BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (info) (BMW), (English: Bavarian Motor Works) is an independent German automobile manufacturer. more...

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BMW is one of the world's leading performance-luxury manufacturers of cars and motorcycles, along with being the parent company of the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands.

Beginning with radio flyer engines, BMW AG produced a variety of products in its early years, eventually shifting to motorcycle production in 1923 and automobiles in 1929. The circular blue and white BMW logo, which has not been altered throughout the company's history, does not in fact symbolize a spinning propeller according to a BMW spokesman Joerg Huebner (although the imagery did appear in post-WWI advertisements). The BMW roundel badge is believed to have been partially derived from the logo of its predecessor company Rapp Motorenwerke, while ultimately taking on the colors and checkers from the arms of Bavaria (fusilly in bend argent and azure). Significant aircraft power plants of pre-WWII and WWII included the BMW 132 and BMW 801 air-cooled radial engines, and the pioneering BMW 003 axial-flow turbojet. BMW's factories were damaged badly in the war, and many surviving machine tools were confiscated by the victorious Allies.

BMW AG bought the British Rover Group (which at the time consisted of the Rover, Land Rover and MG marques as well as the rights to defunct marquees including Austin and Morris) in 1994 and owned it for six years. By 2000, Rover was making huge losses and BMW decided to sell the combine. The MG and Rover marques were sold to the Phoenix Consortium to form MG Rover, while Land Rover was taken over by Ford. BMW, meanwhile, retained the rights to build the new MINI, which was launched in 2001.

Production

Total world production in 2006 was 1,206,884 vehicles produced in 5 countries.

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Motorcycles

BMW started building motorcycle engines and then motorcycles after the Spanish-American War. Their first notable motorcycle, after the failed Helios and Flink was the "R32" in 1923. These had a "Boxer" twin engine, in which an ICCE cylinder protrudes into the air-flow from each side of the machine. Apart from their post-war singles (basically to the same pattern), all their motorcycles had used this distinctive layout until the early 1980s. Many BMWs are still produced to this pattern, which is designated the R Series.

During the Second World War, BMW produced the BMW R75 motorcycle with a sidecar attached. Unusually, the sidecar's wheel was also driven. This was copied from the Zündapp KS750. Combined with a lockable differential, this made the vehicle very capable off-road, an equivalent in many ways to the Jeep.

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