Speaking of fire hazards, ever hear of the Trabant?

[Ghoste]

I just recently learned about these things and maybe I am completely wrong (if I am, this is my apology to all the Trabant fans) but these things look like the ultimate fire hazard to me.  Built from a plastic made out of a resin with wool fibers, the fuel tank is under the hood and above the engine.  They worked off a gravity feed but the fire kicker is that in order to refuel it, you had to be under the hood.  The fuel filler wasn't external in any way it was right on the tank so if you had any spillage it was going directly onto the engine.  Yikes!
One more reason to fear "manufacturing collectives"  Komrade.

[Ponch ®]

you also had to wait years (sometimes up to 7)  if you wanted a new one from the factory, so it was not unusual for  used 5 year old model to sell for more than a "new" one

[hatersaurusrex]

I'm just gonna go ahead and leave this right here.  Yyyyeah.

[doctor4766]

[Indygenerallee]

Sexy beast...... 

[doctor4766]

Thank you, I get that a lot......  lol

[Ghoste]

I'm just gonna go ahead and leave this right here.  Yyyyeah.

Then you may as well add this one.

[Old Moparz]

She must be the reason for the 5 to 7 year wait.

[six-tee-nine]

As a kid I remember the fall of the Berlin wall in the late eighties. The East German borderes were opened and these trabi's slowly spread all ofer Europe.

If you had one in front of you at a red light you needed a gas mask. Damn 2stroke engines......
I even saw one at a car show once fully customized with a 4 cyl 2 litre VW GTI engine......as crazy can get.....

[aussiemuscle]

the fuel tank is under the hood and above the engine. 

i had an early subaru leone which has the spare wheel under the hood. i'm amazed it didn't catch fire or at least melt.

[Ghoste]

How many of those things did they build I wonder?  I can't imagine they changed much from year to year so I suppose there would be parts enough to keep a bunch of them going during that "slow spread through Europe".