I’m still waiting for someone to come out with one of these “city cars” that isn’t ugly to the point of inducing vomit.

without 3 wheels and a nose door its not a true isetta in my book.

I just can’t imagine driving one of these city cars on the highway with the plethora of American steel on the road. I still see the occaisonal 1970’s era GM boat around. Can you imagine a 1979 Impala Vs a Smart fortwo or a Mini for that matter? Just saying I don’t get warm and fuzzies from these cars.

Well, I say let them build a funny looking Isetta concept, and if we don’t make fun of it too much, then it just might be crazy enough to work.

Here’s a “pic” ….

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/front_website/gallery.php?id=231687

Looks better than a smart or mini any day, although I still love the cinquecento.

i hope theres a door on the front

A4, in that pic, the door is on the side (as in “normal”).

Here’s my favorite video with the BMW Isetta. It first appears at 1:03 in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqLcYEPKZ54

‘A4′, I hope there’s a brain in your skull.

Isn’t that the car that Steve Erkel drove?

It might work in other countries where tiny cars are the norm, but I can’t imagine a lilliputian BMW making much of a splash in the U.S.

Then again, it might prove popular with fashion conscious greenies who have grown tired of tooling around in their Prius(ssssss or Pri-i?; What the heck is the plural form of Prius?). Before anyone mistakes the intent of that comment, let me add that there is nothing wrong with being enviromentally conscious (unless you are doing it just to be trendy or to attract media attention or to gain popularity in an election).

BMW sure is on a roll to build smaller cars – Mini, 1-series, Isetta.

Such a good song Madcapp. Gotta Love Depeche Mode! I also like the Smashing Pumpkin’s version of that song as well. Yeah Jonmiles you are correct. That is the very same car the Steve Erkel drives in Family Matters. I always thought that was one funky car.

I’m down with these microcars, there can’t be enough of them in densely populated cities like London and Athens, or Manhattan or Chicago for that matter.

I think due to Toyota’s market penetration, that iCar will probably dominate when it comes out. I don’t see too many people shelling out $25,000 for an Isetta, although then again they were more than willing to do that for the Mini…

The most important factor in safety is structure, not size or mass. The ability to control and dissapate energy is a much better strategy than trying to absorb it. A good example of this is the Smart with its Tridion Safety Cell. A lot of the older ‘heavy iron’ on the road does very poorly in crash test and real-world collisions.
As for the Isetta, This would be more of a marketing move than anything else. Just like Mini, which has nothing to do with the original Mini Coopers other than some implied ‘values’ and ‘attitudes’. Dilbert best summarizes marketing: “Marketing Department: Two Drink Minimum.”

bring it on!