I. History
A. 1913- Karl Rapp opened and aircraft-engine design shop near Munich
B. 1917- He names it Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)
C. Post World War I- Germany's aircraft production was forced to a halt. As a result BMW shifted from aircraft engines to railway brakes.
D. 1923- BMW debuted its first motorcycle the R32
E. 1928- BMW starts making automobiles after buying a small-car company by the name of Fahrzeugwerke Eisenach
F. 1933- BMW launched a line of longer cars
G. Mid 1930s- BMW started building aircraft engines for Hitler's Luftwaffe
H. 1941- BMW stopped all auto and motorcycle production
I. Post World War II- BMW's factories were dismantled and the company was forced to survive making kitchen and garden equipment
J. 1948- They introduced a one-cylinder motorcycle that sold well in post WWII Germany
K. 1950's- BMW's were large and expensive, sales dropped, and they escaped demise by launching a seven-foot, three-wheeled "bubble car" called the Isetta
L. 1959- Herbert Quandt bought BMW for $1 million and changed the focus towards sports sedans
M. 1961- The "New Range" of BMW's were first released
N. 1966- Success of the sports sedans led BMW to but automaker Hans Glass
O. 1970's- European exports soared and BMW set up a distribution subsidiary in the US. They also started to produce larger cars that put them on par with Mercedes-Benz
P. 1980's- Japanese motorcycles and poor demand started to hurt BMW's sales
Q. 1986- BMW launches its luxury vehicles and US sales peaked
R. 1992- BMW outsold Mercedes in Europe for the first time and becomes the first European carmaker to operate a US plant since Volkswagen pulled out in 1988
S. 1994- BMW buys carmaker Rover from British Aerospace and Ho ...