"Everyone knows the story of the engineer who in the 1970s cut a hole in the roof of a 3 Series car in his garage and cobbled together BMW's first convertible to wow reluctant board members. Production engineers in the paint shop recently racked up an impressive first with a new powder-based technology to apply the final clear coat on a car, providing a more perfect finish and better scratch resistance, and completely eliminating toxic waste. "All the Japanese and American auto makers have come to view it," says Walter Wimmer, head of the paint shop at the Dingolfing plant."

It was a Ford engineer, Harold K. Sperlich, who in the 1970's came up with the idea of a van big enough to haul a family but small enough to fit in a standard garage. (Granted, vehicles like the VW Microbus and Corvair Greenbrier had been there before.) Mr. Sperlich's boss, Lee A. Iacocca, took the proposal to top management, but they dismissed it as too risky, given the cost it would entail. When the two men wound up at Chrysler in the early 1980's, they resurrected the idea and the minivan was born. A concept deemed too risky for Ford ended up saving Chrysler from extinction.

People mention the story of the engineer at BMW - but what happened to him - Did he get a bonus, a promotion, a $1million?