Last fully German BMW models

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
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RobertRO
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Last fully German BMW models

Post by RobertRO »

I wonder which BMW models were the last ones built with parts manufactured in Germany only?

I do not mean cars assembled in German factories, but cars whose all (or most of) the components were actually manufactured in Germany, bar very few (e.g. glass, tires, etc.) built in Western Europe (= pre- fall of Berlin wall) countries.
Rust Bucket
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by Rust Bucket »

Pretty sure the X2 qualifies.
BMWCCA2
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by BMWCCA2 »

Rust Bucket wrote: Feb 06, 2022 6:31 PM Pretty sure the X2 qualifies.
No way.
No BMW today uses all German-made parts. And we got many X2 that were assembled in Brazil since that model was introduced. I doubt if even the engine came from Germany. Most likely from Hams Hall in UK. And I think all those front-drive-transverse-engine BMWs use Japanese Aisin transmissions.
Blue Shadow
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by Blue Shadow »

I doubt very many vehicles were made of wholly German produced parts past about 1952
Ricky535
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by Ricky535 »

Some of the parts on my 1984 733 are stamped made in W. Germany
jc72
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by jc72 »

Even the 507 had English carbs :laugh:
BMWCCA2
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by BMWCCA2 »

Plenty of Girling calipers on E21s.

The first failure we had on the new E32 was a bad Lucas microswitch in the door handle—right off the truck!
garageboy
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by garageboy »

Not sure how valid of a question this is... actually, I'm quite sure it's ignorant of how manufacturing worked... even in the 1980s...

I kinda remember one of the chips in my 1983 528e's SII board being made by MIETEC Semiconductor (I used to work with those guys when I worked at ITT in the 1980s) and I kinda recall their chips being designed in the home country but manufactured in Taiwan. I cannot remember precisely 35 years later.

As the BMW plant in South Carolina opened in the early 1990s, I remember thinking that I'll never buy a new BMW made in the good ol' USA (I'm too cheap anyway). But then I learned that the Germans didn't really trust Americans to assemble complex devices, so engines and transmissions came over from Germany fully assembled, and merely installed and tested in SC. I was still skeptical about any BMW made outside of Germany. What I learned about manufacturing at the time, and since, is that the more refined the assembly process, the less important the country of manufacture. Early E36 318i 4-doors coming out of Spartanburg displayed subtle imperfections relative to the standards I had come to expect from BMW. Yet from a quality perspective, all X vehicles emerging from the plant in SC nowadays are virtually indistinguishable from vehicles from German plants.

Nevertheless, I personally prefer BMWs manufactured from one plant -- Dingolfing -- from mostly German parts, and since 1988, I have ONLY owned cars made in Dingolfing (my E28s and E39s), and that has worked out pretty well for me so far... of course, when replacing maintenance parts over the years, I have purchased factory parts (like brake rotors) from a dealership that turn (haha) out to be made in Eastern bloc countries...

It's one big interconnected world now...
Blue Shadow
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by Blue Shadow »

garageboy wrote: Feb 09, 2022 10:27 PM
It's one big interconnected world now...
With a bunch of connection problems.
BMWCCA2
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by BMWCCA2 »

garageboy wrote: Feb 09, 2022 10:27 PMNevertheless, I personally prefer BMWs manufactured from one plant -- Dingolfing -- from mostly German parts, and since 1988, I have ONLY owned cars made in Dingolfing (my E28s and E39s), and that has worked out pretty well for me so far... of course, when replacing maintenance parts over the years,
My 128i M-sport 6-speed has been on of the best BMWs I've owned after 50-years. That plant was Leipzig—where the i8 was made. While I love my old Dingolfing 5ers, that plant is more recently know for producing nearly all the cars currently under BMW's latest German-built-engine class-action suit. They could have just as easily produced an oil-sucking V8 engine here in the USA. Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s!
BMWCCA2
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by BMWCCA2 »

BMWCCA2 wrote: Feb 10, 2022 8:46 PM
garageboy wrote: Feb 09, 2022 10:27 PMNevertheless, I personally prefer BMWs manufactured from one plant -- Dingolfing -- from mostly German parts, and since 1988, I have ONLY owned cars made in Dingolfing (my E28s and E39s), and that has worked out pretty well for me so far... of course, when replacing maintenance parts over the years,
My 128i M-sport 6-speed has been on of the best BMWs I've owned after 50-years of BMWs. That plant was Leipzig—where the i8 was made. While I love my old Dingolfing 5ers, that plant is more recently know for producing nearly all the cars currently under BMW's latest German-built-engine class-action suit. They could have just as easily produced an oil-sucking V8 engine here in the USA. Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s!
BMWCCA2
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Re: Last fully German BMW models

Post by BMWCCA2 »

BMWCCA2 wrote: Feb 10, 2022 8:46 PM
BMWCCA2 wrote: Feb 10, 2022 8:46 PM
garageboy wrote: Feb 09, 2022 10:27 PMNevertheless, I personally prefer BMWs manufactured from one plant -- Dingolfing -- from mostly German parts, and since 1988, I have ONLY owned cars made in Dingolfing (my E28s and E39s), and that has worked out pretty well for me so far... of course, when replacing maintenance parts over the years,
My 128i M-sport 6-speed has been on of the best BMWs I've owned after 50-years of BMWs. That plant was Leipzig—where the i8 was made. While I love my old Dingolfing 5ers, that plant is more recently known for producing nearly all the cars currently under BMW's latest German-built-engine class-action suit. They could have just as easily produced an oil-sucking V8 engine here in the USA. Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s!
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