Brand collaborations in the car world have taken some odd turns. Sometimes automakers want a touch of luxury or pop culture cachet, so they call in fashion houses, musicians, or even beverage ...

Image Credit: betto rodrigues / Shutterstock. Some cars fail because they are bad. The more interesting ones fail because they ask buyers to stretch a little further than the market is ready to go.

Some cars were misunderstood when they were new—too weird, too ahead-of-their-time, or simply stuck between categories buyers didn’t quite get. But time has a way of reshuffling the deck. The ...