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The Bavarian Motor Works company is headquartered in Munich, Germany and represents German engineering at its finest. BMW is the parent company of Rolls Royce and is the owner of the MINI brand. Since the company's inception in 1916, the company has been a standard bearer for luxury and performance, a tradition that has carried through two world wars, the present and promises to carry on into the future.
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British Motor Works began this storied history with the production of aircraft engines rather than car engines. The first noteworthy engine produced was the BMW IIIa inline-6 aviation engine. The success of this engine late in World War 1 along with significant advances made in a number of other prototype inline-6 engines is said to have influenced the design logo for BMW. The circular blue and white BMW logo is said portray the movement of an airplane propeller, to signify the white blades cutting through the blue sky. It was officially adopted by BMW in 1929. Whatever the significance on the logo, after World War 1, the Versailles Armistice Treaty was enacted and BMW was forced to cease production of aircraft motors. They turned instead to production of motorcycles and car engines. The thirties brought a new era to Germany and rearmament began in earnest. The treaty was dissolved and BMW began producing aircraft for the Luftwaffe. Several successful aircraft engine designs were produced by BMW during World War 2 including the BMW 801 air cooled radial engine and the revolutionary 003 axial flow turbo jet.
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Although BMW had gone back to producing aircraft engines, it never completely dropped the motorcycle and car engine line. By 1959, they were beginning to experience financial difficulties and was contemplating halting production of car engines altogether. A last ditch attempt to salvage the automotive was decided upon, and the decision was made to explore the economy car market. The venture enjoyed enough success to put the manufacturer back on its feet.
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Gradually BMW began to move toward the luxury car market and by 1980 its success in the arena had been established. BMW had established itself as a car manufacturer known for high end quality, as well as indulgence and was now a solid rival to its chief competitor, Mercedes-Benz.
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BMW acquired the Rover brand in 1994 in order to compete in the SUV market; however it was unable to make any progress in halting the sliding sales of the Rover. BMW broke up the Rover Company and sold the MG division to a Phoenix consortium while Ford acquired the Rover label.
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BMW retained the rights to the classic mini and subsequently began a redesign of the car. The new MINI, spelled with all capital letters to distinguish it from the classic mini, was introduced in 2001 and was an instant success. The popularity of the MINI in the United States shows that BMW has the ability and vision to move outside the boundaries of current car production and promises to introduce some of the most exciting cars seen to date. As the company prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary, one can only imagine what it may think of next.
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Indeed, we care about and for cars more than we care for ourselves. And often, the first thing we care about is the brand, symbolized by the logo. Some of these car logos are famous throughout the world, instantly recognizable at a moment's notice. The Mercedes Benz three-pointed star, the Ferrari prancing horse, the Chevrolet bow-tie - they represent the brand wherever there products are found. Here, we present the not-so-well-known stories behind some of these well-known logos, in no particular order. We have intentionally not included logos that are self-explanatory, such as those that include the name (or initial) of the brand - Ford, Honda, etc.
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1. Mercedes Benz: Two German car manufacturers, Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, merged in 1928 giving rise to Daimler Benz Co. The famous three-starred logo was originally designed by Gottlieb Daimler in 1909, and subsequently featured on Daimler Benz cars. After Daimler's death, his partner, Wilhelm Maybach, took over the company and sold many Daimler cars to wealthy businessman Emile Jellinek, who later bankrolled development of a new line of cars named after his daughter Mercedes. Hence, the name. The logo is supposed to represent the brand's "domination of the land, the sea, and the air."
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2. Ferrari: The famous Cavallino Rampante or "prancing horse" logo has its origins in a chance meeting between company founder Enzo Ferrari and Countess Paolina, mother of Count Francesco Baracca who had been an ace of the Italian air force and used to paint a horse on the side of his planes. The Countess asked Ferrari to paint a horse on his cars for luck. The black color was used to symbolize grief at Baracca's death in action while the yellow color represented his birthplace of Modena.
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3. Chevrolet: The Chevrolet bow-tie logo is one of the simplest, yet most well-known corporate symbols in the world. It was first used in 1913 and there are conflicting stories on its origin. While one theory goes that it was inspired by a wallpaper pattern seen by co-founder William Durant, another says that it represents a Swiss cross in a homage to the origins of the other co-founder Louis Chevrolet. Incidentally, Durant had founded General Motors before he was forced out and established Chevrolet.
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4. Dodge: The brand has a new logo since this year, but most people still identify it with the "ram's head" logo. The logo first appeared as a hood ornament in the 1930s. The ram was chosen for its ruggedness, something Dodges have always tried to portray. In fact, so popular did the logo become that Dodge trucks began to be called Rams. Today, it is still used for the spun-off Ram brand.
