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A Brief History Of BMW Vehicles

BMW is one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers. Based in Bavaria, BMW manufactures vehicles all around the world, including the United States, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. The following is a brief history of BMW.

Early Beginnings

The initial beginnings of BMW can be traced back to the companies Automobilwerk Eisenach and Rapp Motorenwerke. A key executive left Rapp Motorenwerke in 1917, and that led Rapp to rename its company to Bayerische Motorenwerke. A couple of years later, BMW started to produced automobiles after Automobilwerk Eisenach was purchased by the company. BMW took over producing the vehicle that was being worked on by Automobilwerk Eisenach, and the BMW 3/15 was eventually reduced as its first production car. In 1932, the BMW 3/20 model was released by the company. That was the first vehicle that was designed by BMW completely. Shortly after releasing the BMW 3/20, the BMW 303 was the first straight-six engine released by the company. Due to the success of BMW’s initial offering, they started production on various convertibles, sedans, and coupes.

Post World War

BMW started to produce aircraft engines during World War II. Many production facilities of the company were bombed during the war. The company was not able to manufacture any automobiles for a couple of years. BMW resumed production during the 1950s and released a number of new designs. With the release of the BMW 502, it was the first vehicle from BMW that used a V8 engine.

Overcoming Adversity

BMW encountered financial difficulties during the 1960s. The company accumulated a lot of debt, and there were other companies that tried to buy BMW. During a 1960 shareholder meeting, top executives voted to begin a new program that was called New Class. The several new sedans that had upgraded seats were created by the program. Those vehicles helped to turn BMW around and get out of its financial crisis. The 2000 C and C2 luxury coupes were created by the New Class. The BMW 02 Series Collection was created by the New Class. After BMW was able to stabilize financially, they started to work on a new vehicle line that had the straight six engine.

New Technology

BMW created the BMW M1, its very first mid-engine sports car during the later 1970s. The company, over the next couple of years, introduced several new models: the E 32 750 i, the M 21, and the BMW M. The BMW M was the very first road car that the new motorsport division of BMW produced. The M 21 was the first vehicle that BMW made that had a diesel engine. BMW’s E 32 750 i was the company’s first V 12 model. BMW produces its new series of vehicles that had V12 engines and new seat covers during the early 1990s.

The New Era

BMW introduced its first SUV called the BMW X5 in 1999. During that time, changes were made to the interior of the BMW and the company started making vehicles that had an automatic transmission. As BMW headed into the new millennium the company embraced efficiency. It made new models with turbocharged engines. BMW released the BMW i3, the company’s first electric car, in 2013.

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