BMW

Founded in Munich, Germany in the early 1900’s, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, more commonly known as BMW, is one of the most well-known and recognized luxury car manufacturers in the world. Crafting everything from sports cars and sedans to extravagant sport utility vehicles, the company combines old world class with new world technology to produce what many consider to be the ultimate luxury car rental.

The company originally began as an aircraft manufacturer, which explains where the famous BMW logo, displayed on every BMW car rental produced, comes from. Set against a blue background, which represents the sky, the logo portrays white propeller blades. Once World War I ended, BMW didn’t need to make airplanes anymore so they began work on automobiles, which were growing increasingly popular during that time.

The very first exotic car rental produced by BMW was named Dixi and it was the only product that kept the company afloat during the Great Depression. Soon BMW launched the Type 328 Roadster, which featured a unique two-seat design and was faster and more stylish than the other cars of that time. This roadster became the company’s flagship vehicle and served as the base for many future models to come.

And while BMW is known for producing stylish, attractive vehicles, the company has also been at the forefront of developing technology. The first light-alloy V8 engine was introduced by BMW in the early 1950’s and was combined with a sports car built with an alloy body. The result was the 507, the fastest, non-racing car in the world at that time.

For the first four or five decades of production, BMW was more popular in Europe than it was in the United States. Finally, in the 1970’s, the company set up more dealerships in the US and developed a following amongst wealthy, high-class American consumers. BMW soon introduced the three-tier sport sedan range (the 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series), which have risen to become the most popular BMW models in the year. During the 1970’s the company also developed the M division, a performance line for those customers who valued speed and power.