If it’s what you’re thinking of and it probably is, the OG “bubble car” was the BMW Isetta and I’m afraid the scenario outlined above is a myth that was promulgated by Top Gear. The Isetta does indeed have a reverse gear, because even ze Bavarians were smart enough to think of that. Yes, this is also the car that Steve Urkel drove.
What’s true is that in the immediate postwar years, quite a lot of other lesser European microcars hit the streets which were built around largely as-is motorbike drivetrains which didn’t have reverse. Vanishingly few of these did not have side opening doors, though, with some strange exceptions.
Internet Pedantry Alert!
If it’s what you’re thinking of and it probably is, the OG “bubble car” was the BMW Isetta and I’m afraid the scenario outlined above is a myth that was promulgated by Top Gear. The Isetta does indeed have a reverse gear, because even ze Bavarians were smart enough to think of that. Yes, this is also the car that Steve Urkel drove.
What’s true is that in the immediate postwar years, quite a lot of other lesser European microcars hit the streets which were built around largely as-is motorbike drivetrains which didn’t have reverse. Vanishingly few of these did not have side opening doors, though, with some strange exceptions.