The Deshais-mobile!

Yes, I share a name with a little car.

According to Jan de Lange in the book Microcars Stories , the diminutive roadster is from 1950 and has a whopping 42 0cc under the hood . Let me rephrase that: it had up to 42 0 cc, and as little as 125cc, which is what dirt bikes typically use. Very small.

According to de Lange, the car was introduced at the 1950 Paris car show and weighed less than 400 pounds. It was made from aluminum and had front-wheel drive. The following year, the car was shown in Paris again. It had doubled in weight and price, but before mass production could begin, the manufacturer ran out of money.

Still, I share a name with a little car.

(Photo credits go to MicroCars.org, AllCarIndex.com and Microcars Stories .)