, this car-weirdo neughbor is driving around in a fancy lawn mower again!"
I want one, where can I get it?
That guy shouldn't drove that car . He's not man enough. He acted like a fairly
>Made in Minnesota
> Has almost non-existent heater
wat
Connor Niess as a Minnesotan I am seriously disappointed
@@somedudeonline1936 we made up for it with the slingshot though
thought itd be wisconsin considering how cheese-esque it is
@Carl Brutananadilewski "wat" is a form of slang. It's being used in a casual form, so it's not breaking any rules.
Go be a pendant somewhere else, like reddit or 4chan.
Yeah, you don't drive them in the winter here anyway. At first frost I went over a bridge and it was slick. Did a 360 at about 45 mph. Scared the bageezes out of me, so decided to turn around and go home.... Over the same bridge not thinking.... Did the same thing at 50 mph this time.
When cold, I didn't use the heater anyway. As you can see from this video, comfort is the last thing you are thinking about.
The first guy with a “car” in school
Elementary school
You know it's sketchy if he's laughing and coughing at the same time from pure, primal terror.
I love that the owner started walking after you as soon as you started because he knew you'd kill the engine.
Also you reused the "leaving" shot for "returning", so I assume it died again
"I'm diving down the road in a bright yellow suppository with a lawnmower engine"
I'm driving down the road in a bright yellow lawnmower engine with a suppository
@@KanawhaCountyWX I think that's how they were able to make and sell 700 of these 700 people bought it solely for the comedy factor only cause that's the only thing that thing has going for it
10:28 "I'm doing thirty now and it feels very unstable." - same quote as a guy who drove a car in 1911
However unsafe and underpowered the “Freeway” may seem, any car you could get in 1911 would have been much worse.
I kept thinking “I wonder who uploaded this for him after he died in that thing.”
"I'm just about to lose my voice!" Says a man that's already lost control of his bowels driving this thing.
6:44 -- you know that it's a ridiculous vehicle when even its owner stares at it with bemused concern as it trundles down the street.
My lawn mower has that exact same engine, I recognize the starter sound lol.
Driving the cutting blades probably uses up to 30% of the engine's power. And I'm willing to bet it's built out of something more substantial than scrap steel tubing, so a bit of weight keeps it at safe speeds. This thing is glorious in its success... at removing anything to which you could associate the word 'safe'.
Thats a lot of lifter tick
Arstotzkan
But you don’t need registration for your lawnmower, can earn gas money cutting grass during your trip , and depending on your location no dui.
Did he pronounce it right? I always say Tesh-Mu and not the way he called it.
Mega flame404 I’ve been saying it wrong all these years then! Not like it matters since they went belly up and liquid Combustion Technology is much easier to pronounce!
A tiny electric cheese wedge and a bright yellow suppository with a lawn mower engine - all in one week! What did we do to deserve these gifts?
If you look closely when he leaves the parking lot you can see the cheese wedge.
@@PapiDoesIt Same with the previous cheese wedge video, this "car" was parked in its spot.
And yet the Cheese wedge wins, at least it has breaks that work and the slower top speed imho is an advantage
the original car known as the cheese wedge was the bond bug from the UK which was far superior to this and 10 years earlier :)
Doug Demuro showed us this guy last year with the trabant. This has been my favorite channel ever since.
Thomas Medlin I'm pretty sure that's where I found Robert too. He's grown so much since then.
I feel like he has now basically become what Doug Demuro used to be before he changed direction to his current format.
Funny, but my first introduction to this guy was on VINWiki.
Me too, I found this on the Demuro/Trabant video, and I've been hooked ever since. I love his witty comments.
He’s extremely real about how terrible they are and makes fun of them. It’s a terrible car and we all know it but his witty comments drive it home
"Driving down the road in a bright yellow suppository with a lawnmower engine." Brilliant!
People might think you're a hoe~mow...
