I think the question was, what happens, if you change C-E of a transistor. Answer is: the thing is still similair to a normal transistor but Beta is approx 1, then also the E-B will behave more as a ZENER diode at voltages greater then 7..9 Volt. Nobody wants this..
I'm not sure, but if I remember correct, the saturation voltage of CE is very low for low currents. So in times, where there were not much MOSfets around, this made sense in some apps.

what a topic in a 8052 forum :)

Werner