Martin Carl Fischer was already a trained and accomplished watchmaker when the
automobile became less of a tinkerer's delight and more of an actual
conveyance. Yet as the size of the automobile quickly ballooned in the
years following the turn of the century, requiring garages and other
specially constructed accommodations, Fischer, like all good inventors,
hit the sketchpad.
Envisioning a motor vehicle narrow enough to fit in a standard door,
thus allowing it to be easily carried inside and even up flights of
stairs, Fischer eliminated or simplified just about everything
possible. The single-seat vehicle – on little more than a buckboard
frame – used an air-cooled single-cylinder motorcycle engine and chain
drive for motivation. Fischer also employed the driver's legs for
steering the center-pivot front axle, thus freeing up the driver's
hands, presumably with the primary purpose of allowing the driver to
enjoy a cohiba while out scaring horses.
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