Something new on the way from Autocult

1944 Škoda Elektromobil

The further World War II progressed, the more people in Germany talked about alternative drive options for vehicles. The dwindling supply of oil led to rationing. This restrictive intervention in economic life was accompanied by the confiscation of privately used vehicles for the military and at the same time the search for alternative fuels was confronted. The switch to burning wood for gas production in cars was probably the easiest, but also the best-known measure to continue driving cars. In this context, however, the development of electric vehicles, such as that which took place in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia occupied by the German ‘Wehrmacht’ from 1939 onwards with the capital Prague, is largely unknown.

In 1944, Škoda’s electric development was ready for series production to begin, allowing the inner-city delivery service to be maintained. The two lines of thought behind the electric vehicle at that time sound quite familiar to us today – at night, the car was clamped to the power source with the built-in battery and ‘refueled’ with cheap night electricity, but alternatively it was also planned to replace the entire battery system, so that after only a short stay the electric vehicle could go back on the road.

A total of 20 units in the 1.5-ton variant were assembled at Škoda, about the same number are said to have left the factory as a 3-ton version. The only known buyer was the Prague City Council.

1938 Mercedes-Benz 400 V (W147) Prototyp

If the Daimler Group currently only publishes bullet-point data on its own homepage that belonged to a prototype in 1938, in 1938, it says a lot about the rare information that has been preserved today! Specifically, this is the W147, designated as the 400 V model.

The total of six vehicles built are dated to 1938, although it is not known whether all of them were drivable. There are photos of sedans taken at the factory, which give the impression that they are scaled, larger models. This undoubtedly shows that the car has a long wheelbase – Mercedes-Benz has published the figure of 3,300 mm. It is also certain that the care was to be classified in the category of the so-called upper class. With a V-8 cylinder engine with a cylinder angle of 80 degrees and a displacement of exactly 4,003 cc, over 100 hp were available at the motor power testing station. With a theoretical top speed of up to 130 km/h, the model would have been ideally suited for driving on the prestige project of the “Autobahn” at the time – even if no aerodynamic elements are recognizable in the design, which in turn suggests that the car was intended to appeal well-known conservative Mercedes clientele. It can be assumed that the 400 V would have been launched with two other variants, because it is known that two offshoots with nuances in the chassis and drive were planned, the 400 VM and 400 VMS.

1972 Brubaker Box

From slashgear.com The Box was the brainchild of Curtis Brubaker, who you might not know of despite his long list of creations and innovations. Brubaker studied car styling at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, was part of the design team at Lear Jet, then moved on to work at General Motors in the advanced research group. While working at Lear, he helped design the 8-track tape player with owner/founder Bill Lear, who wanted to create a sealed cassette that never needed to be rewound.

As it turns out, that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for this design wizard. Brubaker had a hand in dozens of other technological advancements, including the navigational touch screen, haptic display systems, the holographic heads-up display (HUD), e-books, DUI lockouts, and many more. In 1969, Brubaker left his gig with GM and started his own design and automotive consulting company in Los Angeles.

One day while in a meeting, Brubaker gazed out a window and saw his brother's VW van rolling down Pico Boulevard. No, the parking brake hadn't failed; it had been stolen. Brubaker took a ride to Newport Beach and discovered street after street lined with similar VWs. Struck with inspiration after realizing the vans were popular with the surfer crowd, he decided to craft a vehicle that would appeal to a younger demographic.

Brubaker and fellow designers Todd Gerstenberger and Harry Wykes came up with a rather odd yet revolutionary "one-box" van design featuring a singular sliding door on the passenger side, feeling that fewer doors made the fiberglass body more rigid. 

The shell was built using 13 fiberglass panels riveted and bonded together, then mounted on a tube frame and attached to the chassis of a VW Beetle. The Beetle had been on the U.S. market since 1949, but by this point it was beginning to fade from its peak as an automotive icon.

To keep costs down, Brubaker and his gang took the windshield from an AMC Hornet and the rear glass from a Chevrolet El Camino, angling them to enhance the sleek appearance and give it a touch more room. Contrary to popular belief, the unique shock-absorbing telescopic bumpers weren't made from wood. Instead, they were fiberglass finished with faux woodgrain.

Primary seating was in the form of two front buckets, andrear configurations included a wrap-around couch that could be removed for added cargo space. The Box also featured a removable roof and a space in front meant to act like a "frunk" (front trunk) accessible from the inside. An in-dash ice chest/storage box was also optional, but only one vehicle is known to have included it. The entire vehicle only stood 53 inches tall. In March 1972, the Brubaker Box was featured on the cover of Car and Driver, and it debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show the same year. 

It was so well received that Brubaker managed to raise $160,000 (roughly $1.5 million today) from investors. This allowed him to lease a 17,000-square-foot factory. Brubaker and his team figured they could build five Boxes a month at a cost of $3,995 (equivalent to approximately $29,000 today), with the goal of increasing production to 400 per month. Brubaker's initial plans hinged on using a Type I Beetle chassis, engine, and transmission from VW. Unfortunately, the German automaker said no, pointing to liability issues as to why it couldn't (or wouldn't) sell them stripped down chassis. Their only option then was to buy a much more expensive fully built Beetle, remove the body, and sell the leftovers. They did so for a brief stint, but their so-called business model wasn't sustainable.

Ultimately, Brubaker's company only managed to build three Boxes before running out of investment money and going bankrupt. Brubaker sold the design to Mike Hansen (one of the company's original investors) in Chatsworth, California, who built another 25 as the Automecca Roamer Sports Van. 

It's unclear how many of those 28 still exist today. One source says 19 are still floating around, while another claims only 10 remain in working condition. We do know that one of the three built by Brubaker (shown above) sits in the Petersen Automotive Museum. 

If the design — which some argue is the first minivan — looks vaguely familiar, then perhaps you saw it on the popular television show "Ark II," in the 1973 film "Soylent Green" starring Charlton Heston, or in the 1995 film "Grid Runners." In 2019, entrepreneurs Tomo Bullum and Dale Davis tried bringing the Box back as a limited production vehicle, but their crowd sourcing campaign failed to reach its funding goal, and the project never happened. 

The extreme rarity of the Brubaker Box makes it hard to pin down its value, although we have one helpful point of reference. In July of 2023, one of the 25 Automecca models appeared on eBay and sold for $68,900. If you are still interested in one despite that price tag, there may be hope. According to a video from the Petersen Automotive Museum, someone bought the rights to the Box and will soon be producing kits.