1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Paris OlympicsUS election 2024Israel-Hamas
Cars and Transportation

Trip back in time in a BMW 1500

July 8, 2015

In the early 1950s BMW was in crisis. The Bavarian carmaker was even in danger of being taken over by arch-rivals Mercedes. The BMW 1500 was aimed at the middle classes. Its four doors made it practical.

https://p.dw.com/p/1FtoE

That's because, apart from motorbikes, BMW produced just two kinds of vehicles: small cars and luxury sedans -- or as one magazine put it: cars for laborers and CEOs. So the 1500 was aimed at the middle classes. Its four doors made it practical. Its 4-cylinder engine was thrifty, but still delivered 80 horsepower -- at an attractive price. Drive it! takes a trip back in time in a BMW 1500.