Gabriel+L.

= History of BMW = Bayerische Motorn Werke  BMW, (//Bavarian Motor Works//) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the __MINI __ brand, and is the parent company of  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars . BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and  Husqvarna  brands. BMW is known for its performance and luxury vehicles.  Company History After World War I, BMW was forced to cease aircraft engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty  Which was a deal that the Germans had with BMW  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The company consequently shifted to  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">motorcycle <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">production in 1923 once the restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">followed by automobiles in 1928–29.. The circular blue and white BMW logo or roundel is portrayed by BMW as the movement of an aircraft propeller, to signify the white blades cutting through the blue sky – an interpretation that BMW adopted for convenience in 1929, twelve years after the roundel was created. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The emblem evolved from the circular <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Rapp Motorenwerke <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">company logo, from which the BMW company grew, combined with the white and blue colors of the flag of  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Bavaria <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, reversed to produce the BMW roundel. However, the origin of the logo being based on the movement of a propeller is in dispute, according to an article recently posted by the New York times, quoting "At the BMW Museum in Munich, Anne Schmidt-Possiwal, explained that the blue-and-white company logo did not represent a spinning propeller, but was meant to show the colors of the Free State of Bavaria. BMW's first significant aircraft engine was the BMW a inline-six liquid-cooled engine of 1918, much preferred for its high-altitude performance <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With German rearmament in the 1930s, the company again began producing aircraft engines for the  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">War . Among its successful  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">WWII <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">engine designs were the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">BMW 132 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">BMW 801 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">air-cooled  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">radial engines <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, and the pioneering  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">BMW 003 <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">axial-flow <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">turbojet <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, which powered the tiny, 1944-45-era jet-powered "emergency fighter", the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Heinkel He 162  //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Salamander. // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">BMW 003 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">jet engine was tested in the battle version of the world's first jet fighter, the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Messerschmitt Me 262 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, but BMW engines failed on takeoff, a major setback for the jet fighter program until successful testing with Junkers engines. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By 1959 the automotive division of BMW was in financial difficulties and a shareholders meeting was held to decide whether to go into liquidation or find a way of carrying on. It was decided to carry on and to try to cash in on the current economy car boom enjoyed so successfully by some of Germany's ex-aircraft manufacturers such as Messerschmitt and Heinkel. The rights to manufacture the Italian <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">Iso Isetta  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">were bought, the tiny cars themselves were to be powered by a modified form of BMW's own motorcycle engine. This was moderately successful and helped the company get back on its feet. The controlling majority shareholder of the BMW <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">engines  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">since 1959 is the Quandt family, which owns about 46% of the stock. The rest is public. === <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">In 1992, BMW acquired a large stake in <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Californian <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">-based  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">industrial design <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">studio  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> DesignworksUSA, which they fully acquired in 1995. In 1994, BMW bought the British <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Rover Group <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">(which at the time consisted of the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Rover <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">,  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Land Rover <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">and  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">MG <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">)  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"> and owned it for six years. By 2000, Rover was making huge losses and BMW decided to sell the combine. The MG and Rover brands were sold to the Phoenix Consortium to form <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">MG Rover <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, while Land Rover was taken over by  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Ford <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Chief designer <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Chris Bangle <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">announced his departure from BMW in February 2009, after serving on the design team for nearly seventeen years. He was replaced by <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Adrian van Hooydonk <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, Bangle's former right hand man. Bangle was famously known for his radical designs such as the 2002 7-Series and the 2002 Z4. In July 2007, the production rights for <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Husqvarna Motorcycles <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">was purchased by BMW for a reported 93 million euros. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">BMW Motorrad <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">plans to continue operating Husqvarna Motorcycles as a separate enterprise. All development, sales and production activities, as well as the current workforce, have remained in place at its present location at Varese. The //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">New Class // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">was a line of compact  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">sedans <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">and coupes starting with the 1962 1500 and continuing through the last 2002s in 1977. Powered by BMW's celebrated <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">four-cylinder <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">M10 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">engine, the New Class models featured a fully  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">independent suspension <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">,  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">MacPherson struts  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">in front, and front disc brakes. Initially a family of four-door sedans and two-door coupes, the New Class line was broadened to two-door sports sedans with the addition of the //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">02 Series // <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">1600 and 2002 in 1966. Sharing little in common with the rest of the line beyond power train, the sporty siblings caught auto enthusiasts' attention and established BMW as an international brand. Precursors to the famed BMW <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">3 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, the two-doors' success cemented the firm's future as an upper tier performance car maker. New Class four-doors with numbers ending in "0" were replaced by the larger <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">BMW 5 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">in 1972. The upscale 2000C and 2000CS coupes were replaced by the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">six-cylinder <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">BMW E9 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">, introduced in 1969 with the 2800CS. The 1600 two-door was discontinued in 1975, the 2002 replaced by the 320i in 1975. