A clue as to why is here:
As you can see, the Goggomobil is a rear-engined car. That dude there isn’t peering into the trunk, he’s looking at the engine, and his posture and expression are painfully familiar to me, as they look like the body language of someone thinking “why the hell won’t this little bastard start?” The crossed feet, the hands braced on the sides of the engine bay, that stare into the oily madness, desperately trying to figure out why the hell it’s not working – I know these all far too well. And, I also know that it’s not what I’d pick to put on my car’s brochure. I’m sure that wasn’t the intent here; maybe they wanted him to seem like he was just admiring that little 300 or 400cc air-cooled inline twin, but I just don’t think that’s how it came out. I bet if they had a better picture, you’d be driving a Goggomobil today! Probably with at least 750cc or something crazy like that. I’ll see myself out. I had a Spot-On Gogomobile toy, red one with a black roof as a kid. Lack of power was not a problem, when you could zoom it with your hand. (-; For the record, the other speech bubbles (from left to right): “Economical in use, low tax and insurance – the household can afford that!” (really the best sales pitch in Holland: the reputation of the Dutch for…frugality is well deserved) The couple to the right, on the other hand, must have been to an Amsterdam “coffee shop”, because they’re clearly delusional: “Finally a small car in which four can travel. [Not very far, I’m afraid] I find it beautiful! [Check your eyesight, madam]” “Handling, acceleration and safety are like those of a large, expensive car [The Cugnot steam car, perhaps?] What more do we want? [A Beetle, probably]” And the title is: “WE BUY A GOGGOMOBIL!” [Good for you] One of the things I really love most about the Dutch, that, and the bluntness/directness, just get to the point. Easy to deal with, I believe Finland has a similar stereotype That engine was an air-cooled, two-stroke, two-cylinder unit. My dad used to drive three-cylinder, two-stroke SAAB’s which offered the same -theoretical- advantage of no valve train. My dad, an engineer used to like to say, “The Redline is one rpm short of the destruction point of the materials”. So great simple little engines you could wind the piss out of. Perfect except for their propensity to seize up solid if they ran the least bit lean, and yes you did have to add the oil to the fuel by eyeball and by hand. So, kind of like nuclear power plants, they are amazing until that sudden moment when all hell breaks loose or seizes up as the case may be. Good times. You don’t get out much, do you? — (Morbo screaming) “WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!”
