Friday, May 13

Friday we made our second trip to Munich solely for BMW World and Museum and a factory tour. It was our shortest day, as we left at 11am and got back at around 5. After eating our lunch in a fancy museum bistro, we first took a look around the Museum, which documented BMW’s long and illustrious history in the automotive market. Something I didn’t know was that they made airplane engines for the Nazi regime during World War 2, so they really did cover all aspects of the market, from those airplane engines all the way to Formula 1 cars and everything in between. It was really cool to see the evolution of their cars and bikes, especially now in the era of electric cars and finding ways to make their product lines environmentally friendly. We then headed over to BMW World after about 45 minutes in the museum, and for many people that was a lot more interesting because we were able to sit inside many of their newest models and learn a lot more about the product lines of today that they offer. I was disappointed though because we were not able to sit in the Rolls Royce and some of the other higher end cars that they sell, but they made up for it by having an area where you could hit golf balls in a promotion for one of the PGA tournaments they sponsor. Finally it was time for the factory tour, and that was the highlight of my day. It was amazing to see all of the components and processes it takes to make just one car, and the fact that they make one car every 58 seconds is mind-blowing. They have truly mastered the art of car manufacturing in the most efficient way possible while still upholding their tradition of high quality vehicles. Our tour guide did a really good job of explaining all of the processes in a way that made sense to the average person, and made me really appreciate all the work automotive manufacturing does all day, every day. With a much needed nap on the way home, many of us hung out with the Augsburg students in the night, and we have become quite good friends, which is really cool. The picture below is of the BMW i8, one of the first two cars in BMW's electronic car series, and runs solely on electricity. It is their response to the sudden success of Tesla, and other eco-friendly cars.