http://www.a-p-systems.com/stephen/birthday.mp3 - Happy 89th Birthday BMW  

"On this day (Monday 7th March), in 1916, the manufacturing firms of Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto merged to form the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG, the company that would later become the Bayerische Motor-Werke (BMW). As the original name suggests, BMW began as a manufacturer of aircaft engines.

In 1923, BMW built its first motorcycle, the R12. It was a classic-looking BMW motorcycle, was the first with a telescopic hydraulic front fork that provides a smoother ride and better contact with the road. Six years later in Eisenach, BMW built its first car, the Dixi, a groundbreaker mainly because it was the first to be built in BMW's new factory in Eisenach, when all BMW products had previously been manufactured in Munich.

By 1938, BMW was racing in the biggest car races in Europe, with the 328 winning its class at the Mille Miglia Italian road race. The outbreak of World War II saw BMW switch production to war manufacturing but its facilities were destroyed by bombing during the war. 

With its release in 1948, the BMW R24 motorcycle became the company's first post-war product, and the company completed its first post-war car, the 501, in 1951. from then it was a take of almost unalloyed success, with the 20,000 vehicle, the BMW 700, rolling off the production line on 15 July 1960. The iconic 1500 was launched the next year, and BMW sold its factory in Allach in 1965, ending the company's involvement in aircraft manufacturing, allowing it to focus on car production.

The 1960s saw the production of the classic 120bhp 2002ti, with a turbo version appearing in 1973, one of the first mass-produced turbos in the world. A year later saw the emergence of the 30.0 CSL, the forerunner of today's 6 Series Coupés. "