I purchased, well ordered, one of these during the gas crisis. A fellow college teacher had one, and since it was parked in the college lot all day, he put a small Tupperware sandwich box on the roof full of his 'business cards' that listed him as a dealer of sorts for Freeway; the cards invited interested people to call him, and he would either meet them at the college or drive to their homes, and let them take a spin. I don't recall which engine he had in his, but the one I ordered had the largest gas engine size. When I test drove his, it handled fairly well, and I had no trouble getting it up to 55 mph on the local county highway. I don't recall having trouble keeping it going straight, or having trouble getting it up to speed. Perhaps the car in this video is worm out, or improperly maintained/adjusted or something.
But I never did take possession of my Freeway. I had ordered it with the optional electric reverse, which I recall was just a small electric motor, connected to the same battery as the engine's starter motor, with some kind of mechanism to roll the car backwards....it was only supposed to be used for a few feet, to back out of parking spaces. But they told me that I might have to wait for a month or two while they worked out the bugs in the reverse mechanism. That time came and went, and when I tried to finally cancel my order due to the delays, I learned that they had filed for bankruptcy or something, and all down payments for undelivered cars were now voided, so I lost my money....I recall it was perhaps $500 or something like that.
I had contacted the Illinois drivers license office, and they told me that these were considered to be cars, and that I would not need to get a motorcycle license to drive it. I vaguely recall that the one I test drove had a seat belt; maybe they were only installed in cars sold in states that required them, or in states that classified them as cars.
I recalled asking the manufacturer if they had tested these in (simulated) accidents at highway speeds. They said no, but an early customer had run his into a bridge abutment while going faster than 50 mph, and "survived", whatever that means....he might have been near death or been dismembered or turned into a vegetable, but he "survived". I only went ahead and ordered mine for the short commute of fairly empty country highways I had to make every day. I had no plans to use it for anything longer, faster, or in any kind of inclement weather.
Even if I had received the one I ordered, the gas crisis was over soon, and I probably would not have continued to drive it for very long. I went back to driving my Jeep CJ and my Gremlin.
"A silly little microcar with three wheels, and no hope."
Why must you always say these things right as I'm taking a drink of coffee?
“Ok now this is getting silly”
You know it’s bad when he says it
And near the end of the video, he says he doesn't want one. You REALLY know it's bad when he says THAT!
I don't know, 50 miles per gallon? To drove around the neighborhood. I think the guy that drove it way a scared wimp that when he's at a golf course he complains about.. you know there's no seat belts in the golf cart
Wants to be efficient, uses terribly inefficient lawn mower engine.
Typical of a "high mileage" cheapskate machine. It's either a lawnmower engine or a super common motorcycle engine.
The P50 was made out of metal and somewhat """" well"""" built. Like not good but the body works as a body
I’m surprised the yanks didn’t just try importing shitloads of Japanese kei-cars. They basically had this shit sorted in the 50’s
+Velleity
Even "full size" european cars from the 60's and 70's got about 50 MPG with tiny but not terrible 1.0 or 1.1 engines, and could still reach highway speeds.
@@funposting8912 much like modern times, you have to wait 25 years before importing jdm cars.
That drive looked incredibly fun!! From the back it looks pretty sweet, but I can't believe that thing was allowed on the road even for the late 70's early 80's.
Had a 16 hp version back in the early to mid 1980s. They advertised it as highway capable so I bought one for commuting to work . Actually drove it on expressways. I was young and stupid believing all the brochure bullshit. The vehicle was dangerous at speeds above 40mph. I actually got it up to 60 -65 on a smooth straight stretch of Express way and lived. Sold it after putting 7000 miles on it mostly in congested rush hour traffic. The vehicle not practical and was poorly engineered. Trailer brakes in front with stamped out wavy surface drums and non centering shoes for erratic pulsating stops. Rear end assembly with wheel engine & CVT isolated from rear of vehicle with RUBBER. The vehicle would wander and follow irregularities in the road surface
Having 2 wheels on the front is more stable than having one wheel at the front and 2 at the back, see the Reliant Robin!
Jamal Tyrone oh yesss... I remember those TOP GEAR episodes.
Didn’t they make a “space shuttle” out of a Robin?
Yeah I'm sure. That's why all the best and fastest race cars are 3 wheel.......oh wait.......
Jamal Tyrone yeah kinda common sense
Ask Mr bean.
The Robin only tips cause the driver is out of the base of support (2 seater) it would be far more stable with 2 people of equal weight in the front, this 1 seater would be way more stable
13:00
I see the cheese wedge in the distance there.
