"jjs" > wrote in message
...
> Charles Fregeau" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> . Or that at the same time VW was making the last of the oval-windows,
>> BMW was making something called Isetta (sic)
>
> I think the Isetta was an Italian machine simply branded by BMW. All kinds
> of those things happen. Ferrari made the Dino but had Fiat sell it because
> it wasn't a V-12. BMW took the low road.
>
>

Yes but it was branded BMW, and a far cry from the stuff they put out today.
Although those little Isettas seem to survive. I saw one in near mint
condition in Palatine a year ago.

What I'm getting at is the snob angle. The people that drive Volkswagens
now aren't the same people that drove our beloved Beetle. That class of
people have moved on to things like Toyota Corollas. I ought to know, I is
one! I often refer to the Corolla as the Japanese attempt at a Beetle.
Toyota's made over 25 million of them, although they've changed the design a
lot, unlike the Beetle. And what is badged as a Corolla in Europe is not
necessarily a Corolla in the US, etc.

What's sad is that Toyota, too, seems to be playing the Snob card with the
Camry (affectionately known as the Cram-me and the Buick of Toyotas around
these parts.)

Charles of Kankakee