The Whizzer

Since most of us probably are mourning our credit ratings after the annual yuletide spending binge, I thought I'd take a break from the big ticket cars and go economy. The Whizzer was actually a line of motors which the owner could attach to a bicycle to create a sort of moped. Breene-Taylor Engineering began producing Whizzer engines in 1939, but with the lack of customer enthusiasm for their product the operation was sold to Dietrich Kohlsatt and Martin Goldman.

Whizzer sold its first assembled motorized bicycle in 1948, but the company eventually folded in 1965 due to an inability to compete with trendier, more popular models like the Vespa.

This ad comes from the May 10, 1948 issue of Life Magazine. From here it seems a misstep to tout the economy of travelling unprotected on the highways and byways of the United States at the same time the public was rushing to buy bigger, heavier, and faster automobiles. Dear old George would wind up a bug-splatter on the chrome bumper of a 48' Chevy Fleetmaster or DeSoto and the driver wouldn't even hear him scream. Another five years and the mods would be zipping along on scooters that looked stylish and nobody would want to be spotted on a retrofitted Schwinn.

Whizzer actually made a comeback in 1997, but since I haven't seen a single one on the roads and didn't know about it until I read about their re-release while researching this entry, I can't imagine it's been much of a success. Then again, I've never traveled with the hipster crowd.