The BMW roundel

[Dizerens5]

For years I've been reading and hearing that the blue/white BMW roundel is meant to represent an aircraft propeller and I've always been totally mystified by this as it doesn't look in the least like a propeller. So I was delighted to read in the British BMW Club magazine that the story is not true at all. In fact the design represents the colours of the Bavarian flag, but in reverse order (a bit like the Red Cross flag was designed as the reverse of the national flag of Switzerland). The roundel trade mark was registered in 1917 when Bavaria was still near-independent, not a part of Federal Germany as it is today. Maybe someone can win a bet with that info! (Another good one is: how do you recognize a genuine Swiss Army knife, actually issued to Swiss soldiers? Answer: it has no corkscrew!)

[nhmaf]

You are correct, and as it was not legal/acceptable for the company to reproduce the Bavarian state's flag color pattern, they reversed the colors.  Though, why they chose a circular shape I don't know (simple to make/cut, perhaps).

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I was always impressed with how the BMW & Mercedes logos were nearly the same, but not quite.  Colors and letters notwithstanding, of course.

I figured the Germans liked the symmetry.

[darrylri]

Here's a video produced by BMW themselves talking about the origins of the Roundel:

http://www.vintagebmw.org/v7/node/6553

The circular design is explained as well.

The Mercedes logo, with its 3 pointed "star", represents the three areas that the company hoped to work -- land, sea and air.  

[montmil]

Bored? Spouse grounded you? Snowed in, as I am today?

Simply Google up bmw roundel myth for hours of fun.[smiley=lurker.gif]

Monte

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

That popcorn looks tasty....