Simone?
...which is the last thing everyone sees before they die.
You also see it when he first starts driving and leaves the parking space.
And 6:36
That's an interesting hobby that guy has: Owning the worst cars ever made.
He doesn't own them.
@@johnbasterson7938 The original commenter might not have been referring to who you think they were.
So they own this, the cheese wedge and the th!nk
I mean, there's mopar fan groups.....
Thanks for the hilarious video. In the 60'-70's in the UK we had the fibreglass Reliant Robin if you could'nt afford a car...but it was very capable especially on fuel and
you could jump straight into it on a motorcycle licence. Being one wheel forward/two wheels back it could be very hairy on quick bends!
Considering its 40 yrs old, the fact that it runs at all is kinda impressive.
I saw this in the background of the CitiCar video and am so glad you're covering this majestic beast of a vehicle
i love how far back the pickup is, like hes expecting you to disintegrate in front of him
NICE SAFE PICKUP DRIVER
I bet the space was much apriciate.
I noticed that also 😂
Thank you for risking your life for our amusement. Really good!!
Watching him attempt to negotiate actual roads in that thing was enough stress for today.
This makes me feel soooo much better about my Geo Metro..... that also gets 50 MPG.
Keep an eye on those front control arms. They are a weak link and will fail due to rust. I have owned two and yes they get great fuel economy.
Now imagine if that was rebuilt in 2019 and just had a motorcycle engine instead of a lawn mower engine
*press throttle*
*Drive wheel launches out roof*
I know of one that had been converted but the guy pulled it all to put it back in the motorcycle frame.
Perhaps the fact it only goes to 30mph is a safety feature
@@karvast5726 Its max speed is supposedly 50mph, which I find hard to believe lol.
@@itsnetts maybe with a sail with the wind behîd you,going downhill,sending the piston to mars with nitro…perhaps
gotta give some credit to the owners for keeping these deathtraps running against all odds
Why does it look like you're doing 180 mph?
probably in heaven already at that point
"This whole thing was build from the ground up by HM vehicles who have never made a car before"
Now it all makes sense.
“I didn’t have the fuel pump on.”
A trouble known to vintage Land Rover owners. Although in that case, it is that the switch was in the position for fuel pump 1 which burned out in 1986. Fortunately, British Leyland new this would happen, so installed 2.
Why didnt they call it a threeway
Oh i see
Or perhaps Driveway, where it lives when it isn't running and full of rain water. :)
@@evibes512 Jeff you didn't see it yet.
You have to go strictly solo in that thing.
Oh man! I laughed so hard at your potentially mortal peril. Great vid Robert. Keep them coming.
I really enjoyed watching you work on your Trabant, but holy crap, these "car" reviews are the best thing ever. I'm glad you are back to putting out videos.
Minnesota?! I thought we only had corn fields here! Never imagined I would hear a car being made here.
Bright yellow suppository with a lawn mower engine...what a description! I love it!
My neighbor always say's 'hope you make it back' when I go out in the bug.
I would love to see his face rolling this out the driveway!
That really did make me laugh . The owner is clearly one of the world's great eccentrics and i think you're denying your desire for a plastic lawnmower powered monstrosity. Brilliant!
The starter motor sounds more reassuring than the engine. You sir, are a brave man.
The sheer terror in his voice when he shouted "Don't pull out it front of me!" just sent me, this thing is hilarious
The HM-Vehicles Freeway. For when you're in the middle of a fuel crisis but would literally rather die than buy an import.
Bless those true patriots!
Me: Mom, I want Polaris Slingshot
Mom: We have Polaris Slingshot at home
*Slingshot at home*
This video made me laugh, more than once. I can so relate as I happen to own a bright orange HMV ,
6:38 Heyyy, there's the CitiCar!
You can also see the Th!nk City in another scene
Just usual cars parked by the side of the road
Hello. I owned a freeway flyer in 2000, I paid 1500 bucks for the thing. Got it running and discovered that I needed to rebuild the torque converter drive system and also the rear swing arm. I bought it for my girlfriend to drive to work at Kennedy space center as cheap way to work. It was a hit as far as appearance. She was getting 90mpg on the drives but was very slow, and scary at high speeds. I had it up to 63 mph but was very lose in 😢he steering at that speed. The girlfriend ended up rolling it in front of the vehicle assembly building at the cape. I sold it after that. But still doubled my money on the sale.
