This rare 1950s BMW cost $9,000 new and will auction for an estimated $2.3 million - tour the 507 Roadster

This BMW was once a vision for the future

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5707be4252bcd044008bb8e9-2556-1917/p90099729_highres_bmw-507-at-the-silvr.jpg" alt="BMW 507 Roadster" data-mce-source="BMW"><p class="source"><span>BMW</span></p><p class="caption">A Bavarian beauty: the BMW 507.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>What can be said about BMW that hasn't been said before?<p>The German luxury carmaker, which celebrated its 100th birthday this year, has for its entire history released a seemingly never-ending stream of breathtaking, record-setting, and smile-inducing machines that have consistently beguiled the automotively inclined.</p><p>The essence of BMW boils down to its uncanny ability to produce successful new ideas while remaining faithful to its heritage.</p><p>And that heritage, by the way, includes innumerable victories in motorsport - on two wheels and four.</p><p>Here is the story of 100 years of BMW, one of the best brands around.</p>

BMW has created 100 years worth of incredible machines - here are some of the best

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Car buying is daunting, but especially with today's interest rates and uncertain inventory.</strong></li><li><strong>Buyers should always do their research and ask questions.</strong></li></ul><p>Car buying is always a daunting task, especially with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-buying-shopping-tips-dealers-inventory-pricing-interest-rates-pandemic-2023-3">high interest rates, uncertain inventory, and the economy</a> weighing on shoppers' minds. </p><p>There are plenty of things consumers can do to make the right choice and get the best deal amid all of that. First, there are nine <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buying-a-car-questions-you-should-always-ask-dealer-prices-2023-3">questions to always ask when making a car purchase</a>. </p><p>You'll also want to pay attention to what <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/used-vehicle-prices-inventory-dealerships-pandemic-car-buyers-leasing-payments-2023-1">prices are like right now</a>, inventory that might be available, supply chain issues, incentives, and more. Then there's the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-trade-in-values-plummet-inventory-shortage-dealerships-2023-3">question of trade-in values. </a></p><p>Dealers — who know the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-dealers-face-identity-crisis-tesla-threat-2023-3">ins-and-outs of the auto-buying market</a> — have a few more tips for the best way to get a deal and navigate the process. </p><h2>Customers have more room to ask questions of dealers</h2><p>Car buyers had a difficult past few years, but things are getting better for them in terms of inventory and incentives, said Patrick Beck, dealer principal at Bakersfield Hyundai in California. That means dealers are prepared to make a deal more than ever. Customers also have more room to ask about pricing than they did during the pandemic supply-crunch.</p><p>"The best advice would be if it's time, come on in and let's look at what we got and let's put it all on paper," Beck said. "We want a relationship with you because look, we can sell everybody in our market one car and still go broke. We have to sell you over and over again. </p><p>"We want to dazzle you. We want to show you what we have to offer," Beck added. "Just simply ask. We are in no different shape than we've ever been in." </p><h2>Research ahead of time, especially lending options</h2><p>Buyers need to do their research, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-dealers-reveal-industry-secrets-buying-tips-tiktok-2023-3">Matthew Eldridge</a>, a product specialist at BMW of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said.  </p><p>"What options do you really want? What options do you think you need? What options can you go without?" Eldridge said. Thinking about all of those things before walking into a dealership to buy something is crucial. </p><p>Research is always important, but especially surrounding lending. Customers should try to reach out to other lending institutions to see if they can get away from the higher interest rate offerings that in-house financing might offer. </p><p>"The dealership may not be able to get you what your credit union can get you," he said.</p><h2>Don't wait if you need a car now</h2><p>Even as the market normalizes a bit, there are still hard-to-predict factors to keep in mind, Scott Kunes, COO of Kunes Auto and RV Group in the Midwest, said.</p><p>"Most of the manufacturers are talking about how there are still supply chain constraints. So I don't expect to see a days' supply that we saw before where there were really massive incentives to get these vehicles to move," he said. "I think there's still some pent up demand there that may start to push that supply down again. </p><p>Because of the potential inventory crunch, "most times I say, don't wait," he added. </p><h2>But if you can hold off buying, consider it </h2><p>It depends what a buyer cares about more. If they want options, Kunes said now might be the time. But holding off on a purchase, if possible, might get someone better interest rates, incentives, and prices overall, Adam Lee, chairman of the board at Lee Auto Malls in Maine, said.</p><p>The <a href="https://mediaroom.kbb.com/2023-03-08-New-Vehicle-Transaction-Prices-Trend-Downward-as-Incentives-Rise,-According-to-Kelley-Blue-Book" target="_blank" rel="noopener">average new car sold for $48,763 in February</a>, according to Kelley Blue Book, down from January's $49,468 and December's $49,507. That downward trend may continue as the economy becomes more uncertain. </p><p>"Wait if you can," Lee said. "If you don't have to buy one now, don't buy it now, because they're expensive."</p>

