When the Hudson Jet was first announced in 1952, company officials thought the compact sedan would be a renaissance for the venerable automaker. Today, many historians will tell you it was Hudson's fatal mistake. This week, we look at the origins and history of the much-maligned Jet.

Click here to read more about the 1953-1954 Hudson Jet

The BMC Mini is one of a tiny handful of vehicles that are truly iconic, immediately recognizable even by people who know nothing about cars. It's as enduring a symbol of sixties Britain as the Beatles and James Bond -- a revolutionary little shoebox on wheels that rewrote the rules for compact cars.

This week, we look at the history of the original Mini.

Click here to read more about the 1959-2000 BMC Mini

If you're an American over 30, you may have some hazy, not necessarily happy memories of Renault's "Le Car," sold here from 1976 through 1983. To Europeans, who will need little introduction, it was known as the Renault 5, the ubiquitous French subcompact that helped to popularize the supermini genre. Although it never sold very well in the States, Renault moved more than five million of them in other markets, making the "Cinq" one of the best selling French cars of all time. It also spawned a wild little rally car, the fearsome Renault 5 Turbo.

Click here to read more about the 1972-1986 Renault 5 and the 1980-1985 Renault 5 Turbo

It sounded so promising at the time. After years of dismissing imported compacts as cars for kooks, GM was finally going to build an attractive, sophisticated subcompact, featuring the latest advances in manufacturing technology. To follow that, Chevrolet going to offer a sporty version with a racy twin-cam engine built by the legendary English firm Cosworth. It was the car that was going to save America for American cars -- that is, until it all went wrong.

Click here to read more about the 1971-77 Chevrolet Vega and the 1975-76 Cosworth Vega