Categories: Automotive|This Day

September 18, 2004 – BMW releases the 1 Series

BMW 1 Series by Rudolf Stricker

To provide a lower cost entry into BMW ownership than the 3 Series Compact, BMW launched the 1 Series in Europe on this day in 2004. The five door hatchback shared as much as 60 percent of its components with the E90 3 Series due to co-development. The money saved in design and engineering allowed BMW to move the 3 Series up the line in terms of cost, making the 1 Series its new entry level car. By 2008 the 1 Series laid claim to as much as 20 percent of BMW’s sales.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

February 19, 2015 – Remembering Yutaka Katayama, Father of the Z Car and first president of Nissan USA

Yutaka Katayma with Datsun Z. (Nissan) Yutaka Katayama, Mr. K, if you will, and often…

3 days ago

February 17, 1966 – Remembering Alfred Sloan

On February 17, 1966, the automotive industry lost one of its most influential figures—Alfred P.…

5 days ago

February 12, 2014 – Sinkhole at the Corvette Museum

The Bowling Green, Kentucky GM plant has been pumping out Corvettes since 1991. Just a…

1 week ago

February 10, 1989 – The Mazda Miata MX-5 debuts

Mazda Miata (NA) Ah, the history of the Mazda Miata MX-5. A little roadster with…

2 weeks ago

February 9, 1846 – Engineer Wilhelm Maybach is born

| Wilhelm Maybach was a pioneering German engineer and inventor, renowned for his contributions to…

2 weeks ago

February 8, 1931 – Actor and racer James Dean is born

When actor James Dean, born on this day in 1931, finished filming Giant, he headed…

2 weeks ago