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5. Buick: Not many know that Buick is the oldest American automobile manufacturer. Founded in 1899 by David Dunbar Buick, it was later acquired by William Durant and became the centerpiece of the General Motors conglomerate. The logo was originally a single shield representing Buick's ancestral coat of arms. In 1960, the single shield was replaced by a trio in red, white and blue representing the three cars then in the Buick stable - the LeSabre, Invicta, and Electra.
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6. Maserati: This Italian luxury car manufacturer was established in 1914 by the five Maserati brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto, in the town of Bologna. The trident logo was designed by an artist and is based on a sculpture in the Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune) at Bologna. Neptune is the Roman God of the Seas and is represented with a trident in his hand.
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7. Mitsubishi: The Mitsubishi brand of cars is member of a larger conglomerate that began life as a shipping firm in 1914 and is named after the Japanese words for three diamonds ("mitsu" meaning "three" and "bishi" meaning "water caltrops," also rhomboidal like diamonds). Consequently, the origin of the logo becomes clear.
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8. Subaru: The name of the company is actually the Japanese translation of the Pleiades star cluster, which also means "to gather together." Subaru is a division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI). The name refers to the five companies that joined forces (Fuji Kogyo, Fuji Jidosha Kogyo, Omiya Fuji Kogyo, Utsunomiya Sharyo and Tokyo Fuji Sangyo) to form FHI. The logo represents the cluster.
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9. Mazda: The company derives its name from the Persian God Ahura Mazda as well as the name of the founder Jujiro Matsuda. The stylized "M" logo, also known as the "owl" logo, represents Mazda stretching its wings for the future. It may also represent Ahura Mazda, who is often depicted by a flying sun-disk.
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BMW or Bavarian Motor Operates, was founded in 1916 by the merger of two separate businesses; Rapp Motoren Werke and Gustav Flugmaschinefabrik. It had been originally founded to build aircraft engines and made its initial a single in 1917. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 prohibited further production of aircraft engines but has resumed in 1922. This is the reason why the BMW logo is in the circular design resembling that of an aircraft propeller.
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It then moved on to manufacturing motorbikes in 1923 and in 1928, they finally started manufacturing in car or truck. BMW continued to make effective high efficiency engine cars towards the beginning of the World War II. Their most popular and well-known pre war type will be the 328 which won the Mille Miglia in Italy in 1938 and finally it became a fashionable road vehicle.
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Right after Entire world War II, like other auto manufacturers, the firm had to recoup. Factories have been used by the military or destroyed and were definitely even prohibited to create autos for three decades as they were definitely required to manufacture aircraft engines for your war. Yet slowly right after the war, manufacturing slowly but surely picked up, and in 1956, just one of their most memorable style was launched, the two door BMW 507 which had a huge 3168cc v8 powerplant and provided 150 hp at 5000rpm.
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True to this, in 1998, BMW had attempted to get hold of Rolls-Royce after the firm faltered and was bought by Vickers. BMW went on a bidding war with Volkswagen, but lost. In the meantime, Rolls-Royce Plc, the aero motor makers, had the license to the Rolls-Royce name and logo and was hesitant to trade it to Volkswagen and preferred BMW instead. The two businesses, VW and BMW, built a deal that by 2003, BMW will get the Rolls-Royce share of the business along with the license to its logo and name.
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Now, Rolls-Royce is often a subsidiary on the BMW business, adding to BMW's being successful in manufacturing top of the line substantial overall performance engine automobiles.
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The market is flooded with replica BMW accessories bearing the M-Tec logo. Sometimes it is difficult to tell which are originals and which are copies. This is especially true for M-Tec boot and grille badges.
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Probably the products most copied are M-Tec boot and grille badges. Such replica badges are effectively illegal counterfeits as they are using the M trademark without authorisation. This has led to the circulation of numerous misconceptions about what is and is not original BMW. Following are a few facts.
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* The letter M on original M-Tec boot and grille badges is always chromed plastic. BMW never made this part of the badge out of metal like many people believe
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* The M stripes are always a sticker. BMW never painted these on or made them from enamel
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* BMW never made an M-Tec grille badge out of the newer style curved M-Tec badge. Those 'new style' grille badges on the market are not original, although its not to say that the badge itself isn't original
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As you will have noticed by now, BMW changed the style of the M-Tec logo when the BMW E39 M5 appeared. It now has a curved surface as opposed to the flat surface of the older style badge. It then appeared on the BMW E46 M3 and on all other M Power models since then. The old style badge faded out with the E30, E34 and Z3 models.
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The perception seems to be that the new style badge is better quality than the older flat style and therefore some believe that because of this, the older style badge is a copy. Obviously, this isn't true.
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When you're behind the wheel of a BMW, it isn't the same as any other car. These specific cars feature a long history full of tradition and a passion for excellence. Driving one for yourself will show you this. Spend a day at your local BMW and take one of these cars out. It'll be fun, I promise.
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One of the most important aspects of a BMW is its design. Everyone in charge of making these cars is constantly looking for new ways to make the car's aesthetics, technology, and safety stand out.