The little bmw Issetta or however you spell it was given away with any used car purchased in the Toronto area by certain used car dealers near the end. Otherwise the full new retail price bottomed out at 300.00 or 250.00 if I remember.
There was a dealer about a mile from my family home back then. I think they had a one cylinder bmw motorcycle engine and possibly a motorcycle type transmission. I personally could not figure what they were about. The closely spaced rear wheels eliminated winter usage pretty well in Canada.
I also do not remember if they had a heater. If so it would have to have been the cooling air off the engine.
Looked to be pretty nimble with a top end of probably about 50 mph. Unfortunatly I never drove one. To top everything off fuel was at pretty well giveaway prices then. I think it took 2.00 a week to drive to work and back with a normal american car.
I never heard of them having the volkswagon problem of rolling over forward though. I almost experienced that delightful sensation once myself. If I had been going as little as five mph faster I think I would have gone. Hard to believe and not desireable to even semi experience.
So where was the logic? I understand people like different things but that Isseta was not really even practical.
I also had a tennant with a messershmitt car. He sold it about two weeks before I knew he had it. If I had heard he had it and was for sale at the time I would have grabbed it. He had owned it and kept it in storage for years. That was kind of a novelty car. Probably somewhat upscale from the Isseta. Since it was tandem seating I can only assume your better half was always a back seat driver. I wonder what Willy Messersmitt did after that venture?
Regular non leaded gas made it to 4.50 an american gallon here this week with diesel a little higher. Unfortunatly I can remember five gallons for a dollar like it was yesterday.