Sunday Dumb Car Blogging

Oh, where to start? Let's try with Nissan's latest:

FromNissan unveils car with cabin revolving 360 degrees: I guess it was easier to engineer a rotating cab than to install a reverse gear? A car for people who don't know whether they are coming or going? Something for very narrow streets?

Vaguely reminds me of this:

In early Spring, 1955, Messerschmitt unveiled a new model, the KR200. Though similar to the KR175, it featured a larger 200 cc engine, wider front track, more sophisticated suspension, and numerous mechanical changes, including a clever system for starting the engine backwards, giving 4 speeds in reverse! KR200s can be distinguished from KR175s by their open front fenders, wraparound windscreen, and radically different dome configuration. In a year and a half, 16,000 KR200s came out of the Regensburg plant. (source)

A backwards starting engine?

UPDATE: As fuel economy becomes more important again, you might like to vist The Microcar Museum with more on the small cars of post-WWII.BMW
BMW
Avolette
Heinkel
Would I drive a "micro" today? Maybe to the office, if everyone else was driving one...but not in a world of Ford Excursions and other mega-SUVs... But I wouldn't need a rotatiing cabin or 4 speeds in reverse...

UPDATE 2: Actually, on further examination, I see a connection in design--Cinderella's coach
Nissan Pivo