Zero emissions, no MOT required: meet America's bestselling car

John Crace
The Guardian, Monday 15 June 2009

At last some good news for the US car industry. While most of the leading manufacturers have faced a drop in sales of nearly 40% over the last year, an Ohio-based company has bucked the trend to report record sales in the same period. The Cozy Coupe sold more than 457,000 units - the second bestselling car, the Ford F series pickup, registered barely a third of that number with 143,717, and the third-placed car, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup, was a long way behind with just 125,183.
Even better news for environmentalists is that the Cozy Coupe is a genuinely zero-emissions car. Nor does it require a battery, insurance or an MOT. The downside is that it will only go as far as your little legs will carry you, for the Cozy Coupe is a stunningly unattractive red and yellow plastic Little Tikes pedal car that, if you have children, has at some point or other almost certainly blocked your hallway or crashed into your kitchen table and had you longing for the day when you could offload it on to some other poor sucker.
Sales of the Cozy Coupe in the UK have also held up well, with some 4m having been shifted off the shelves since it went into production 30 years ago. Fashions have changed over the years. Little Tikes have stopped making the 4x4 - "Buying trends tend to mirror the motorised market," says a spokesman coyly. Though not that closely, unless I've happened to miss out on a new trend in bright pink cars, as the Cozy Coupe also comes ready-pimped for Barbie lovers. The Police and Fire models are available for fans of Village People.
"We're delighted to be at the top of the UK car sales league table in our 30th anniversary year," says Ron Brawer, managing director of MGA's Little Tikes. "Cozy Coupe delivers on design, fuel consumption, safety and fun." Although from what I remember of my son's model, the front wheel had a nasty habit of falling off. Especially after I had loosened the nuts to hasten its demise. "Oh dear, Robbie," I said. "It seems to be broken. Perhaps we should get rid of it."