22. BMW Isetta
Facing financial doom with an expensive and not very popular line of premium models produced in the ’50s, BMW was forced to think fast and find a product that could sell with significant profit. The BMW motorcycles were always popular with European buyers and management believed this was a good direction. In the post-war years, most customers could only dream of owning a proper car so there were plenty of micro-car companies which sold small and inexpensive models (via Hemmings).
One of those companies was Italy’s Iso, which produced the tiny Isetta. BMW liked the product, bought the license, thoroughly re-engineered the car, and installed its motorcycle engine. The original BMW Isetta was introduced in 1955, first with a 250 cc engine and later with bigger 300 and 600 cc engines. Even though the Isetta sold well and helped cars BMW produced stay afloat, it was nothing more than a motorcycle with a cabin far, from what BMW wanted their cars to be.