BMW (Bavarian Motor Works)

Early history of BMW

For better understanding Bavarian Motor Works today, it is important to know history and
traditions of BMW. The last century gives the “flavor” of today’s BMW cars, the ingredient that
makes them so special. This “special” can be almost seen as the soul of a person. BMW cars
have an unmistakably personality and an obsessive care about the feeling of driving, thus their
slogan "the ultimate driving machine". This creates a bond between the car and the driver that
may last for a lifetime.

The first BMW was oriented on producing aircraft engines. But during the history of the
company BMW had to produce almost everything, starting from kitchen appliances to jet
engines, which was one of the causes of crises in the work of the famous vehicles
manufacturer.

In October 1913 Karl Friedrich Rapp founded a small company called “Rapp - Motorenwerke”

and started to work on the northern outskirts of Munich. His goals were not cars. His goals were
airplanes. He had desire and enthusiasm, but unfortunately, he had not good fortune with him.

In 1916, the company has signed a contract for the production of V12 engines for Austro-

Hungary. Later when the company was in financial troubles, Rapp gets support of
Camillo Castiglioni and Max Fritz, the company was renamed as Bayerische Motoren Werke.
Sudden extension caused a lot of difficulties and Karl Rapp left the company. After that
the management of the company was owned by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp in
1917. The company was named BMW AG in 1918.

BMW began producing cars in 1928. Heinrich Ehrhardt organized the production of cars

in Germany. Thus, he became the third person in the country who did it. Moreover, he
had a factory that produced big cars under the “Wartburg” name. This type of car comes off the
assembly line in 1927 and has no time to save the company from bankruptcy. Later,
BMW purchased the plant and license of Dixi cars. It was the moment of new
history of BMW. The first model 3/20 was released in 1932, which already had the emblem
of BMW's propeller.

In many difficult situations, survival was very difficult. Nevertheless, today BMW Company

represents high quality products of the German automotive industry on a par with Porsche and
Daimler-Benz.  Its major production facilities are located
in Germany (Dingolfing, Regensburg, Leipzig, Munich) and USA (Spartanburg). Moreover, cars
are being produced in factories of Thailand, Malaysia, India, Egypt, South Africa, Russia and
Vietnam.

The main markets of the company are: USA (300,000 cars per year), Germany (about 280,000),

England, France, Italy, Japan, China, Russia, Canada and Spain.

Hybrid Technologies

And in 2008, after Mercedes-Benz introduced S400 BlueHYBRID model, BMW has

published few photos and the initial characteristics of the model with the same drive under
the name 7-Series ActiveHybrid. Hybrid systems are able not only reduce the fuel consumption
and environmental pollution by exhaust fumes, also they can transmit maximum torque from
zero speed virtually.

Hybrid comes from the Latin and describes something of mixed origin or comprising different
elements. So the car can be called “Hybrid” if its "heart" consists not of one, but of two
or more power combustion engines and electric motors. In a mild hybrid, the electric motor only
assists the internal combustion engine. In a full hybrid, an internal combustion engine is
combined with a relatively large electric motor. This motor is powerful enough to drive the car on
its own, at low speeds.

For BMW, the term hybrid represents something more than simply integrating an electric motor.
And that’s why BMW engineers have created a new package of intelligent technologies for
BMW ActiveHybrid, which most effectively controls all the flows of energy vehicle.

The first BMW hybrid was created in 1985. The model was based on the BMW 5 Series. Every
year BMW is trying to perfect its technology and it created not just a hybrid power train, the
company produced the model system of a hybrid drive, which is personally chosen for each type
of vehicle and adapted for different purposes. The model system of BMW ActiveHybrid includes
not only an internal combustion engine and drive unit with one or two electric motors, but also it
has batteries, power electronics and electronic control system.

BMW ActiveHybrid system embodies all the advanced hybrid technology of BMW

Company, which is one of the key elements of the BMW EfficientDynamics program. BMW
ActiveHybrid X6 and the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 became the peak of the hybrid art group today.
http://www.usautoparts.net/bmw/bmw/history/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW
http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/makeHistory/3,19612/BMW_History.aspx
http://www.bmwdrives.com/bmw-history.php
http://scienceray.com/technology/bmw-hybrid-car-german-engineering-brilliance-and-elegance-fitted-
with-revolutionary-hybrid-technology-a-combination-of-style-and-performance/
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/technology_guide/articles/hybrid_engines.html