BMW

BMW or Bavarian Motor Works, in English, is the world renowned German company that manufactures cars and motorcycles. BMW is the parent company to the MINI and the Rolls-Royce car brands. With a lot of history behind it this brand still retains its original logo of blue and white roundel that alludes to the white and blue chequered flag of Bavaria.

The company was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp originally as an aircraft engine manufacturer, Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke, in the Milbertshofen district of Munich. In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austro-Daimler and the company was reconstituted as Bayerische Motoren Werke. In 1917, the company was taken over by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp and was named BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft).

In 1919 BMW designed its first motorcycle engine that was used in a model called as Victoria and by 1924 BMW came out with its first motorcycle model, the R32, which had a 500 cc air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine. This feature, along with newer technology, was constant among their various models for decades. By 1933 BMW started producing its own cars.

BMW has a tagline which says ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’. Nowadays BMW offers different models such as the saloon/sedan or the wagon/estate under different series such as the BMW 3 series. It has build a loyal community following and the company on its part offers facilities like BMW insurance, services and maintenance.