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4 unusual facts about Zoe Motors


Zoe Motors

Neither host Bob Barker nor announcer Johnny Olson could keep from giggling when the incredulous contestant asked "What is that?" and later "It's a car?!" She did win it, and after enthusiastically hugging and kissing Barker, Barker quipped "If you want some affection, just give a lady a three-wheeled vehicle!" According to the show, the Zipper (the hardtop model) cost $3785.

The Zipper had angular styling inspired by Giorgetto Giugiaro's "folded paper" automotive designs seen on other early-1980s cars such as the De Lorean DMC-12 and the Lotus Esprit.

Perhaps the single best remembered part of the Zipper outside auto-enthusiast circles was its appearance as a prize on the TV game show The Price Is Right.

A four-seat Yugo, for example, boasted a $3990 price in the mid-80s, just slightly more than the Zipper.



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