My first BMW was a 1967 1600 model, a very significant car in the company’s long and colorful history. How’s this for a curious fact: The BMW logo is symbolic of a white propeller blade spinning against a blue sky. Why? The company started out making military aircraft engines during World War I.
Rapp-Motorenwerke, founded by Karl Rapp in a former bicycle factory in 1913, became Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1917. The company continued to produce military engines until 1918, when it bought the Eisenach automobile plant, which had a good deal going producing Britain’s legendary Austin Seven under license as the "Dixi 3/15 PS."
This is one of several instances in which the now-moribund English auto industry assisted its German counterpart to rise from the ashes of war. After World War II, the British had the opportunity to take Volkswagen as war reparations, but turned the offer down. Austin’s minimalist cruiser helped BMW through the Depression years (coinciding with Hitler’s rise to power).
BMW began producing motorcycles in Munich around 1923, and these soon achieved international status for their performance and reliability. BMW’s car factory in Eisenach ended up on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall and got taken over after World War II by the Russians, who continued car production under the ENW name.
BMW itself began getting competitive with its automobiles in the 1950s, when it produced the superb but far-too-expensive V-8-powered 503 and 507 models. The latter, a two-seater sports car with exquisite lines, is particularly sought-after today, partly because only 253 were made.
The early 1960s’ 1800 models were an attempt to build a more affordable family car, but they were stodgily styled. The 1600 brought it all together for the world’s first true sports sedan. Like the Porsche 911, the 1600 (later, the 2002 with a slightly bored-out engine) still looks fresh today. The "3-Series, BMW’s entry-level model, is a descendant of the mid-’60s’ 1600, considered by automotive enthusiasts to be the first compact sedan offering sports-car performance," says MSN Autos.
The performance and handling were unsurpassed for the period, featuring a then-novel floor-mounted four-speed manual transmission. The 2002 was practical, too, with room for four, great luggage space and epic German dependability (marred only by a tendency to rust).
I owned five or six 2002 models over the year, and remember them now with nostalgia (seasoned with regret at having sold them cheap). But now there’s a 330xi in my driveway!
The current 3-Series is the fifth generation, introduced in 1999. I’ve always preferred unpretentious cars like the 318i to loftier models like the $100,000-plus 740iL, which is getting critical reviews for its hard-to-use voice-activated I-Drive system (which controls audio, climate controls and navigation).
The all-wheel-drive 330xi is an unpretentious sports sedan that may be a bit cramped for growing families. Like the 7-Series, it has quite a number of high-tech features, including electronic throttle control and variable valve timing.
The engine is a wonder, a high-revving 225-horsepower 24-valve inline six, stirred by a smooth six-speed transmission with overdrive. I was able to impress the kids by taking off from stoplights like an Indy driver.
The average daily commute will never reveal a tenth of what cars like this BMW can do. It’s at its best on long country drives, with plenty of fast curves. Oh, but there’s one big difference between it and my groundbreaking 1600. That cost $2,700 new. The 330ix is $33,420.
