The world famous automotive manufactures BMW, who now have their headquarters in Munich, started producing automobiles in the late 1920s. BMW, who was now also a motorcycle manufacture, made the shift after the production of their aircraft engines ceased due to the peace treaty at the end of the first world war prohibited them from doing so. The 1930s saw the production of aircraft engines reignited, with BMW producing many successful aircraft engines such as the 132 and 801 air cooled engines, for the second world war campaign.

The late fifties and early sixties saw the start of a boom in the car market and the BMW shareholders decided to follow the in the foot steps of other German ex-aircraft manufactures and focus on car manufacturing to sell to the ever expanding market. With the licensing rights to produce the small Italian Iso Isetta, BMW previous financial worries were reduced as the car was a relative success.

In 1994 BMW bought BRG (British Rover Group) which composed of the car brands Rover, MG and Land Rover. This was owned for a total of six years until BMW finally sold the brands off after Rover was making a substantial loss.

Now accounting for the majority of BMWs sales, the 3 series started production in 1975 and now contains variations such as the coupe, touring, sedan and performance model. With sales of the 3 series proving fruitful, BMW viewed to bring to market a lower entry point range to appeal to a wide spectrum of buyers worldwide. Mid 2004 saw the series 1, a sleek and modern looking series which shared many of the same components as the 3 series. 2004 also saw the production of the X3 SUV, with more modern models now sporting an inline 6 cylinder engine and new looks inside and out.

By: Classic & Vintage Cars

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