History of BMW- We are Down..But not for LONG!.. http://www.autosmithcar.com/


By 1959, BMW was in debt and losing money.[71] The Isetta was selling well but with small profit margins.[72] Their 501-based luxury sedans were not selling well enough to be profitable and were becoming increasingly outdated.[73] Their 503 coupé and 507 roadster were too expensive to be profitable.[73] Their 600, a four-seater based on the Isetta, was selling poorly.[68] The motorcycle market imploded in the mid-1950s with increased affluence turning Germans away from motorcycles and toward cars.[74] BMW had sold their Allach plant to MAN in 1954.[75] American Motors and the Rootes Group had both tried to acquire BMW.[76]
At BMW's annual general meeting on 9 December 1959, Dr. Hans Feith, chairman of BMW's supervisory board, proposed a merger with Daimler-Benz. The dealers and small shareholders opposed this suggestion and rallied around a counter-proposal by Dr. Friedrich Mathern, which gained enough support to stop the merger.[72][76] At that time, the Quandt Group, led by half-brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt, had recently increased their holdings in BMW and had become their largest shareholder.[76] By the end of November 1960, the Quandts owned two-thirds of BMW's stock between them.[71]
By this time BMW had launched the 700, a small car with an air-cooled, rear-mounted 697 cc boxer engine derived from the engine powering the R67 motorcycle. It was available as a 2-door sedan and as a coupe, both versions having been designed by Giovanni Michelotti.[77] There was also a more powerful RS model for racing.[78]
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961, BMW launched the 1500, a compact sedan with front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension.[79] This modern specification further cemented BMW's reputation for sporting cars. It was the first BMW to officially feature the "Hofmeister kink", the rear window line that has been the hallmark of all BMWs since then.[citation needed]
The "New Class" 1500 was developed into 1600 and 1800 models.[80] In 1966, the two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967. These models began the '02' series, of which the 2002 was the best known, and which was continued until 1976 when it was replaced by the BMW 3 Series.[81]
By 1963, with the company back on its feet, BMW offered dividends to its shareholders for the first time since World War II.

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