Should you choose to lop one wheel off of your car it suddenly doesn’t have to meet the myriad of Federal safety and emissions standards that have been holding it back all these years. Well, that’s not exactly true, but it is the case that three-wheelers in the US are granted motorcycle status meaning that they have to conform to much less stringent standards, and they get to wear those cute little license plates.
It’s not just in ‘Merica where trikes offer benefit either. Great Britain used to allow both neophyte drivers to roll (no pun intended) in three wheelers, as well as offering the odd-number wheeled vehicles a significant tax break. That’s the only way that you could explain the success of the Reliant series of trikes. England is also home of what is probably the most famous of three-wheelers, the Morgan Trike, which is fabulously making a comeback as we speak.
Back here in the States, trikes have met with lesser success. From the 1940s Davis to the scandal plagued Dale, to the recently deceased Aptera, three wheelers have captured some recess of the automotive psyche, only to fade almost as soon as it arrives – or sometimes before. But is it the inherent issues – tipsiness, never being able to straddle a pothole or errant animal – that is keeping trikes from becoming commonplace? Or, is it something else? What about you, would you ever buy a three wheeler, and if not, why?
Image source: [Morgan3wheeler]
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