BMW, short for Bavarian Motor Works (in English anyway), says on its website
that the company fosters a culture of ideas. "Ideas are everything," one page
says. It is this attitude of exploration that has kept the German car maker in
the forefront of the automotive industry.
Known primarily as a manufacturer of luxury-imports and high-end motorcycles,
BMW's tag-line here in the USA is, "The Ultimate Driving Machine," and that
isn't far from wrong, considering the quality of design that goes into their
cars, but what isn't was widely known is that the company was originally an
aircraft engine manufacturer.
The founder of BMW, Karl Friedrich Rapp, took a contract to build V12 engines
for Austro-Daimler in 1916, and because he needed more capital, he joined forces
with Camillo Castiglione and Max Friz, It was after this that the name BMW was
born - the company officially became BMW AG in 1918.
Since then BMW has been busy. They built the first motorcycle engine, and later
the first motorcycle, innovated the designs of sedans and coupes, and eventually
became the parent company of Mini, Rolls Royce, and Rover (as in Land Rover),
though they sold the latter.
In 2000, under Christopher Bangle's direction, BMW redesigned their entire line,
and while traditionalists balked, sales increased, and have continued to
increase. Their 3-series cars are currently the standard to be met in
entry-level luxury sedans and their performance vehicles, while pricey, are
gaining popularity.
Today, BMW continues to put their ideas to work, even showing a hydrogen fuel
cell concept car, the Hydrogen 7, in Geneva this year. At BMW, ideas really are
everything. |
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