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Yesterday's Flops, Today's Collectibles
By Claire Martin of MSN Autos

One lesson that came out of product launches like New Coke and the Sony Betamax is that too much hype can be a bad thing. The auto industry has had its fair share of flops over the years — cars that didn't live up to the expectations, gained infamy for abysmal sales or performance, or were just plain weird. But those cars didn't disappear from the roads. Many have achieved cult status and become collector's items, sought after by car enthusiasts for their rarity. "Enthusiasts measure success differently," explains McKeel Hagerty, founder and CEO of Hagerty Insurance, which specializes in collector vehicles. "They'll find some odd-duck car that no one has and they want it."

BMW Isetta

Americans are now more open to the long-held European automotive operating principle that small cars with tiny engines mean good gas mileage and maneuverability on narrow streets. But back in the 1950s, bigger was considered way better. That didn't bode well for BMW's Isetta, which debuted in 1955 and was the most diminutive of micro minis. It had just one door: The steering wheel swung open and you stepped in from the front of the car. "A typical American car could fit at least one Isetta in the trunk," Hagerty says. "It was a real failure because it did not fit the American mentality of what a car should be."