[pschnei3]

I thought BMW was a independent car maker.

[Barrie]

it is.

[Greeney]

I thought it was?

[pschnei3]

thats what i thought but this guy tried to tell me they were owned by someone else.

[tl_boy]

it is owned by a family, i'm too lazy to google it, i think it starts with the letter Q. But i think they own 40% or so... can't recall. i guess the rest is public?

man would it be cool to belong to that family. guess we all know what they drive...hehe.

although it was funny, michael dell's dad was my orthodontist when i had braces, and i saw at least one compaq in his office! hehe.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by tl_boy

But i think they own 40% or so... can't recall. i guess the rest is public?

I guess the public owners are you, me, and everyone else who bought a BMW

[dude007]

OK, I did google.
BMW owns:
-BMW
-Mini
-Rolls Royce
And nobody owns BMW (in terms of other car makers)

Here is the link. Quite interesting to look how all automakers are connected together:
http://carscarscars.blogs.com/index/..._owns_who.html

[tl_boy]

aha, found something. it is the Quandt family:
http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/21/top...onaires_9.html

They own 50%.

edit: more:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...799630,00.html

[blke90man]

I know that the highest level executives in the company get a black 760li with a driver and then they get a free car for life of their choice. The last time I was at the corporate office they were having a meeting and all the 760's were lined up with their driver standing next to them...it was cool.

[stressdoc]

You can be an owner. Call Fidelity and ask to buy shares in BMW AG. There are no ADRs, so it takes an international broker. I am not someone that talks about what stocks to buy -- but I will note that I posted a recommendation to that effect earlier this year, and anyone who bought as much stock in BMW as the purchase price for a new 325 would now be able to sell that stock and buy a 335 instead. The company has some good things going for it: they are buying back stock, increasing dividend, posting record sales, have excellent management (including the Quandts), and have a very bright future in regard to product pipeline and presence in emerging markets (e.g., China, India). Problems include the higher costs of raw materials, the uncertain world oil market, and the currency market (Euro/$).

[BKsBimmer]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

You can be an owner. Call Fidelity and ask to buy shares in BMW AG. There are no ADRs, so it takes an international broker. I am not someone that talks about what stocks to buy -- but I will note that I posted a recommendation to that effect earlier this year, and anyone who bought as much stock in BMW as the purchase price for a new 325 would now be able to sell that stock and buy a 335 instead. The company has some good things going for it: they are buying back stock, increasing dividend, posting record sales, have excellent management (including the Quandts), and have a very bright future in regard to product pipeline and presence in emerging markets (e.g., China, India). Problems include the higher costs of raw materials, the uncertain world oil market, and the currency market (Euro/$).

Good post stressdoc ... thanks!

[tl_boy]

sure, but can we get an ownership discount?

Originally Posted by stressdoc

You can be an owner. Call Fidelity and ask to buy shares in BMW AG. There are no ADRs, so it takes an international broker. I am not someone that talks about what stocks to buy -- but I will note that I posted a recommendation to that effect earlier this year, and anyone who bought as much stock in BMW as the purchase price for a new 325 would now be able to sell that stock and buy a 335 instead. The company has some good things going for it: they are buying back stock, increasing dividend, posting record sales, have excellent management (including the Quandts), and have a very bright future in regard to product pipeline and presence in emerging markets (e.g., China, India). Problems include the higher costs of raw materials, the uncertain world oil market, and the currency market (Euro/$).