1959 Ford Skyliner
Try to imagine a hard-top that could transform itself into a convertable. The metal top woulld fold in a few places, the trunk would open automaticly, and the entire top would then lower itself into the trunk, which would then lower its lid, and there would be one clean sweep of fender. Seems like a fantasy? Ford made one from 1957-59.
It was not a show car or a prototype but an every day productton car called the Skyliner. It was an engineering marvel, and it woked! The mechanism was trouble free. But sales were not as expected and after model year 1959 the car was discontinued. The same basic mechanism was used on the soft-top T-bird convertable through '66.
The Skyliner sold 20,766 in 57, 14,713 in 58, and 12,915 in 59. To American car makers this representad a car that the public did not accept. Ford dropped the car. In each of those years Ford sold three times as many Sunliners (the soft top version) as it did the Skyliner.
The car was a success in that it worked and a number of people bought it, but not enough to satisfy Ford.