Wisconsin BMW History
BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werks AG. Founded in 1916, this German company has been known over the years for its luxury, style and high performance vehicles. The prime driving forces behind the success of BMW started out with Karl Rapp, Gustav Otto, Max Fritz, and Camillo Castiglioni. Without these individuals, BMW would have more than likely never come about. However, the king of the company was Franz Joseph Popp. He was one of the biggest driving forces in the company's early days of development and was General Director of the company until 1942. This company would become famous for its production of automobiles, motorcycles, and engine parts.
The production of motorcycles began in the year 1923 once the Treaty of Versailles, which punished Germany severely for their role in World War I by handing out harsh repercussions and land division, began to ease a bit. When the treaty was in effect, the company was not able to produce aircraft engine parts, so when things finally did get better the company switched to motorcycle production and eventually automobiles by the late 1920's. The actual white and blue logo of the BMW company denoted the Bavarian flag, whereas the circle part of the infamous logo came from the circle shaped Rapp Motorenwerke enterprise logo. The colors are also seen as the blades of a moving airplane propeller cutting its way through a clear, indigo sky, an interpretation that was explained by the company later on.
Although motorcycles and airplane engines were big time mass assembly producers by the German company, it was the BMW automobile by the late 1920's that really gave the company a lot of success. One of BMW's first cars was the BMW AM1. This small sized automobile had rear wheel drive with independent wheel suspension along with swing axles. The vehicle became a big hit among the masses, as well as later models produced in 1933 such as the I6 sports, the 328 roadster, and 327 coupe. These automobiles were fast paced and way ahead of their time. A luxury sedan was also produced called the 335. Things changed though during World War II. The company was forced to produce aerodynamic engines for the German Luftwaffe, and automobile and motorcycle production came to a screeching halt. BMW would eventually suffer the consequences of World War II in other ways. The company was bombed by Allied forces and sustained significant damage. For three years BMW was paralyzed after the war. Another car model would not be produced until 1952 with motorcycle production resuming slightly before this time. The company almost went up for sale in the 1950's to a man by the name of Herbert Quandt, but Quandt backed out but still put a 50% share into the company and helped get the company back on its feet.
New models began being produced after the company got on its toes again, and these models had much success. A potent, compact sedan style vehicle was showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961 and reinforced BMW's reputation for designing quality sporting vehicles. Numerous styles of sedans started being produced throughout the 60's and by the 1970's the 5-Series was introduced, a new class of coupe styled vehicles. Eventually the 5-Series would be replaced by the 3-Series in the mid 1970's, and by the late 70's, large size sedan style vehicles were introduced (the 7-Series). Three-tier sports sedans were also produced and these took the company very far into the 1990's. Current models are very impressive and extremely popular. The 7-Series and the 3-Series are still around, modified in form. There is also the infamous X3, BMW's first SUV style vehicle.
BMWs are more popular today than ever before, and finding the right BMW dealership can make all the difference when it comes to purchasing the right kind of vehicle. International BMW of Milwaukee has been proud to serve the Wisconsin region for many years now and continues to do so with outstanding customer service and great pricing. Numerous models, such as the 135i Coupe, the 550i Sedan, and M3 Coupe are just a few of the great BMW models consumers will find at this outstanding Wisconsin dealership. International BMW of Milwaukee carries on BMW's successful history by giving customers exactly what he or she wants: great service, fantastic pricing, finance specials, along with a great line up of new and pre-owned vehicles.
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