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 still uses (illustrated above right) alludes to the blue and white checkered flag of Bavaria and also indicates the origin of BMW by symbolizing a spinning white propeller on a blue-sky background.
In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austria-Hungary. Needing extra financing, Rapp