Bubble Car Boom: Compact cars take on new meaning at The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison

Bruce Weiner has a little thing for cars – “little” being the operative word. Over the past 15 years, the microcar maniac has amassed the world’s largest collection of the world’s smallest cars. His fantastic fleet of vehicles (300 and counting) is spectacularly showcased in a 25,000-square-foot building in Madison at The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum.

The eye-popping assortment – comical in shape, size and a spectrum of shades – gives new meaning to the term “compact car.” One can only stare, hovering over the wee wheels and wondering how an average-size adult could even fit inside some of the models – much less drive them.

Weiner assures that it’s possible. He’s driven all of them, although he only takes four or five out on a regular basis. “The microcars were all built to be put on the road as worthy automobiles,” said Weiner, whose “top ten” favorites include a 1953 Kleinschnittger from Germany (with no reverse, the 300-pound car was simply lifted from the back and moved around as needed) and a 1950 Reyonnah from France (which could fit into a parking space 75 centimeters wide by bringing its wheel base together).

Cute as they are, the microcars – characterized by having three or more wheels and an engine of less than 700 cubic centimeters – were a critical means of transport during postwar years, particularly in Europe, where the shell-shocked populace needed a practical way to get around. With crippling shortages of food, raw materials, electricity and gas, the brilliantly engineered “bubble cars” (so tagged for their bubble shape and bubble dome) were just the way to do it. The fact that three-wheeled vehicles were exempt from road tax and engines under 50cc didn’t require a driver’s license were two more reasons to think small.

“These cars are a testimony to the resilience of the automotive industry and the human spirit after the devastation of World War II,” Weiner said. “Our goal at the museum is to educate future generations about the historical importance that microcars played in the evolution of personal transportation.”

His collection comes from around the world, comprised of models from the late 1940s to 1964, most with two doors or less. The gleaming lot is neatly arranged in roped-off rows, with an informational placard by each car. Artistry is showcased in form and function, with cars constructed in a diversity of materials, including aluminum, fiberglass, vinyl, wicker and wood. All have been beautifully restored to their original styling, a feat that often entails hand crafting replacements for parts that no longer exist.

It was Germany’s famous Messerschmitt that first got Weiner revved up. The tandem two-seater, designed by Fritz Fend at Willy Messerschmitt’s fighter factories, cost less than a penny a mile to run in its day, boasting 125 miles to the gallon at top speeds of 50 mph.

“It was the craziest little thing I’d ever seen,” said Weiner, who spied the motor scooter in a magazine ad. “I didn’t know anything about them. I fell in love.”

Like a kid in a candy store, he couldn’t stop at just one. And, thanks to a sweet fortune from the chewing gum business, he didn’t have to. Now, appropriately enough, the man behind Dubble Bubble has a perfectly-themed collection of bubble cars parked at Dubble Bubble Acres, his weekend home. His lip-smacking lineup also includes 1950s kiddie rides, vintage toys and Dubble Bubble memorabilia (the latter located in a small room off the main display area).

And he’s not done with the microcars by any means. A few years back, he scored big with a “barn find” from the defunct Automuseum Warstein-Belecke Germany, adding 21 more to the stockpile.

“They were still covered with the original German dust and dirt from sitting for 25 years indoors,” he said. “Some cars needed nothing more than a good bath, some new tires and a bit of TLC to make it onto the display floor.” A “garage” on one end of the building houses dozens of cars yet to be restored.

Though the bubble car boom lasted only a decade, the period left a lasting impression – one that Weiner will surely perpetuate.

THE BRUCE WEINER MICROCAR MUSEUM IS LOCATED AT 2950 EATONTON ROAD IN MADISION. MICROCARMUSEUM.COM