A history of BMW
Here in the UK, a BMW isn't the kind of car you just fill up with petrol and drive from A to B. Instead, it's something to be proud of: at the golf course; in the company car park; even nuzzled up to the kerb outside Spa, or Blockbusters, or some other local convenience you nevertheless decided to drive over to. Friends, neighbours and colleagues alike will crowd round to admire your 'beemer'. As status symbols go, it's pretty hard to beat.
That opinion is echoed stateside, but like most things, the pronunciation isn't. In the US, 'beemer' is a term reserved exclusively for motorcycles, and BMW cars are instead called 'bimmers'. Then in Germany, the marque's home, the slang terms are different all over again. Here we find nicknames which refer to the individual models: "drier" (or "three-er") for the 3 Series; "funfer" ("five-er") for the 5 Series; and so on.
But whatever model you choose, and whichever nickname you affectionately use for it, you'll know that the car you're driving is 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'. That slogan, first coined by BMW marketing execs over thirty years ago, has stayed true to this day.
The following is a brief history of a firm that started out making aircraft engines, but has since come to be one of the foremost carmakers on the international market. Early history and the impact of World War II
BMW is the acronym of Bayerische Motoren Werke, which in 1917 was the new name for Rapp-Motorenwerke. This company, founded a few years before by a German named Karl Rapp, was based in Munich and made engines for the aviation industry. That year, Rapp won a new contract with Austro-Daimler, and besides the name change his company needed serious restructuring and new financial backing to meet the increased demand.
However, Rapp didn't persevere at BMW for very long; and neither did the firm's dealings with the aviation industry after World War I. The Treaty of Versailles prohibited the Germans from manufacturing aircraft, and so BMW was forced to make a switch to motorcycle production. After a few years or research it launched its first model, the R32, in 1923. The bike featured BMW's first 'Boxer' engine, a distinctive and for its time highly advanced design that has persevered in one form or another right up to the present day.
In 1928 BMW purchased the Dixi Company, a small automaker which was at that time producing a version of the British Austin Seven under licence. Rebadged and sold as the BMW 3/15, this car would mark the company's first foray into the auto market; followed in 1933 by the 303, the first BMW to have been designed in-house. Sporty new models and ramping success were to follow in the years up to 1939. BMW played a major part in the German war effort, supplying motorbikes, vehicles and aircraft engines to the Luftwaffe. It also researched and built jet engines during the war years, though prolonged technical difficulties meant few were ever installed or used in German planes. The Allied victory in 1945 saw many of its factories destroyed and, in a repeat of the Versailles Treaty years earlier, BMW was ordered to cease production at its remaining plants. This was a blow that might have finished the company altogether, and in the event it had to wait until the 1960s to see a return to profitability. The 60s and onward
BMW waited longer than the proscribed three years before its return to car manufacturing. In fact, it wasn't until 1952 by that it was ready to launch a new model - and that was something of a flop. Lean years and stilted production meant that by 1959, BMW management was ready to admit defeat. Heartbroken, they advised its investors to sell what was left of the firm to Daimler-Benz.
However, majority shareholder Herbert Quandt still believed in the future of BMW. Rather than sell shares, he actually upped his investment in the crippled firm; a positive step that would snowball into a complete turnaround of its fortunes. Sales bloomed during the 60s on the back of a string of motorsports successes, and by 1966 the now rapidly expanding BMW purchased two new factories at Dingolfing and Landshut.
The 1970s saw BMW hit on a winning formula that survives, practically unchanged, to this day. The decade saw the introduction the 5 Series, 3 Series and 7 Series models, cars which lit up the international motor scene and have survived to become the backbone of the current BMW range. These were the first to be described as ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine' in advertisements, and the slogan, much like the models themselves, has stuck. In the years which followed, BMW expanded overseas, acquired and sold rival car firms, and experimented with new technologies - but the calibre of these 70s machines has brought it continued success in the luxury car market ever since. A great deal on BMW car insurance
BMW may be a prestige brand, but that doesn't mean you have to pay ‘prestige prices' on car insurance. A tailored policy from Hoot Car Insurance Services could see you wowing your friends outside Blockbuster with more than enough change in your pocket for a few videos. In fact, drivers who switch to Hoot generally save up to 30 percent on their car insurance - and for that kind of money you could probably rent the whole shop, with popcorn.
The reason our motor insurance is so much cheaper is that we offer policies which are specially tailored for BMW owners. The marque's popularity is such that we can afford to second guess demand and buy these policies in bulk from our underwriters; earning us big discounts and you big mark-downs. So for BMW car insurance at a fraction of the price you're used to paying, just click below.
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