C'DaleRider
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- Jan 13, 2000
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It has come up time and again in the BMW CCA Roundel and all over the planet. We gotta keep covering this issue till the world gets straightened out.
It's a simple, painless lesson. Learn now and avoid embarrassing yourself in front of other car enthusiasts.
It its history, BMW has made cars, motorcycles, and aircraft engines. There is no confusion surrounding the aircraft engines, so lets move on to the cars.
This is a BIMMER. I don't have to tell you that this 2004 M Coupe features FOUR wheels. http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/friends/images/2004-m3-coupe-0337-side-500.jpg (Photo coutresy BMW NA)
Bimmer
BMW cars are called Bimmers. Say BIM-mer. If you are a New England native or want to sound like one, say BIM-mah.
That's what this club is about, BMW cars. Bimmers.
Bimmer is also is the official name of the Newsletter of the Boston Chapter. It has been published continuously since 1970. From sometime in the 1990s to March 2000 the newsletter was called BIMMER (all uppercase). Justin Hughes, the current Editor in Chief changed the name back to Bimmer. Then Suzin Koehler became the Editor and changed the name to Boston Bimmer.
Bimmer Magazine is based in California and has nothing to do with the Boston Chapter, even though it is a very nice magazine.
But wait, here's the important part.
This is a BEEMER. BMW Motorcycles have two wheels. http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/friends/images/2004-r1100s-grey-metallic-500.jpg
Beemer or Beamer
BMW motorcycles are called one thing but it is spelled two ways. Beemers or Beamers, you just say BEAM-er. Or maybe BEAM-uh.
This is very simple. Motorcycles have two wheels. Beemers have two wheels.
In that photo to the right (above link), how many wheels do you see? Two wheels? It's a Beemer.
Why are the bikes called Beemer and the cars called Bimmer? A Very Highly Placed BMW Spokesperson sent me the following (reproduced here with permission).
While I can't point to any official document that supports this, my understanding of the origins are as follows.
The term Beemer was first used with motorcycles. Back when British bikes dominated the market and BSA was a well-known marque, riders referred to them as Beezers -- a way to say the letters BSA as if it were a word.
BMW riders said Beemer as a way of saying BMW as a word. This was long before the popularity of BMW cars, so whenever the term Beemer was spoken, it referred to the motorcycle.
So, an official BMW club doesn't know squat, eh?
Boston Chapter of BMW CCA