BMW cars
History of Evolution
The automobile giant Bayerische Motoren Werke (or Bavarian Motor Works) popularly known as BMW was founded in 1913 by Karl Friedrich Rapp at Munich, Germany. Initially it was manufacturing engines only, under the name of Rapp Motor and following a financial crunch the company was taken over by an Austrian, Franz Josef Popp, in 1917 and thereafter renamed as BMW AG in 1918. After the World War I, the company started producing railway brakes. First motor cycle engine was produced by BMW in 1919, followed by a 500 cc model motorcycle, R32, in 1924. BMW 3/15 in 1927-28 was the first car produced by the BMW.
The Manufacturer
BMW has their presence all over the world with headquarters at Munich, Germany. Dr. Norbert Reithofer is holding the present chair of Chief Executive Officer. The company is a subsidiary of Mini and Rolls Royce. "The Ultimate Driving Machine" is the slogan of the company and they are working continuously towards maintaining the consistent driving force for those driving machines. Though the factory at Minich was greatly destroyed During the WW II, it re-organized and re-structured following the post war period and t he company has now become an authoritative standard in the Automobile industry- especially in the production of cars. Since 1952, the BMW is producing cars un-interruptible.
Salient Models of BMW Cars
Initial motorcars such as BMW 507 and 503 were not so popular and effective owing to the high production costs. BMW started its presence felt as car producer company with the launching of a sporty looking small car, 700 and RS model, and with the success of these models, company got its reputation as sports sedans manufacturers. 1500 series of BMW was launched in 1961.Front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension coupled with the rear window line ; "Hofmeister kink", which has become the hallmark of all BMWs since then, was the key feature of that model.
It was a huge success and subsequently gave birth to the 1600 and 1800 models. Two-door version of the 1600 (1966), convertible (1967), BMW-02 series, BMW-3 series,New Six sedans (1968), 2500 (1968), 2800 (1968), American Bavaria (1968), coupes (1968), 2.5 CS (1968) 2800 CS (1968), 5 Series (1972), 7 Series (1977), etc. came out successively. Mini and Land Rover brands gave BMW the desired success. In the recent times, BMW has tried to project itself as luxury car producer instead of the sporty. BMW X5, BMW Z4 Roadster and Coupe, and BMW Z4 M Roadster and Coupe are the models of BMW, which are being produced at Spartanburg, South Carolina- outside of Germany. The X6 model is under development stages and planned to be produced at BMW 's Spartanburg plant. A new model Phantom was designed and developed at the Good wood plant in 2003 and launched at Detroit Auto Show. This model, costing around US$330,000, has experienced record sales by selling 796 models in 2005 alone. BMW is likely to release V3 or V5 model, inline with 3-Series and 5-series respectively. V3 is likely to compete with Mercedes-Benz R-Class.
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