Your like the Doug Demuro of death traps nobody has ever heard of, and for good reason
Initially I though you re-posted the same video :D
Just when I foolishly assumed that your 'bottom feeding' automotive interests couldn't sink any lower than the (good grief) Trabant, or the (shudder) Wheego you have come through for your loyal fans yet again. Well done Robert!
"I'm driving down the road in a bright yellow suppository with a lawn mower engine"-- Brilliant!!
It reminds me of the Bond 3 wheeler that we had in the UK. I used to think that was the worst car I had ever seen - until I watched you drive the Freeway! Thanks for an amusing video.
"Hand-built quality"
AND........Made in the USA!!!
@@TheOzthewiz I mean yes but it would be a great economy car in Africa
"The steering is quite ponderous, OH MY GOD!"
that guy has a hell of a collection by having just citicar and freeway. thanks to him for letting you test these
When you want to inflate your resume"Yeah, I built over 700 freeways.". Doug DeMuro: "I review the weirdest cars in existence!"Aging Wheels: "Challenge accepted.".
When you hit 30 miles an hour in this thing, I expected the nose to start glowing red like a space shuttle on reentry. 🤣
I love this video !! I laughed my ass off as Kyle (If that's his name) describes how this car performs. It was as if he takes you on the journey with him and you actually get to feel the ride and laugh with him and have a good time. Fantastic job, Great video !!
Back in the 70's security wasn't such a big issue as it is today.
As long as you didn't have a radio
Clearly a good week to publish videos about hilarious three-wheeled microcars. I think the Trojan 200 was an awful lot better though...
HubNut here, too? Worlds are colliding
@@quadturbo4 I've got the T-shirt and everything.
@@HubNut You both have mugs too (PLUG!) ;)
:D
@@Azurael I think you could reengineer these two cars into somthing acceptable with the amount of micro cars we had over here.
Company: How cheap can we go on building this?
Designer: How about we mix a boat with a lawmower and make it super tiny?
Company: Too expensive...
Designer: Ok **this vehicle design**
Company: Brilliant!
I absolutely love when he calls small cars “suppositories”
"Three wheels and no hope" ha ha that`s funny.
Connecting an electric motor to a CVT.
Yeah. Sure...why not.
So somebody had a great idea. Or lots of CVTs stocked in their warehouse.
CVT, you mean centrifugal clutch like a minibike.
@@vector6977 Continiously Variable Transmission
Probably used it to vary the speed without a motor controller.
@@Patchuchan Pretty sure CVT drives were cheaper than proper electronic Motor controllers back in the 70s.
@@vector6977 It's a snowmobile transmission. Probably lifted from a polaris.
These 'cars' are going to make your trabbi feel like a luxury vehicle!
I seriously considered building one of the three wheel vehicles that was (I think) featured in a popular mechanics like publication at the time. It was called the Tri-muter if I recall correctly. I might still have the plans out in storage. With more recent improvements in electric technology, it might be fun to consider ... at least in concept :-)
In 1982 or 83 Popular Mechanics did an exclusive on the Tri-Magnum which was a motorcycle backend and drive system subframed to a Volkswagen Beetle/Type 1 front end. Very stylish and ahead of its time.
6:22 "The whole GoPro is vibrating. The whole car is vibrating"
_The whole room is vibrating!_
"A bright-yellow suppository with a lawn-mower engine" - lolol
I remember the Elio! Good to see one finally made it into production
God bless the trabant, really this car (the HM freeway) makes you crawl back crying to the trabant saying how sorry you are about all those mean words and curses you insulted the trabant with.
You don't know how much joy you bring me with these silly little cars!
Okay. I’ve been working my way through the catalog, and this video really stands out.
Not only is this the first time I was genuinely concerned for his safety?
This is also the first time I’ve EVER seen him survive a clown car/medieval torture device and NOT immediately express a deep desire to own it.