{"id":13709,"date":"2021-11-18T14:06:18","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T19:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/auto\/?p=13709"},"modified":"2021-11-18T14:06:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T19:06:18","slug":"bmw-luxury-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=13709","title":{"rendered":"BMW History: When did BMW Become Known as a Luxury Brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

As far as most of us can remember, BMW has been known as the \u201cUltimate Driving Machine\u201d. Thank Bob Lutz<\/a> for inventing the term, as he helped BMW become popular in the U.S. market. At that time, BMW was just a quirky builder of sporty sedans and coupes. In fact, Lutz created that now-iconic slogan for BMW at the same time as the original E21 3 Series<\/a> was being built. Back then, BMW was known for building premium, high quality cars but not exactly luxury cars, such as Mercedes-Benz. So when did BMW actually become a luxury brand.<\/p>\n

That can be hard to quantify, to be honest. It really all depends on your definition of luxury. Is a luxury brand one that focuses on the luxuriousness of its cars above all else or just that builds the occasional luxury car? Is a luxury brand one that sells its cars in limited numbers, as to be exclusive, or one that sells to the masses? Is automotive luxury just high built quality or is it about the comfort and opulence inside? Is a car luxurious if it also prioritizes sporty driving or does it have to only be luxurious? See, it\u2019s tricky.<\/p>\n

To keep things simple, and create a clear-cut dividing line for when BMW truly became a luxury brand and not just a high-quality one, we\u2019re going to go with one specific moment for BMW \u2014 the introduction of the 7 Series<\/a>.\u00a0Prior to the original release of the first-ever 7 Series back in 1977, BMW was known for building small, lightweight sports cars. Sure, it had the occasional big sedan here and there but those were never the brand\u2019s bread and butter.<\/p>\n

Instead, BMW was famous for \u2014 and best at \u2014 building cars like the 2002. It wasn\u2019t until BMW debuted the 7 Series that the world started to take the Bavarians seriously as luxury car makers. But why was that, what made the 7 Series different from the previous comfy sedans BMW had built? It\u2019s quite simple \u2014 the 7 Series allowed BMW to compete with Mercedes-Benz.<\/p>\n

In America, in the \u201950s and \u201960s, Cadillac was the<\/em> luxury brand. You didn\u2019t own a proper luxury car unless you owned a Cadillac. However, in the rest of the world, the luxury brand was Mercedes-Benz and that became true of America in the \u201970s, too. Mercedes-Benz gained a reputation, and rightfully so, for building the most over-engineered, incredibly luxurious cars in the world. When BMW launched the 7 Series, it had a genuine rival for the best from Stuttgart and that\u2019s when the world took notice.<\/p>\n