1916 Woods Mobilette Model 5

It is amazing to know the type of ideas that were thought of and the experiments that were done during the early 1900s. Over a hundred years later, we are still trying to implement and perfect these ideas. In 1905 Francis A. Woods created a vehicle that he dubbed the Interurban. It was an electric car that could be converted to use gasoline power in less than ten minutes. Though it never entered into serious production, the concept was astounding. Woods later focused his attention on creating a cycle car; a vehicle that was part motorcycle and part car, bringing the best of both worlds together into a single vehicle.

Woods created two experimental vehicles, one in 1910 and another in the following year. The first was the Model 3 which went into production near the close of 1913. There was seating for two which included the driver. The passenger sat in a seat that was located directly behind the driver. The resulting design was narrow and lightweight offering excellent maneuverability in city driving, and could even be driven on the sidewalks.

By 1914, Woods was producing around 1000 examples of the Mobilette per month and became one of the more successful producers of the cyclecar. A few years later the popularity of the cyclecar wore thin as its price tag was not that much less than a regular car. The seating arrangement was awkward and it was less practical than a normal size vehicle. In 1916 Woods introduced a version of the Mobilette which featured staggered seating which retained its narrow dimensions while accommodating conventional seating arrangements. Though this was a step in the right direction, the Mobilette was no competition for the inexpensive Ford Model T. By 1916 production ceased for the Woods Mobilette.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2006