California State University, Northridge - Summer 2021

Music theory 139, Chapter 6 Report

Professor Gardner, Section 9

February 07, 2021

The 1989 BMW Z1 marked BMW's return to making a two-seat roadster, the 1995 BMW Z3

was their first mass-production two-seat roadster, and the 1999 BMW X5 was the

company's first entry into the SUV market. Additionally, The company purchased the Rover

Group in 1994, but the takeover was not successful and caused BMW large financial losses.

Class Date: 14/5/2024

Instructor’s Remark: Revisit the examples used—they seem out of context.

REPORT CONTENT:

## Discussion

In 2000, BMW sold off most of the Rover brands, retaining only the Mini brand. In 1998,

BMW also acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand from Vickers. The first modern

mass-produced turbocharged petrol engine was introduced in 2006 (from 1973 to 1975,

BMW built 1,672 units of a turbocharged BMW M10 engine for the BMW 02 Series), with

most engines switching over to turbocharging over the 2010s.

The first hybrid BMW was the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7, and BMW's first mass-production

electric car was the BMW i3 city car, which was released in 2013, (from 1968 to 1972, BMW

built two battery-electric BMW 1602 Elektro saloons for the 1972 Olympic Games). After

many years of establishing a reputation for sporting rear-wheel drive cars, BMW's first

front-wheel drive car was the 2014 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer multi-purpose vehicle

(MPV).

## Conclusion

In March 2018, Daimler and BMW merged their mobility services. In August 2019, Oliver

Zipse replaced Harald Krüger as the head of the BMW Group. === 21st century ===

In January 2021, BMW announced that its sales in 2020 fell by 8.4 percent due to the impact

of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, BMW witnessed

a rise of 3.2% in its customers' demands.

## Background (List)

- This recovery was supported by the company's adoption of widely accepted technologies

and integration of third-party services such as Apple Pay and on-demand music as well as

key partnerships such as its collaboration with Daimler on autonomous driving.

- Additionally, BMW's strategic investment decisions which include localizing production of

its SUVs to the Spartanburg plant in the U.S., placed the group in a position to easily navigate

trade challenges and shifting consumer patterns.

"The Final V12", the last BMW series production vehicle to be fitted with a V-12 engine.

## Analysis (List)

- On 5 October 2023 it was announced that BMW UK CEO Chris Brownridge would succeed

Torsten Müller-Ötvös as the CEO of Rolls-Royce starting 1 December 2023, as a result of

Müller-Ötvös retiring.

- == Branding ==

=== Company name ===

BMW is an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke.

- This name is grammatically incorrect (in German, compound words must not contain

spaces), which is why the grammatically correct form of the name, Bayerische

Motorenwerke (German pronunciation: [ˈbaɪʁɪʃə moˈtoːʁənˌvɛʁkə] ) has been used in

several publications and advertisements in the past.

- Bayerische Motorenwerke translates into English as Bavarian Motor Works.

## Discussion

The suffix AG, short for Aktiengesellschaft, signifies an incorporated entity owned by

shareholders, thus akin to "Inc." (US) or PLC, "Public Limited Company" (UK). The terms

Beemer, Bimmer and Bee-em are sometimes used as slang for BMW in the English language

and are sometimes used interchangeably for cars and motorcycles. === Logo ===
The circular blue and white BMW logo or roundel evolved from the circular Rapp

Motorenwerke company logo, which featured a black ring bearing the company name

surrounding the company logo, an image of a horse head on a plinth.

## Findings

BMW retained Rapp's black ring inscribed with the company name, but the interior of the

ring is quartered blue and white, reminiscent of the coat of arms and flag of Bavaria (which

in turn are based on the arms of the historic House of Wittelsbach, which ruled Bavaria for

many centuries). The logo does not bear the distinctive lozenge shape found on the coat of

arms, however, as local laws at the time it was introduced forbade the use of state coats of

arms on commercial logos.

## Conclusion

A persistent myth claims that the logo is based on the image of an airplane propeller

spinning in a blue sky. This myth likely stems from a 1929 BMW advertisement that

depicted the logo superimposed on a rotating propeller. However, the logo predates that

advertisement by 12 years.

## Background (List)

- The current iteration of the logo was introduced in 2020, removing 3D effects that had

been used in previous renderings of the logo while removing the black outline encircling the

rondel.
- The logo is used for BMW's branding communications but it is not used on vehicles.

## Analysis

=== Slogan ===

The slogan 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' was first used in North America in 1974. In 2010,

this long-lived campaign was mostly supplanted by a campaign intended to make the brand

more approachable and to better appeal to women, 'Joy'.

## Discussion

By 2012 BMW had returned to 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'. === Marks ===

In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Madrid Yearly Review

ranked BMW's number of marks applications filled under the Madrid System as 2nd in the

world, with 124 trademarks applications submitted during 2023. == Corporate affairs ==

The key trends of the BMW Group are (as at the financial year ending December 31):

== Motorcycles ==

BMW began production of motorcycle engines and then motorcycles after World War I. Its

motorcycle brand is now known as BMW Motorrad.

References / Works Cited:

2. Random Book Title (2022). Academic Publishing House.