Do YOU know what BMW stands for? Brand name dates back more than 100 years - but it wasn't always called the same thing

<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20230510/1683714568135670.png" title="1683714568135670.png" alt="4.png"/></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">To car fans, the name BMW is synonymous with quality, but even enthusiasts may not have paused to consider what the brand name actually means.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The famous BMW logo we see today is a result of the evolution of the German brand that started more than 100 years ago.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The automobile company - and one of the largest car producers in the world -&nbsp;manufactures both vehicles and motorcycles and&nbsp;was founded in 1916.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BMW stands for &#39;Bayerische Motoren Werke&#39;, which means &#39;Bavarian Motor Works&#39; or &#39;Bavarian Engine Works Company&#39; - named after its place of origin in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BMW is one of the largest car producers in the world and manufactures both vehicles and motorcycles (stock image)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">However, the firm was initially named Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG back in 1916 and was later renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke, now known as BMW, in 1922.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">One of the company&#39;s original founders Karl Rapp had preferred to model the brand after himself and call it Rapp Motorenwerke GmbH.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">At the time, BMW was known to&nbsp;manufacturer aircraft engines and other machines which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In fact,&nbsp;BMW&#39;s first product was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa, designed in the spring of 1917 by engineer Max Friz.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BMW didn&#39;t become an automobile manufacturer until 1928, when it purchased the now defunct automobile manufacturer Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The first car ever sold as a BMW was a rebadged Dixi called the BMW 3/15 and throughout the 1930s, BMW expanded its range into sports cars and other luxury vehicles.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The&nbsp;BMW logo itself was first introduced in 1917,&nbsp; with the circle shape of the logo still remaining the same until today.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The circular blue and white logo evolved from the Rapp Motorenwerke company logo, which featured a black ring bearing the company name.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BMW retained Rapp&#39;s black ring, but added a decorative plate bearing a reference to the blue and white flag of the Free State of Bavaria.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">However, as the local law regarding trademarks forbade the use of symbols of sovereignty on commercial logos, the design was immediately altered to comply, but retained the colours blue and white.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BMW explained that there was no real need for a symbol in the early days, as their main business focused on the production and maintenance of aircraft engines for the German Air Force.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">It added that their very first advert lacked any BMW symbol or emblem.&nbsp;</span></p><p><br/></p>