It feels like everyone and their brother is working toward the goal of creating a sustainable and affordable electric car, but thus far, they’ve all been limited to four-wheeled cars and trucks, until recently.
In 2019, BMW debuted its first electric motorcycle, the first of its kind. What set’s BMW’s Vision DC Roadster apart, and when can we expect to see more motorcycle companies following BMW’s lead?
The BMW Electric Bike
BMW’s first electric bike looks like the brand’s old school
bikes with their boxer engines, but instead of a gasoline engine, there’s a
vertically-installed battery where the engine would otherwise be. The battery
pack is flanked by cooling ribs — a throwback to the boxer engine’s cooling
fins that were developed
way back in 1923.
The Vision DC Roadster looks amazing and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to take it for a road test. It looks like the perfect addition to the BMW lineup but you probably won’t be seeing it on the road for a while.
Image via BMW PressClub
Instead, Electric Scooters
If you can’t wait for a two-wheeled electric commuting tool
that’s got the BMW brand name attached, you do still have some options. The
brand currently offers the C Evolution, a fully electric scooter with a range
of 99 miles per charge. If you don’t need to make long trips, this scooter can
be a fantastic tool.
It’s lightweight, with
a diecast aluminum case that houses and protects the 12 li-ion battery
cells that power the C Evolution. These are actually the same batteries used in
the brand’s i3 electric car. It’s been an option for BMW fans overseas for
quite a few years, but it didn’t make its way to the states until the 2018
model year.
Waiting Until 2025
Although BMW released its plans for Vision DC Roadster in
2019, we probably won’t see one at
our local BMW dealership until 2025 at the earliest. BMW isn’t rushing to
get this electric motorcycle out on the road.
This is partially because motorcyclists aren’t generally
looking to switch to an electric model, as fuel costs for motorcycles aren’t
really an issue. There’s also the problem of range. Even fully electric
vehicles, with their large battery packs, have a limited range of less than 200
miles — and there’s no room for those massive batteries on a motorcycle. When
you combine these two things, BMW knows that they have to improve their
technology before they release the Vision or it will end up flopping.
Looking Forward
For BMW fans, the promise of an electric motorcycle in the
near future might be an exciting one — or it might turn out to be a pointless
waste of resources that no one really wants to buy. The brand is biding their
time and being smart about this new foray into otherwise unknown territory. It
will be interesting to see where this story goes between now and 2025.
Every
so often, car companies will announce pilot programs that consumers can
participate in. This is to ensure that the program they want to offer resonates
well with their consumer base, while also giving people access the latest in
the car industry.
Sometimes
pilot programs look like a new rental program that is only scheduled to operate
for a certain length of time. It may come back in the future, depending on how
successful it is.
BMW has announced a U.S. pilot program of their own. BMW owners in Germany have already enjoyed the program, so now US owners will get to participate as well.
Read
on to learn what the program is and how you may be able to qualify. It could
end up transforming how you use and interact with your BMW.
What It Is
When
consumers raise their voice about a concern or need they have, brands do their
best to listen and meet those needs. One of the biggest concerns that many car
owners have is how their car can leave a smaller carbon footprint.
Going
green has been an issue that’s gained speed and traction in recent years. The
car industry is one of the biggest players in green initiatives, since cars run
off fossil fuels that damage the environment and can’t be replaced.
That’s where the new pilot program comes in. The U.S. Induction Charging Pilot Program is meant to transition BMW owners to cars that charge off of electricity, making the process easier and more approachable.
How to Qualify
BMW
plans to roll out this program in California, opening it to 200
participants
over 13 counties. These participants must go through an approval process, so
not everyone will qualify.
This is an excellent way for BMW consumers to try out the world of electric cars without having to spend all the money upfront on a car they’d permanently keep. They could try the car out with the driving lifestyle and see if an electric car is a good match for their needs.
How It Changes the Future
Cars
that run on gasoline hurt people and
the environment at the same time, even though people can’t see the immediate effects.
Air and noise pollution, along with toxic oil runoff from roadways and the
limited fossil fuel resources all add up when so many people buy traditional
cars.
BMW’s
pilot program helps change the future by making it easy to try out.
Participants will have a CarPad installed under their car and a GroundPad put
in their garage for free. When they park their car over the pad, it wirelessly
charges their car by using magnetic
induction.
The car fully charges after just fours. It saves owners time, instead of making them stop at a gas station every few days to refuel.
BMW i3 Charging
One
of the biggest hurdles people have to make when going green with their cars is
making the leap into electric vehicles. It’s intimidating for someone who’s
never done it before, but BMW owners who qualify for this program can try it
out for free and change the future of how they experience their car.
