Celebrating The Metropolitan

“One of the greatest public misconceptions about the Metropolitan is people confusing it with the Amphicar. When someone asks me at a show, ‘Does it float?’ I now have a stock answer - ‘Not for long’”. Iain Macaulay is not only the proud owner of a Metropolitan but is also the Chair of the Owners’ Club, which keeps so many of this pioneering Anglo-American car on the road.

The narrative began after WW2 when George Mason, the Chair of Nash Motors, asked the designer William Frajole to devise a small ‘second car’ for post-war motorists. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were uneasy with such an idea, but Mason saw its potential. The result was Project NX-1, powered by the Fiat 500 Topolino engine.

Nash displayed the prototype around the USA and commissioned a public opinion poll: Does America Want the Economy Car—A Request for Your Frank Opinion from Nash Motors. In 1950, the NX-1 appeared at the Chicago Auto Show, with the press commenting on the “experimental two-passenger $1,000 car.”

The response to NX-1 was so positive that Nash decided to put into production, but they lacked both factory space and expertise with small cars. In fact, Question 7 of the opinion poll anticipated their solution. “Assuming equal performance, service, and price, would it make any difference to you if some of the parts were built by well-known European manufacturers?”

After approaching Fiat and Standard-Triumph, Nash formed a partnership with Austin, who was to build the NX-1 and provide the 1.2-litre engine and transmission from the A40 Somerset. Longbridge offered Nash a very competitive tooling bill of a little over $800,000. Fisher & Ludlow built the

distinctive bodywork, and in October 1952, their MD told The Birmingham Gazette, “It will help to keep us busy should there be a falling off in other things”.

Manufacture commenced in 1953, and in January 1954, Nash decided to use the Metropolitan name to reflect its intended market – suburban households where ‘Dad’ said, “Hi honey, I’m home!” every weekday evening. Sales began on the 19th of March 1954, with the announcement, “It’s here! Nash presents a completely new kind of car - the Metropolitan!”.

The hardtop cost $1,445 (£516), and the convertible $1,469 (£524). Nash advised their dealers that the Metropolitan had “advanced styling previously found only in more expensive cars of larger size.” The company also told its sales outlets, “It must always be realised that this is a Nash car”; the Metropolitan was a scaled-down US vehicle rather than a typical “European Import”. Potential buyers were informed:

We know that the Metropolitan will not replace the family car because it is not designed as a substitute. We deliberately created maximum front seat comfort and spaciousness, performance, and economy for two adults, with adequate room for three. A utility seat in the rear provides for children.

Meanwhile, your friendly local Nash dealer could highlight the map lamp, the twin sun visors, and how the trunk was sealed against dust—i.e., there was no external opening. The backrest for the rear seat doubled as the lockable access for the luggage compartment.

Across the Atlantic, George Harriman, the MD of the British Motor Corporation, stated: “It is not a case of Britain exporting a British car to American markets. It is Britain making an American car for the American market”. An Autocar editorial hailed Austin’s management taking “the far-sighted view that whether

Austin cars or Austin manufactured Nash cars are sold they represent dollars earned for Britain”.

The great motoring journalist Tom McCahill wrote in Mechanix Illustrated: “It is not a sports car by the weirdest torturing of the imagination, but it is a fleet, sporty little bucket which should prove just what the doctor ordered for a second car”. Road Test thought: “...on roadability and responsive handling, the Met shines. It also offers easy maintenance and downright stinginess when it comes to gasoline consumption”.

In 1954, Nash introduced a short-lived Hudson-badged version following their merger with the famous marque. The dealer handbook advised: “The low seating position of the Metropolitan gives the impression of high speed, and the prospect must always be relaxed and not frightened”. Iain points out “The early ‘Hudson Metropolitan’ is unusual because Metropolitan was a brand in its own right; there was never a ‘Nash Metropolitan or an ‘Austin Metropolitan’”.

1955 saw the debut of the Series II with a slightly modified engine. By the end of that year, the Series III boasted the 1.5-litre B-series unit. A later publicity campaign highlighted the Metropolitan as: “The Personal Car for Girls on the Go!” or “It’s love at first Ride for Girls On the Go…airline stewardesses, nurses, schoolteachers, secretaries, college students.”

Nash initially forbade official sales outside the USA and Canada, and the Metropolitan did not reach the UK market until the 2nd of April 1957. The hardtop was £713 17s, and the convertible was £725 2s, with whitewall tyres another £5 5s.

The ‘Metropolitan 1500’ had no domestic rival as a US-style small tourer with a cigar lighter, heater and even a radio as standard. By 1960, the British Salesman’s

Guide suggested that BMC’s own Mini and Wolseley 1500, the Renault Dauphine, and even the Ford Popular 100E were potential competitors, but the Metropolitan always stood alone.

The Evening Standard regarded the Metropolitan as “definitely” value for money. Autocar thought it “in a class of its own in this country and will doubtless make many friends very quickly”. The Series IV debuted in January 1959. The UK-market brochure noted how the Metropolitan was “a firm favourite with the discerning motorist” and “Now its popularity has been enhanced by the addition of a locking luggage compartment lid”.

By 1959 the Metropolitan was second best-selling imported car in the USA after the Beetle, but that was also the year of the new ‘compacts’ from the ‘Big Three’ - the Chevrolet Corvair, the Ford Falcon, and the Plymouth Valiant. A last hurrah in 1960 was the black Metropolitan with a gold trimmed interior presented by Car Mart Ltd. of Hendon presented to Princess Margaret as wedding gift. Production finally ended in April 1961.

Today http://metropolitanownersclub.co.uk/ provides invaluable help, support and advice in keeping these fascinating machines on the road. The Metropolitan is an important chapter in British and American motoring history; a car that defied the conventional wisdom of Detroit and developed its own marketing niche. In 1957 The Telegraph noted the Metropolitan had amassed $35 million of sales.

And from a UK perspective, a Metropolitan 1500 instantly evokes mental images of Alma Cogan, skiffle bands, and coffee bars. The duotone paint finishes—Frost White with Berkshire Green, Mardi Gras Red, or Sunburst Yellow—ensured it stood out in a Britain of black-liveried police cars, grey Mackintoshes, and Thora Hird head scarves.

In other words, the “Amazing New, Blazing New” Metropolitan would attract envious mutterings from the bus queue. Even if it lacked amphibious powers.