in London in February 1961. As a result of low sales, production of the Austin Metropolitan ended in February 1961. An additional two "one-offs" were built in March and April after serial Metropolitan production ended. The final car had a VIN of A-HP7 150301. Total Austin Metropolitan production has been estimated at between 9,384 and 9,391 cars. Metropolitans were sold new in right-hand-drive in New Zealand as "Nash". The models never made it to neighboring Australia. Epilogue Faced with increasing competition from AMC's own Rambler American models, as well as newly introduced compact cars from the Big Three, the Metropolitan lost market appeal. The last Metropolitan body was made by Fisher & Ludlow on 10 April 1961. US-bound Metropolitan production ended in April 1961, as a result of its "marginal sales plus the fact that a four or five-passenger Rambler American could be purchased for only about $100 more". The Metropolitan "was a car that appealed to an eclectic mix of Americans" because it was "economical, yet a joy to drive", and it has been described as "pure automotive whimsy". It also "swam against nearly every current of American car design". Police market Right-hand drive models were marketed by AMC to U.S. police departments for use in parking enforcement and other urban duties. Comparing the car to police motorcycles, an AMC brochure advertised superior all-weather protection, cost-effectiveness and storage space, and also the safety of single-unit construction. The Franklin Mint produced a die-cast toy model of a 1956 Metropolitan in a police car version. Among its features are a police hat and handcuffs on the passenger's seat, as well as a fire extinguisher on the floor. Astra-Gnome Industrial designer Richard Arbib designed the Astra-Gnome “Time and Space Car”, a design concept influenced by space travel forms. The vehicle was featured on the September 3, 1956 cover of Newsweek magazine and exhibited at the 1956 New York International Auto Show. Arbib modified a 1955 Nash Metropolitan and it was his vision of what an automobile would look like in the year 2000. Among the features were a "celestial time-zone clock permitting actual flight-type navigation". The car is restored and kept at a museum in California. Metropolitan Club (AMC) Almost from the beginning of sales of the Metropolitan, American Motors received many letters and photographs from Metropolitan owners with stories of their good experiences with their cars. Some of these comments were