People
take a lot of pride in the car they drive. When you pay tens of thousands of
dollars for a vehicle, you kind of have to. While some people end up getting a
car that gets them place to place, others find a brand they fall in love with.
Like
many other car lovers out there, I’ve fallen in love with BMW cars over the
course of my life. After graduating from my first car that was basically a
metal can on wheels, I was determined to always drive something that had style
and speed.
Enter
BMW. It’s a brand with some of the classiest cars and one of the most
recognizable logos in the world.
Some
car logos are obvious, like an H for Honda, but BMW’s logo has a bit of history
behind it. It’s actually even created a bit of lore for the company.
Read
on to discover what I’ve learned about the legend of the BMW logo and what its
origin story really is.
Brief History of BMW
A
brand only gets surrounded by mystery if they’ve been around for a long time.
This is very true of BMW. The company was originally founded in 1916 in
Bavaria, Germany. Its founders wanted to join in on the rising automobile and
plane industries, so they focused on creating engines. They ended up selling
engines to many aircraft manufacturers around the world, giving life to the
company.
Most
people would assume that because the company was succeeding, they’d have a logo
to match their name. What’s strange to modern minds is that the company still
didn’t have a logo at this point. It wasn’t on their list of priorities. They
were focused on making engines and placing small ads here and there that
focused on the brand name, which was Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH.
After
the company went public in
1918, they
shortened their brand to BMW. Around this same time, people around the world
were also trying to figure out how to soar around the world in the first
versions of the modern airplane. This is was first led to the company being
tied to the famous propeller.
Airplanes and Power
Before
the first trans-Atlantic and around-the-world flights, every country wanted to
be the first to set records in the air. It was like the space race before the
space race had even been considered. Flying airplanes made at home that
cemented their place in world history meant that the winning country had more
power and respect.
BMW
recognized the importance of the aircraft industry, which is why their first
few years were spent in engine
construction operations. They sold engines for airplanes, cars and boats. When they weren’t
building their engine empire, the BMW founders designed new engines that could
power planes over even further distances.
The Logo’s Beginnings
In 1928, BMW became a car manufacturer after purchasing a local manufacturing company. They still made engines, but they connected on a consumer’s level by producing cars. This drew their attention back to their logo since they knew people needed a logo picture when they heard the brand name. It’s a crucial step to creating brand loyalty.
Prior to 1917, the company came up with a general logo featuring the Rapp Motorenwerke company’s symbol. Rapp was part of the company’s identity in their original merger shortly after beginning engine production before the rebranding happened. BMW adopted this Rapp logo, which definitely looked familiar to me.
It
has a man’s profile image in the middle of a circle, with the company name
split above and below him. The black line surrounding his image looks very
similar to the BMW logo everyone now knows.
A Myth is Born
Remember
how BMW got its start in engines? That’s what they were still known for by the
time the first World War was over. While they made a profit off of selling cars
in Germany, their engines were internationally known. Which is why they decided
to create advertisements for them, seeing as how Germany’s military and air
force were extremely limited after the war.
The
first BMW engine advertisement premiered in 1929, featuring a plane taking
off. That plane used a BMW engine, so the company’s name appeared just above
the spinning propeller as it took off. It was the image seen around the world.
One point that this ad tried to make was to encourage consumers in the midst of a global economic depression. Airplanes were inspiring, literally lifting people up when they watched them fly overhead.
People ended up loving the airplane ad so much that they connected the plane to the company, instead of the actual logo. The logo wasn’t emphasized in their marketing as much as the brand name.
What
also added fuel to the fire was an article by Wilhelm Farrenkopf in the BMW
journal in 1942. He used plane
imagery to
win over reads to BMW engines, which only reinforced the idea that the
propeller of a plane was the logo for BMW.
The Truth Behind the Legend
After
the second World War, BMW switched to manufacturing cars and motorcycles. They
left the plane engine business behind, but the myth about their logo stayed.
After
July of 1917, BMW had readjusted their logo. They had been using the man’s
profile image in their Rapp logo, but BMW founder Franz Josef Popp switched a
few details. Instead of Rapp, BMW was displayed across the top of the circle.
The colors in the middle came from the Bavarian flag, where the company was
founded.
Looking
at the current logo, I can totally see where a plane propeller would fit into
the middle of the design. It really speaks to the power of a good
advertisement.
I don’t see this myth going away anytime soon, but I’m glad it was called to my attention so that I could research it. As an avid BMW fan, I had no idea that plane engines were such big part of their history.
It completely explains the fascination people have with the propeller myth that still trails behind one of the most powerful car brands to date.
