Cars You Should Know: BMW

Stash this for your next auto-related (and/or German) trivia game: BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which roughly translates to Bavarian Engine Works Company. Don’t worry, we won’t ask you to say it three times fast. Even though that’s what BMWs are: fast. (And fun. And beautiful. And… well, read on to learn more.)

BMW’s origins are actually in German airplane engine manufacturing during the first World War. But when the Treaty of Versailles outlawed the country from making airplanes, the company pivoted to railway brakes and other motorized machinery. Eventually, the company made its way into motorcycle manufacturing in 1923 and then moved into automobiles in 1928.

Fast forward a few decades to the early ’60s. This is when BMW really started making waves with their sporty New Class sedans and their Series lines of coupes and sedans. More recently, the brand has gained attention for their innovation in the world of electric vehicles with their i8 hybrid sports cars.

From the very start, BMW has had a reputation for emphasizing the love and joy of driving. As early as the 1930s, BMW was using lines like “driving should be a pleasure!” in advertisements and today their tagline is “sheer driving pleasure.” This sentiment resonates deeply with enthusiasts.

As we often say at Hagerty, we’re in the business of protecting the cars people love. If you have clients with BMWs, it’s likely they’re passionate about the art, sport, and hobby of driving. It’s likely that they would benefit from a specialty policy through Hagerty.

M5

M, as in motorsport: The M5 was introduced in 1984 and established BMW’s reputation for building high-performance, street-legal sedans by combining the 6-cylinder engine from its M1 supercar and its mid-sized 5-series sedan. The M5 station wagon (Touring, in BMW speak) has been available sporadically throughout the rest of the world, but the current M5 is the first time the model will be widely available in North America (station wagon fans: rejoice!).

M3

The high-performance variant of BMW’s compact 3-Series, the M3 made its debut in 1986 and immediately furthered BMW’s reputation of building well-engineered, practical cars. M3s are typically track-capable and take well to performance modifications, but they are also solid and practical enough to drive every day. Newer generations of the M3 have adopted a turbocharged 6-cylinder format, and a new name–M4 is now the moniker for 2-door coupes and convertibles, while the 4-door sedans are still called M3. As these could be either daily drivers or occasional fun cars, it’s important to ask your clients and prospective customers how they use their vehicle (get more tips on discovery questions).

3-Series

The 3-Series is BMW’s volume product with the broadest appeal and is most often available in the widest variety of configurations. There have been seven generations of the 3-series since its launch in 1975. Hagerty insures more 3-series BMWs than any other model group, even after excluding M3s (and M4s). The most popular is the E30 (produced from 1982 to 1994).

Z3

The Z3 was BMW’s response to the Mazda MX-5 Miata roadster craze of the 1990s. The model was produced in BMW’s Spartanburg/Greer, South Carolina factory and was featured in the 1995 James Bond movie GoldenEye. Initially available only as a 4-cylinder roadster, later versions came with a 6-cylinder, and an M Roadster/Coupe version was also available starting in 1998. The coupe is more accurately described as a 2-door hatchback and is sometimes known as the “clown shoe” due to its peculiar shape.

Z8

The Z8 was the flagship BMW sports car for the model years 1999-2003. In keeping with the retro roadster wave of the era, the Z8 featured looks similar to the 1950s’ BMW 507 roadster but used the V-8 engine and transmission from the contemporary M5. There were only 5,708 models ever produced which probably explains why the Z8 isn’t in the top 25 list for most popular BMWs insured by Hagerty but does make the top 5 in terms of total insured value.

Forgotten classic: 2002

The 1968-76 BMW 2002 is the predecessor of the 3-series and is largely responsible for the success of BMW in North America and its continued existence as a car company. The 2002 is a 4-cylinder, 2-liter, small 2-door sedan that was developed from BMW’s Neue Klass (New Class) series, which was introduced in 1962 to compete with the Volkswagen Beetle. The 2002 is the third most commonly insured BMW by Hagerty and is the most valuable generation by total insured value.

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