15 things about ... BMW
Did you know BMW was almost bought by Daimler in the 1950s? But the first BMW model was a British one? These, plus other interesting information, in the fourth episode of the series "Did You Know ..."
The "Know It" series is now passing through Bavaria, the place where one of the world's most renowned brands: BMW. We chose 20 of the most interesting and unknown facts and facts in BMW history, but we should probably still have so many points to dissect a very exciting evolution of a brand that 50 years ago was almost collapsing , but which today manages to impose on a lot of world markets in the Premium segment.
BMW is the acronym used for "Bayerische Motoren Werke". The British translated BMW as "Bavarian Engine Works".
Among the "popular" meanings of the BMW acronym are Bankcard / Mastercard Welcome, Be My Wife, Beautiful Mechanical Wonders, Best Man Wins, Best Motorsport Weapon, Big Monthly Wage, Boobs Made Welcome, Bring Me Women. And other.
The fans of the main BMW market opponents did not have their hands on their breasts: Beyond My Wages, Barely Moving Wreck, Big Metal Wastage, Bunch Money Wasted, Bavarian Marriage Wrecker. And other.
Before making cars, BMW made airplanes and motorcycles. The company was founded in 1913, its initial name being Bayerishe Flugzeug-Werke.
BMW stopped production of airplanes only in the '60s. In the early 1990s, after setting up a joint venture with Rolls-Royce, BMW began producing this type of propulsion.
When they started building motorcycles, the company's engineers made a mistake: they focused too much on the power of the engines, so the first final products were banned. But they have managed, in the meantime, to establish many speed records.
The first car produced by BMW was called Dixi. It came out on the gates of the Eisenach factory in 1927. It was not a 100% Bavarian creation, the model being produced under the license bought from the British Austin brand.
The origin of the double shape of the BMW grille is unknown. The only "unwritten" rule about this is that each new generation of a model has the "bigger kidney" grid. The first appearance of this type of grille took place in 1933, on the sport model 303.
If in Romania the word "BMW" is simply used, the Americans use the nickname "Bimmer" to name a model produced by the Bavarian costructor. Do not be confused with "Beamer", the name of BMW motorcycles.
After World War II, BMW began to do garden and kitchen tools.
The Quandt family, the owner of the BMW Empire, had connections with the Nazi regime since 1933, when Guenther Quandt became a member of this party. During Hitler, Quandt was appointed Chief of the Department of Economics and Army.
The most serious blame brought to BMW is the use of the concentration camps workers in some of the German factories that fed weapons, artillery and ammunition to Nazi troops. These accusations have never been proven, but the current descendants of the Quandt family are investigating historical data in a study funded by themselves.
At the end of the 1950s BMW sales were so low that the Bavarian manufacturer was very close to being bought by Daimler-Benz. The move was not carried out because of protests by the trade unions and the then president, Kurt Gorda. The main shareholder was then, as now, the Quandt family.
The company was saved in the early 1960s by the 700 model, drawn by the Italian Giovanni Michelotti. He has won numerous motorsport competitions and kicked off the sporty sedan for BMW.
The code name of the new generation Series 7 is F01. It is for the first time since 1968 when BMW renounces the famous code names "E".