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Current model <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">  === <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">1 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, launched in 2004, is BMW's smallest car, and available in coupe/convertible and hatchback forms. The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">3 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, a compact <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">executive car <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">manufactured since <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">model year <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1975, is currently in its fifth generation; models include the sport sedan E90, station wagon coupe, and convertible Since its first generation, the 3-Series is considered to be the benchmark, and competitors are often judged on how close they come to this car. In some countries, it has even outsold significantly cheaper models, most notably Ford Mondeo in the UK, and accounts for a majority of BMW's worldwide sales. The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">5 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">is a <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">mid-size <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">executive car <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, available in sedan and station wagon forms. The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">5 Series Gran Turismo <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">beginning in 2010, will create a segment between station wagons and crossover SUV. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">BMW's <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">full-size <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">flagship executive <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">sedan <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">is the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">7 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">. Typically, BMW introduces many of their innovations first in the 7 Series, such as the somewhat controversial iDrive <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">system. The 7 Series Hydrogen, featuring one of the world's first <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">hydrogen <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">fueled internal combustion engines, is fueled by liquid hydrogen and emits only clean water vapor. The latest generationdebuted in 2009. Based on the 5 Series' platform, the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">6 Series <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">is BMW's <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">grand touring <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">luxury <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">sport coupe/convertible A 2-seater <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">roadster <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">and <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">coupe <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">which succeeded the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">Z3 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">Z4 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">has been sold since 2002. , BMW's first <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">crossover SUV <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(called  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">SAV <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">or "Sports Activity Vehicle" by BMW) debuted in 2003 and is based on the 3 Series platform. Marketed in Europe as an off-roader, it benefits from BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system. The all-wheel drive <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">X5 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">is a mid-size luxury SUV sold by BMW since 2000. A 4-seat crossover SUV released by BMW in December 2007, the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">X6 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">is marketed as a "Sports Activity Coupeby the BMW. The upcoming  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; text-decoration: none;">X1 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">extends the BMW Sports Activity Series model lineup.    <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> The M models have a great history they are the fastest models in all of the BMW models. Based on the 3 Series, the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">M3 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> defined an entirely new market for BMW: a race-ready production vehicle. Since its debut, the M3 is heralded in enthusiast circles, in large part due to its unique geometry and award winning engines. The newest V8-powered platform became available the Autumn of 2007 in Europe, and second quarter of 2008 for the U.S. in coupe, and later the cabriolet , and sedan variants. Based on the 5 Series, the <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">M5 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> is the M division's V10-powered version of the E60 5 Series. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">M6 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> is the M division's version of the 6 Series, and shares its drivetrain with the M5. The Z4 M, or <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">M Coupe <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">/  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">M Roadster <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, is the M division's version of the Z4. The <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">X5M <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> is the M division's version of the X5, and the  <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">X6M <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> is the M division's version of the X6. Both the X5M and X6M share the same V8 twin scroll twin turbo. BMW has a great success in Formula 1a lot of the championships BMW has won a lot. BMW vehicles follow a certain nomenclature; usually a 3 digit number is followed by 1 or 2 letters. The first number represents the series number. The next two numbers traditionally represent the engine displacement in cubic centimeters <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A = automatic transmission. Here are some functions of the BMW cars, <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">X Drive <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">X Drive is a function that BMW cars have that not always SUV’s but also Coupes and Sedans its that all of the four wheels work all of the time. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I Drive <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The I drive in the BMW is a tool for safety but also convenience because it has GPS available in the US. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The history of BMW is fascinating all that they made to become and make joy and make cars all the problems that they had just to make a beautiful car.