Gordon Wilkins covers the world of motoring.

In 1970 Chrysler, Ford and General Motors start selling their new small 'sub compact' models in a bid to attract American motorists away from imported European cars like the Volkswagen Beetle.
Can this campaign succeed? Do American drivers want smaller engines and easier parking at the expense of comfort and prestige? Will the giants of Detroit who aim to manufacture the new sub compacts in millions attempt to invade the European motoring scene?
On the opening day of the New York Motor Show Wheelbase examines America's big gamble on small cars like the sporting Oldsmobile 4-4-4-2 (above, in its special performance form) on which General Motors are pinning some of their hopes.