Car dealers reveal their best tips for getting a good deal

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54db2e305afbd30d2a8b456b-450-300/vw-january-brand-sales-down-28-percent-as-europe-china-decline.jpg" border="0" alt="The Volkswagen logo is seen on a Volkswagen XL Sport car during the media day at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile, October 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">The Volkswagen logo is seen on a Volkswagen XL Sport car during the media day at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Volkswagen, one of the world's biggest car-makers, is struggling.</p><p>VW said on Wednesday sales at its core passenger-car division fell 2.8 percent in January, with demand declining in Europe, China and Latin America.</p><p>Deliveries slipped to 507,100 autos worldwide from 521,600 a year earlier, the Wolfsburg-based manufacturer said. Sales data for the multi-brand group are expected to be published later this week.</p><p>Volkswagen's luxury Audi brand, by contrast, has been posting great sales, beating out German rivals Mercedes and BMW.</p><p>A significant portion to VW's sales woes can be placed on its difficulties in North America. While automakers with meaningful market share in the US and Canadian markets have benefitted from booming car sales in these regions, VW has actually seen its sales slip.</p><p>The automaker has very modest market share in the US, relative to its presence in other global markets, which have been roiled in recently months.</p><p>VW also has the wrong product mix in the US. Sales of large SUVs, trucks, and compact SUVs have led the way for many automakers in the US, and while VW is selling compact SUVs in North America, the vehicles have largely failed to connect with consumers.</p><p>(Reuters reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan)</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boston-time-lapse-video-day-night-2015-2">This incredible time-lapse shows a side of Boston you've never seen before</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="83ZnM1czqGXDHr3NFCXUgT5oV8ThNFjg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '83ZnM1czqGXDHr3NFCXUgT5oV8ThNFjg',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

