Sunday, June 28, 2009

Homemade

Homemade car

When the word homemade is used it usually refers to delicious food made at home. In Vietnam, this word can be used in many more contexts because we are quite ingenious in making and repairing things at home. I mean, have you ever heard of a homemade car????

Homemade car

Occasionally I see these kinds of cars around Hanoi and it makes me laugh. They look so cute but are definitely not safe for driving. I am not sure if the goverment actually allows them to be driven on the roads or not. To make these cars, Vietnamese people use the machines of different cars or motorbikes and they shape a new body or frame around the engine and turn it into a car somehow. Of course these cars don't have modern features like air-conditioning or CD players but I wouldn't be surprised if someone is thinking about how to include them. I don't know how fast these cars go but the man I saw was driving it quite fast. At least it was keeping up with the motorbikes. I'm not sure how it would cope in an accident but maybe better than modern cars because it's actually made of steal! Cars are becoming a way of life in Hanoi now but I'm not sure if these models are going to catch.

What do you think?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This car looks so cute but maybe dangerous. Good idea and I would love to try once.
Great photo contrast between expensive car and homemade car.
Tuyen

lsutiger9904 said...

It's so fast it left the Benz in the dust!!! LOL

foodhoe said...

I am curious what it looks like inside!

Anonymous said...

I used to have one like that when I was still living in vietnam and i even had power windows and sunroof.

Thuy said...

In the US, "homemade" cars are not allowed on the street. A car here has to pass all kinds of stringent tests before putting on the road and they are re-test every year to assure they remain safe.

Van Cong Tu said...

Thanks for all the comments.

Anonymous said...

Just wanna let you know that I really enjoy reading your blog. Thank for sharing all of your wonderful pictures. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living? You seem to travel a lots.

Anonymous said...

This "car" is not homemade. It was built in GDR (East Germany) by IFA. It is called Simson Duo and used as a motorized wheelchair for disabled people. It has a 50cc engine like the mopeds made by IFA.
Greatings from Germany
Chris

viagra online pharmacy said...

Look these cars makes me feel so nostalgic, them reminds me when I was a child in Ha Noi streets...

Anonymous said...

this is a simson duo, with a homemade door...

Anonymous said...

Hello,
this car isn´t self-made!
it is a "Simson Duo Krause" originally product by the DDR.
it was exported when Vietnamese workers left the country again.