BMW Celebrates Centenary with ‘Vision Next 100’ Concept, We Celebrate with 6 of Our Favorite Bimmers

By Paul Riegler on 9 March 2016

BMW turned 100 last Monday. To celebrate, the automaker unveiled a concept car, the Vision Next 100, which emits absolutely nothing from its tailpipe, can drive itself, and learns the driver’s preferences and habits.

The car’s entire windshield is an augmented reality display, which takes the place of the dashboard and the car’s gauges. In addition, there are 800 triangles embedded in the dash, which BMW calls Alive Geometry. These multicolor polygons will communicate “very directly with the driver through their movements, which are more like gestures than two-dimensional depictions on a display,” according to BMW.

The Bayerische Motoren Werke was founded in 1916 in the Milbertshofen district of Munich as a small aircraft engine manufacturer. Today, BMW is a successful manufacturer of luxury and high-performance automobiles and motorcycles under the BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce brands. The BMW brand is one of the world’s most valuable and recognized as well.

We thought the best way to celebrate would be to look at what we consider to be the Bavarian automaker’s most significant vehicles, several of which we have had the privilege of driving and owning

1980 BMW 320

BMW 3 SERIES

The original BMW 3 Series or 3er was the successor to the iconic BMW 2002. It made its debut in 1975 and was originally only available as a two-door coupe. The 3er launched with three variants, the 316, 318, and 320 and instantly doubled BMW’s sales largely as a consequence of the oil crisis of the 1970s.

The 3 Series continues to be BMW’s best-selling model and accounts for roughly 30% of the BMW brand’s annual sales. The range was expanded to include a convertible, four-door, wagon, and hatchback. In 2013, the coupe and convertible were spun off and rebadged as 4 Series models.

The 3er is now in its sixth generation and Frequent Business Traveler staffers have owned at least one model of each since the very beginning, including the 1980 BMW 320 (pictured).