decars1-3, Exercise 2: Comparing two marques

Model answer (Opel and BMW; check the details):

Opel: began in Ruesselsheim in 1862 making sewing machines, moved to bicycles and then to cars from about 1899. By the 1920s it was a mass producer: the Laubfrosch of 1924 was among the first German cars made on an assembly line, in the American manner. General Motors took a majority holding in 1929. Opel was known for affordable, mass-produced cars.

BMW: founded in 1916 as an aircraft-engine maker (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, then BMW). After the First World War, when aircraft work was restricted, it turned to motorcycles in the 1920s and then to cars; its first, the Dixi of 1929, was a licensed British Austin Seven. It was known for engines and motorcycles before it was known for cars.

Contrast: Opel was a long-established mass producer with American links, and BMW was a young engine firm that moved into cars through a foreign licence.