See the lady dangling that bird in a cage over the NSU’s behind-the-seat cargo area? We’ve seen this before, remember? When I showed you that brochure for the Volkswagen Type 3 Ghia! Look!
More birdcages! And also in a rear-engined sports car with a trunk up front, over the engine in the rear, and a cargo area behind the front seats! This can’t be a coincidence! There’s a message here, if only we can puzzle it out!
The NSU Wankel Spider is a fascinating car on its own: it was the first mass-market consumer application of the Wankel rotary engine, even beating traditional rotary pioneer Mazda to market by three years, who brought their rotary-powered Cosmo to market in 1967. As you can see up there the packaging was very clever and efficient: underfloor rear engine, and cargo room throughout the length of the car. It’s a real little gem. But what’s the Message of the Birds? What about rear engined sports cars with weirdly significant amounts of cargo room and caged birds, together? What the big secret to living that the advertisers of old are telling us? Think, dammit, think! In reality, at anything over 15mph the wind will pin the bird to the back of the cage, detracting from the experience somewhat. Unfortunately, poor Seven caught pneumonia and basically Thanos-snapped out of existence three days later (vet says old parakeets have no durability). Sheryl and I eventually replaced her with a green cheek conure since Seven was the companion for our other green cheek. The two conures love car rides, especially the scenery. That said, I drove a Wankel Spider once. Fun little piece. I mean for people who have those, not us. We like ads like those old Fairlane ones showing some guy with driving gloves reaching forward to dramatically shift into second or ones with smiling people piloting their Jeep on a beach with the windshield down. Canary in the coal mine. They’re there to detect exhaust leaks from the engine. Mystery solved! “That bird is nailed to the perch“ “Lovely plumage, though“ (Wish I could type in a British accent for full dramatic effect)
