Vehicle Description
1959 Nash Metropolitan -1.5L 4 Cylinder -3 Speed Manual
Transmission (Please note: If you happen to be viewing this 1959
Nash Metropolitan on a website other than our Garage Kept Motors
site, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many
photographs of these vehicles due to website limitations. To be
sure you access all the more than 175 photographs, as well as a
short walk-around-and-startup video, please go to our main website:
GarageKeptMotors.) The Metropolitan makes friends standing still.
Driving one anywhere is a bonus. �€"Automobile Magazine, October
2007 The story of the Metropolitan began just as Volkswagens were
first being imported into America. As Automobile Magazine told it:
The idea that Americans might take to a small car--no, a really
small car--was something that cigar-chomping Nash president George
W. Mason pondered for quite some time. Despite his own king-size
proportions, Mason believed that there would be a ready consumer
base for a pint-sized runabout, as the two-car family was becoming
a reality in postwar America. Noting the trickle of cars beginning
to come over from Europe, he decided to outsource the manufacture
of the little car of his dreams. The Metropolitan would be produced
overseas to take advantage of lower labor costs and the
availability of off-the-shelf small-car-appropriate components.
Austin in England would manufacture the engines and bodies, with
final assembly in the States. The model was sold for nine years.
And the Metropolitan's charm according to the magazine? Let's face
it: the appeal now, as then, is the car's all-consuming cuteness.
It has an eager puppy-dog look, highlighted by bulbous bodywork and
finished with a continental kit. Most sport nifty, two-tone paint
jobs recalling an ice cream 'n' sherbet treat on a stick. Every bit
of that charm and cuteness is on full display in the '59
Metropolitan offered here, finished in the ice cream 'n' sherbet
colors of strawberry red and vanilla white. The car's bodywork is
unaltered, and presents in excellent condition. This Nash spent
most of its life in Tennessee until it was brought to Michigan by
our client approximately 7 years ago. Since it came to Michigan, it
was driven minimally for special events like parades. Outside, the
bug-eyed headlights, largely unnecessary hood scoop, angled chrome
strip on the car's flanks separating the two colors, white hardtop,
all four wheels almost hiding beneath the bodywork, and, of course,
the continental-kit spare tire carrier are all present and
accounted for. (Re-reading that list of characteristic features
makes one realize how completely unique the Metropolitan really
is.) Oh, and yes, there actually is a trunk! The car still wears
its M badge in the center of the grille, rendered in exactly the
same typeface as the N in the Nash logo of the time. The body
appears to have been professionally repainted, and the chrome trim
exhibits unrestored light patina characteristic of a 60 year-old
vehicle. Inside, the accuracy of the often-used Lilliputian
description is evident. A tall person-assuming they fit inside the
car in the first place-could easily operate both left and right
roll-up window handles at the same time. The upholstery on the
seats and doors is delightfully rendered in a combination of
angular-design black vinyl and vertical-stripe gray cloth. The
effect is pure 1950s, and is unmatched on any other car. Simple
gauges (from Smiths, like in every Austin Healey) adorn a
black-painted metal dashboard framed by a black steering wheel. The
look is art-deco. The ignition is located in the lower-center of
the dash. Black carpeting and black rubber floor mats cover the
floors, and a perforated white vinyl headliner covers the roof.
Overall, the condition of the metal, vinyl, cloth, and painted
surfaces is very good. There are no obvious signs of abuse or
neglect; the car has obviously been loved through the generations.
Under the hood, the 1.5-liter,
