zo jun 17, 2007 10:42
stukje van een BMWclub website:
Bimmer vs Beemer
Enthusiasts vs others
Definitions:
Bimmer - proper accepted slang for BMW cars. Most people don't know this.
Beamer/Beemer - proper accepted slang for BMW motorcycles. You will hear this term used incorrectly by many people.
Bummer - When you get a speeding ticket.
Bitter - Another German car. Very rare; hand built.
So just why is a BMW car called a 'bimmer' not a 'beemer' or 'beamer'?
The answer in part lies in knowing some BMW history and what came first.
All real BMW enthusiasts know that BMW got a big start on two wheels, what many call the real BMWs.
In those days, BMW motorcycles were quite active in racing, and one of their competitors at the track was often the BSA bikes.
Well as things would have it, a track slang developed, and the BMWs were usually referred to as 'beemers' and the BSAs were referred to as 'beesers'.
So, of course for any true enthusiast, there is no way that a BMW car could be called a 'beemer', so they were called 'bimmers'.
Unfortunately, in the US and Canada, and perhaps other countries, there was a time (kind of still is) where for various reasons, a BMW owner was considered an upwardly mobile person, and of course due to the fun in driving their BMWs most all of them had big grins on their faces.
Hence it is little surprise that the non enthusiast types out there incorrectly labeled BMW cars and their owners as 'beamers' or 'beemers'.
en nog een stukje:
A search in Google for the keyword "BMW" yields results that use the terms - Bimmer, Beemer and Beamer. With so many terms being used it is quite easy to get confused. Which is the right one to use?
The truth is that all the terms refer to BMW vehicles. However, Bimmer is the proper term for BMW cars (vehicles with 4 wheels) while Beemer and Beamer are terms that are used for BMW vehicles that have less than 4 wheels (e.g. motorcycles).
Why all this different terms? BMW started big in motorcycles and was very active in motor sports back then. One of their biggest competitors at the racing track was BSA - which was also a big name in motorcycles then. Since BSA motorcycles were known as Beesers, BMW fans decided to call BMW motorcycles Beemers. As time went by, different people (who couldn't spell very well and didn't take the initiative o find out) started to use the term Beamer.
BMW went on to design and manufacture cars which subsequently outshone their two-wheeled cousins. The BMW car enthusiasts wanted a new term to differentiate cars from motorcycles and coined the term Bimmer.
Taken from BimmerCenter
One might say what about the Isetta? The Boston Chapter of the BMW CCA clears this up with this interesting article: Boston Chapter BMW CCA