VW sales are a disaster

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552925136bb3f78f42c5066f-1200-924/martin winterkorn.jpg" border="0" alt="Martin Winterkorn"><p class="source"><span>Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn attends the annual news conference of Volkswagen in Berlin March 12, 2015. </span></p><p class="caption">VW CEO Martin Winterkorn</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>BERLIN/STUTTGART (Reuters) - Volkswagen's first leadership crisis in a decade has burst into the open with Chairman </span>Ferdinand Piech<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">'s surprise public denunciation of CEO </span>Martin Winterkorn<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> -- but the standoff is now more likely to play out behind closed doors.</span></p><p>Piech, 77, will meet cousin Wolfgang Porsche and other family members within days, company sources said, to discuss the rift his comments appear to have opened between their branches of VW's controlling clan.</p><p>A full board meeting is likely to follow.</p><p>"A phase of diplomacy will set in now," said one source. The company declined to comment through a spokesman.</p><p>The turmoil at the top of Europe's biggest carmaker reflects Piech-Winterkorn tensions that have escalated in step with the chief executive's growing confidence, insiders say.</p><p>It has also shifted attention from VW's growth ambitions to governance and performance problems, as challenges pile up and the earnings outlook darkens following a run of gains.</p><p>Markets have so far taken the ructions in their stride, with VW shares down 1.3 percent since Piech's outburst. But any feud extending beyond the company's May 5 shareholder meeting could prove more damaging.</p><p>"Change is coming anyway," Barclays analyst Michael Tyndall said, with Winterkorn's contract expiring in 2016 and Piech expected to retire the following year, as he turns 80.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54aa0b986bb3f7c97894d7b2-1200-800/5488717556_5b1432458e_o.jpg" border="0" alt="Volkswagen Van Concept "><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/autovivacom/5488717556/in/photolist-9PwbZ9-9Pwbpd-dCKgDH-dCK7wi-9n27vj-bwYdtT-9PwbGd">Flickr/Autoviva</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A degree of strategic reassessment is to be welcomed, Tyndall added in a note, "providing the resolution is speedy".</p><p>The last big intrigue to divide the founding family, Porsche's failed move to seize control of VW in 2008-9, dragged on for months and triggered years of investor lawsuits.</p><p>Under the delicately balanced -- some say dysfunctional -- ownership structure that emerged, the Porsche and Piech families together command 50.7 percent of VW voting rights, with the state of Lower Saxony controlling a further 20 percent.</p><p>In practice, strategic decisions also need support from German unions occupying half of the 20 supervisory board seats.</p><p>Echoing his ruthless 2006 ouster of Winterkorn's predecessor Bernd Pischetsrieder, Piech opened the hostilities on Friday with a German magazine interview in which he confided that he was "at a distance to Winterkorn".</p><p>His comments put an instant damper on expectations that Winterkorn would be reappointed as CEO beyond 2016, or else named to succeed him as chairman.</p><p>At board meetings over the past five months, Piech has aired growing criticism of the company's performance under his former protégé, sources told Reuters -- particularly in the United States, where the VW brand has fallen far short of sales goals.</p><p>Ballooning plant and investment costs are another concern cited by analysts, along with the lack of progress on a low-cost vehicle architecture to rival Renault's <RENA.PA> budget cars.</RENA.PA></p><p>Balancing these shortcomings, however, is the sheer pace of an expansion that has almost doubled group revenue and tripled profit during Winterkorn's eight-year tenure, propelled by roaring sales in China as well as acquisitions.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/552e3ca75afbd3947d8b4569-800-534/vw-struggle-in-diplomacy-phase-as-investors-weigh-ceo-change-2015-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn stands at the Volkswagen booth at the world's largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, in Hanover April 13, 2015.   REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Volkswagen Chief Executive Winterkorn stands at the Volkswagen booth at the world's largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe</p></img></div><p></p></div></div> </p><h3>KILLING THEM SOFTLY</h3><p>Piech met immediate resistance from VW stakeholders including Lower Saxony and labor chief Bernd Osterloh -- who said Winterkorn was "one of the most successful automotive managers" at the group and should have his contract extended.</p><p>Wolfgang Porsche, who chairs the family holding, said his cousin's outburst was only a "personal opinion".</p><p>Their reactions have led some to ask whether Piech is finally losing his grip in the final straight of a career spanning more than half a century.</p><p>Concerns were raised in 2012 about Piech's judgment and VW's governance, following the appointment of his second wife Ursula, a former kindergarten teacher, to the board.</p><p>But Piech, an engineer by training who transformed Audi from a struggling volume brand into a luxury car powerhouse, has ended several high-level careers with a few softly spoken words.</p><p>Former Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking is among axed executives who discovered their fate in his public comments. And Pischetsrieder, like Winterkorn, initially commanded family and union support under fire, yet was gone within months.</p><p>"My desire for harmony is limited," Piech explained in his 2004 autobiography.</p><p>The Volkswagen patriarch, who keeps a dagger collection, has professed a fascination with Japanese military tactics in World War Two, according to people who have worked for him.</p><p>"Piech is a fox," said one. "He may now just wait tactically and wear his opponents down."</p><p>Among VW investors, even fans of Winterkorn concede privately that a new CEO appointment now looks likely.</p><p>"The succession was bound to be tough," said one Frankfurt-based fund manager with a sizeable VW holding.</p><p>"Winterkorn's track record is extremely convincing but if this impasse can't be solved in an orderly way, new management might offer the chance of a clean break."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/531a08506bb3f7bb2b0acc95-1200-800/806391__dsf1815 copy.jpg" border="0" alt="volkswagon t-roc geneva motor show 2014"><p class="source"><span>Newspress</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><h3>WELCOME CHANGE</h3><p>Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst with Evercore ISI, is less admiring of a CEO who has allowed investment to claim a larger share of sales at Volkswagen than at pure-premium rival BMW <BMWG.DE>, despite his company's superior scale.</BMWG.DE></p><p>"Almost every cost ratio at VW Group has increased and stands at a historically high level," said Ellinghorst, who now considers Porsche brand chief Matthias Mueller well placed to succeed Winterkorn.</p><p>Piech's move "forces the supervisory board to take a view," he said. "Uncertainty is bad news for shareholders in VW. Change, however, would be welcomed."</p><p>Beyond or behind Piech's criticism of Winterkorn, some insiders also see signs of a personal animus against the CEO who has come to embody VW's rise in a way he once did alone.</p><p>"A personality issue can't be ruled out," a VW source said. "Piech can be very extreme."</p><p>Those tensions were in evidence in September 2013 when, on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show, an anonymously sourced newspaper report predicted Piech's imminent retirement due to ill health, with Winterkorn to succeed him.</p><p>Piech turned up with Ursula at VW's lavishly catered media night, telling journalists that news of his death was premature.</p><p>"Is this still your press officer?" Piech asked Winterkorn as he crossed paths with the CEO and his spokesman at the event, according to Der Spiegel.</p><p>Whatever their personal dynamics, bystanders are understandably keen to stay out of the crossfire. Even Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil, a board member, was keeping his head down when approached by Reuters on Tuesday.</p><p>"The wisest thing to do at the moment is to say nothing," he said.\<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p>(Writing by Laurence Frost; Additional reporting by Jan Schwartz; Editing by Mark Potter)</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/charge-iphone-faster-apple-battery-life-2015-2">How to supercharge your iPhone in only 5 minutes</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9hdGRuczob3nOr91AW6QS6gV7dw6BzKX" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '9hdGRuczob3nOr91AW6QS6gV7dw6BzKX',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "BMW 507" and got 6 results

This rare 1950s BMW cost $9,000 new and will auction for an estimated $2.3 million - tour the 507 Roadster

Kristen Lee

This BMW was once a vision for the future

Aj Caldwell

BMW has created 100 years worth of incredible machines - here are some of the best

William Fierman

Car dealers reveal their best tips for getting a good deal

Alexa St. John

VW sales are a disaster

Matthew DeBord,Reuters

Volkswagen's first leadership crisis in a decade has burst into the open

Andreas Cremer and Ilona Wissenbach