What does BMW stand for?
A: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, a German multinational corporate
manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich,
Bavaria, Germany.
The corporation was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer
of what?
A: Aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from
1933 to 1945.
Automobiles are marketed under what brands?
A: BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, and motorcycles are marketed under the brand
BMW Motorrad.
In 2017, BMW was the world's fourteenth-largest
producer of motor vehicles, with how many vehicles produced?
A: 2,279,503.
Where is BMW headquartered?
A: BMW is headquartered in Munich and produces motor vehicles in Germany,
Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands,
South Africa, the United
Kingdom, and the United States.
Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik was founded in 1910 by whom?
A: Gustav Otto in Bavaria.
The firm was reorganized on 7 March 1916 into what?
A: Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG.
This company was then renamed to what in 1922?
A: Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW).
The name BMW dates back to when?
A: 1913, when the original company to use the name was founded by Karl Rapp
(initially as Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH).
When was the name and Rapp Motorenwerke's
engine-production assets transferred to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke?
A: In 1922.
What was BMW's first product?
A: It was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa.
It was designed in the spring of 1917 by what engineer?
A: Max Friz.
Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in
business by producing what?
A: Motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes.
The company produced its first motorcycle, the BMW R 32
in what year?
A: 1923.
BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it
purchased what?
A: Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built Austin Sevens.
The first car sold as a BMW was a rebadged Dixi called
the BMW 3/15, following BMW's acquisition of what car manufacturer?
A: Automobilwerk Eisenach.
Throughout the 1930s, BMW expanded its range into what?
A: Sports cars and larger luxury cars.
Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be
BMW's main products until what?
A: World War II.
During the war BMW concentrated on aircraft engine
production using as many as 40,000 what?
A: Slave laborers.
These consisted primarily of prisoners from where?
A: Concentration camps, most prominently Dachau.
BMW's factories were heavily bombed during the war and
its remaining West German facilities were banned from producing what after
the war?
A: Motor vehicles or aircraft.
Again, the company survived by making what?
A: Pots, pans, and bicycles.
In 1948, BMW restarted what?
A: Motorcycle production.
BMW resumed car production in Bavaria in
1952 with
what?
A: The BMW 501 luxury saloon.
The range of cars was expanded in 1955, through the
production of what?
A: The cheaper Isetta microcar under licence.
Slow sales of luxury cars and small profit margins from
microcars meant BMW was in serious financial trouble and in 1959 the company
was nearly taken over by what rival?
A: Daimler-Benz.
The 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class compact
sedans was the beginning of BMW's reputation as a what?
A: A leading manufacturer of sport-oriented cars.
Throughout the 1960s, BMW expanded its range by adding
what?
A: Coupe and luxury sedan models.
The BMW 5 Series mid-size sedan range was introduced in
what year?
A: 1972, followed by the BMW 3 Series compact sedans in 1975.
The BMW 6 Series luxury coupes were introduced in what
year?
A: 1976 and the BMW 7 Series large luxury sedans in 1978.
The BMW M division released its first road car, a
mid-engine supercar, in what year?
A: 1978.
This was followed by what?
A: The BMW M5 in 1984 and the BMW M3 in 1986. Also in 1986,
BMW introduced its first V12 engine in what?
A: The 750i luxury sedan.