B is for bankruptcy. And most of them have come close at one stage or another. We can all be smart after the event, but car companies have to be smart, extra-smart five or so years ahead of time. That's how much time it can take bring a car to market. So being a car manufacturer requires a lot of crystal-ball gazing. Who could have predicted the massive hike in oil prices that hit us in 2008? Who predicted the wfc – world financial crisis – also in 2008?

For sure, we had all known for some time GM and Chrysler were producing cars the public did not want. Inside and out the US. That's why GM Holden is placing so much faith in the Cruze. A small big car that Holden executives have openly said is one of the most important cars in the company's history. So, how important can one car be? We only have to look at BMW to find out.

In the 1950's the company was on it's knees. The motorcycle boom was over and they produced the new small car, the 600 – a 600 cc flat engine in a tiny body with a door that opened at the front. It was the successor to the Isetta. But, people wanted comfort not crush and the 600 bubble car was a flop. The small car market was booming an BMW had missed the mark. It was close to bankruptcy and Mercedes-Benz was hovering to pickup the pieces.

The 600 provided some input: the engine was proven and there was an all-synchromesh four speed transmission. A decision was made to up the 600cc engine to 700cc and look at a more comfortable body with seating for two in a coupe and four in a sedan. In it's design the BMW 700 followed a standard car design, but used a monocoque body to save weight, and keep the car closer to the ground.

It weighed less than 600 kg had an overall length of 3540mm, was just 1270mm high and offered acceptable head height for passengers. It was a good size small car, nothing like the micro Isetta. The 700 was rear engined which allowed a front luggage area, the fuel tank was under the luggage area, protected by the spare wheel, which stood upright at the front. The 700 had a cruising range of 500 kilometres and a top speed of 125 km/h.

In essence it was the type of car buyers were looking for in a Europe still recovering from WW2. At the time motoring journalists were thrilled with what they drove.

“Acceleration is certainly impressive for a car of this size, taking you from a standstill to 90 km/h in 20 seconds and to 100 km/h in 30 seconds,” one commented. The figures were that impressive a sporting career beckoned.

At the 1959 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 700 was a highlight. Next to the coupe was the sedan, set for production in 1960. When it came to market the 700 had stiff opposition from strange looking vehicle from Volkswagen called the Beetle. In 1960 BMW sold 35,000 of the little cars accounting for 58 per cent of the company revenues. The little car saved the big company. It was a mouse that roared.

Motorsport beckoned. In 1960 the fast coupe's brought home both gold medals and titles with Hans Stuck clinching the German Hill-Climbing Championship at the wheel of a BMW 700 at age 60. The rest is history. Various new models followed, convertibles, GT models, a longer body on the same chassis and success on the race track.

By 1965 more than 188,000 BMW 700s had been sold ensuring BMW had funds to develop new product and large scale-production. Perhaps, the moral of the story for almost all makers is this: Ignore having a red-hot, high-volume-selling small-car at your peril. History tells us that from the success of the Ford Model-T, the VW Beetle, Morris Minor, Fiat 500, and the Mini to name a few iconic small cars.