By: Maria Allard | Metro | Published August 11, 2025
METRO DETROIT — If you make it out to the Woodward Dream Cruise Aug. 16 in Oakland County, you might spot Sami Abu-Soud in his 1997 Reliant Robin.
At press time, he planned to take it to the annual car cruise that brings together car buffs and spectators who spend the day reliving the golden age of the automobile.
Abu-Soud has owned the Reliant Robin for a few years and loves to take it to car shows and cruises. The British car has three wheels, one in the center front and two in the back. The car can fit two people in the front seat, two passengers in the back seat and there is a trunk where Abu-Soud keeps a spare tire and speakers that play his music of choice — electronic.
“The car is something else,” the Royal Oak resident said. “They haven’t changed the car style much since the ’70s and ’80s. This is the van model of it. It’s technically a motorcycle, so I have a motorcycle license.”
Abu-Soud, 38, purchased the three-wheeler directly from England. It traveled the Atlantic Ocean by ship, and all the parts for maintenance are ordered from across the pond. The Reliant has a stick shift, and because the car is British, the steering wheel is on the right side, unlike American cars in which the steering wheels are on the left side. Abu-Soud had no trouble adjusting to driving with the steering wheel on the opposite side.
“It’s actually pretty natural,” he said. “It keeps up with traffic for the most part.”
Abu-Soud has other cars, including a 1998 Dodge Viper, a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette and two Subaru WRXs. But the Reliant is his favorite vehicle to drive in the warmer months around town, visiting downtown Detroit or when running errands.
“I wanted something different. Anytime I don’t have to use the highway, I try to drive it as much as possible. It gets a lot of looks. As I’m driving, people take pictures of me all the time,” Abu-Soud said. “Even non-car people stop me and ask me about it.”
Abu-Soud also lets friends and even strangers drive the car, usually in parking lots or around the block. They just have to know how to operate a stick shift.
“I bought it to have fun,” said Abu-Soud, who always makes sure to go with guest drivers. “Everyone has been able to drive it, no problem.”
One of Abu-Soud’s neighbors who works in the automotive industry helped him tune up the Reliant Robin.
“It’s pretty solid otherwise,” he said. “I haven’t done too much to it.”
The ’97 model, which has more than 80,000 miles on it, does not have power steering or power brakes.
“Basically, no frills,” Abu-Soud said. “It’s all fiberglass, so it’s really light. The car weighs less than 1,000 pounds.”
The four-cylinder Reliant is equipped with an 850 cc engine that produces 40 horsepower. When looking at the rear license plate, it reads “Flipy,” because the cars have a reputation for flipping onto their sides. That has not happened to Abu-Soud, but he saw it on the British Broadcasting Corp. television show “Top Gear.”
The ’97 Reliant Robin owner has always been into cars. Abu-Soud, who now works in real estate, worked as a mechanical engineer for 13 years.
“When I was a little kid, I started tinkering with cars,” he said. “I would fix cars. I try to do all the work myself on all my cars.”
There may be a reason why he is so comfortable driving the British car. Abu-Soud was born in England, and his family moved to the U.S. when he was just 1 year old. He also has his own version of a mascot for the car: a tiny stuffed robin he keeps in the front seat. One highlight this past year was displaying the 1997 Reliant Robin at the Detroit Auto Show at Huntington Place.
“It was pretty exciting,” Abu-Soud said.
According to reliant.website, which is the official website for the Reliant Motor Club, the Reliant Motor Co. was formed in 1935 when Tom Lawrence Williams built the first prototype vehicle in his garden in the U.K. along with E.S. Thompson. A number of different Reliant styles were built over the years, including the Scimitar GT, Rialto and Kitten.
According to the website, the Reliant Robin was introduced in November 1973 and replaced the Reliant Regal 3/30. The Robin had different variations: the Standard Robin, the Super Robin, the Robin Estate and the Robin Van.
The Reliant Robin had become one of the most famous three-wheelers in the U.K. until 1981, when it was replaced by the Reliant Rialto. But in 1989, Reliant brought back the Robin with a new look, including a new fiberglass body attached to a galvanized chassis and a single, central windscreen wiper.
The website states that the company’s last Reliant vehicle was built in February 2001.