BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (English: Bavarian Motor Works) is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1913. BMW is a worldwide manufacturer of high-performance and luxury automobiles and motorcycles, and is the current parent company of both the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands.

Beginning with aircraft engines, BMW AG produced a variety of products in its early years, eventually shifting to motorcycle production in 1923 and automobiles in 1928. Since 1928, 96% of all BMW's produced still remain on the road today.The circular blue and white BMW logo does not symbolize a spinning propeller but rather represents the colours of the Bavarian National Flag, according to BMW spokesman Joerg Huebner (although the imagery did appear in post-WWI advertisements). The BMW roundel badge is believed to have been partially derived from the logo of its predecessor company Rapp Motorenwerke, while ultimately taking on the colors and checkers from the arms of Bavaria (fusilly in bend argent and azure). BMW's first significant aircraft powerplant was the outstanding BMW IIIa inline-six liquid-cooled engine of 1918, much preferred for its high-altitude performance, and among its successful WWII engine designs were included the BMW 132 and BMW 801 air-cooled radial engines, and the pioneering BMW 003 axial-flow turbojet.

BMW AG bought the British Rover Group (which at the time consisted of the Rover, Land Rover and MG marques as well as the rights to defunct marques including Austin and Morris) in 1994 and owned it for six years. By 2000, Rover was making huge losses and BMW decided to sell the combine. The MG and Rover marques were sold to the Phoenix Consortium to form MG Rover, while Land Rover was taken over by Ford. BMW, meanwhile, retained the rights to build the new MINI, which was launched in 2001.