Car That Saved BMW From Bankruptcy
My Dad moved his family to Anchorage, Alaska in 1957. He had been a Gunner’s Mate in the Navy during WWII, a Texas cotton farmer, loan collector, truck driver, wheat harvester, and café owner. He did well in everything that he tried. In Alaska, he opened Chron Motor Company and sold Isetta 300s, 600s, and DKWs. They all sold very good. The attached picture shows my Dad driving an Isetta 300 in the 1958 Fur Rendezvous Parade in Anchorage. I was standing in the seat holding the Alaska statehood sign – with my cousin Darla next to me. The 300s came standard with a sun roof . You never had to worry about an Isetta freezing up – they had an air cooled engine. My Dad drove us to church in a two seater 600 model. In the front seat was my Dad, mother, and youngest sister (Tami). In the back seat was me, my sister Josa, other sister Dee, and the song leader of the church – Lowell.
I never realized that this is the Isetta that saved BMW from bankruptcy. I had always assumed that BMW had a long history of successful cars.
Toward the end of 1958, my Dad felt called of God to become a Baptist preacher. He sold his share of Chron Motor Company to his brother and he became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Eagle River..
While in the Navy in 1968, I fell in love with the BMW 2002. They were about $6500. One could buy a new GTO for about $3500.
I could never afford a BMW. My first new car was a 1970 Pontiac Firebird that cost me $3800. Today, it appears that BWMs have all sorts of problems after they get about 80K miles on them.