As a former owner of a 1957 Metropolitan Hardtop, I’ll always have a sentimental soft spot for these historic little cars. (More about the history part later.) If I heard it once, I heard it a hundred times when I drove it (usually from women), “Oh, what a cute car!” Not surprising, since the Met was the first U.S. car marketed primarily to women as a family’s second “shopping or city commuter/puddle jumping car.” Women are featured throughout the Metropolitan sales brochures (usually dressed up and wearing gloves since the Met was marketed as “Luxury in Miniature) and their first spokesperson when the car was introduced in 1954 was none other than Miss America 1954, Evelyn Ay Sempier.

Here’s a cute little Autumn Yellow and Frost White 1962 AMC Metropolitan that’s been owned by a Florida lady for the past 4-5 years. Her daughter has listed it for sale and says, “although Mom drives it once a week, it’s time for it to find a new home where it will continue to be loved.” There’s no history of the car shared and photographs are limited, but it looks like a solid Met with lots of personality (the hood is covered in a 60’s-era flower design – possibly a vinyl wrap – and the front plate identifies the Met as being named “Bubbles.”) It also represents the last model year of the Metropolitan as production across the pond in England ceased in April 1961 and existing inventory was sold through March of 1962.

Overall, the two-tone paint looks good as does the chrome, glass, trim, and lenses. The last iteration of Mets (starting in 1959) featured the addition of an external trunk lid (my ’57 only allowed access to the trunk through the rear “bench” seat back – a most impractical design), a one-piece wraparound rear window, and vent windows. The Met’s “Continental Kit” spare tire is located on the rear with a white vinyl tire cover that compliments the yellow and white color scheme nicely. The only thing to make this Met more visually appealing would be a set of period-correct whitewall tires.

Inside, the Met’s black and white interior looks the same as my Mardi Gras Red and Frost White ’57: an appealing mix of houndstooth fabric and white vinyl seats, and black and white door panels with a black metal dash. With its rounded hardtop, you have more headroom than you might think in a Metropolitan. I’m six-foot-one and had plenty of headroom in my Met.

There are no photos of the engine, but there should be a 55-horsepower British Motor Corp. Austin 4-cylinder engine that’s known for being both rugged and thrifty on gas. The seller says the car “Runs great!,” there’s about 57,000 on the odometer, and it’s mated to a 3-speed Synchromesh transmission. Getting back to the Met making history, it was the first subcompact car (even though that category didn’t exist at the time) from a major American automaker and the first American-designed car marketed in the U.S. that was built entirely in England. “Bubbles” is currently located in Sarasota, Florida and is for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for an asking price of $14,000. A special thanks to Bruce M. for spotting this little Metropolitan and sending it our way.