BMW AG (an acronym for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. BMW is the world's largest premium carmaker and is the parent company of the BMW MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands, and, formerly, Rover.
The company's tagline in English is currently "The Ultimate Driving Machine." The original German slogan is "Freude am Fahren", which translates to "Joy in Driving" in English.
BMW's main competitors include Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Saab and Porsche.
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Pre-WWII
1.2 World War II
1.3 Post-war history
1.4 "The English Patient"
1.5 Redesign Controversy
1.6 Production outside Germany
1.7 Rolls-Royce
2 Models
2.1 Current
2.1.1 1 Series
2.1.2 3 Series
2.1.3 5 Series
2.1.4 6 Series
2.1.5 7 Series
2.1.6 X3
2.1.7 X5
2.1.8 Z4
2.2 Future
2.3 Prototypes
2.4 Out of production
2.5 Classics
2.6 Series Generations
3 Related companies
4 Motorsport
5 Motorcycles
6 Nicknames
7 Culture
8 Community
9 See also
10 External links
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History
BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany.
1938 328
The characteristic kidney grill was first seen on the BMW 303 in the early 1930s. Shown here is a BMW 2002.
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Pre-WWII
BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in October 1913, originally as an aircraft engine manufacturer, Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke. The Milbertshofen district of Munich location was chosen because it was close to the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site, a German aircraft manufacturer. The blue-and-white roundel BMW ...