Editing BMW (section)

=== Logo ===
The circular blue and white BMW logo or [[Roundel#Corporate use|roundel]] evolved from the circular ''[[Rapp Motorenwerke]]'' company logo, which featured a black ring bearing the company name surrounding the company logo,<ref name="bmw.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-life/bmw-logo-meaning-history1.html |title=The BMW Logo – meaning and history |publisher=BMW |access-date=20 August 2021}}</ref> an image of a horse head on a plinth. BMW retained Rapp's black ring inscribed with the company name, but the interior of the ring is quartered blue and white, reminiscent of the [[coat of arms of Bavaria|coat of arms]] and [[flag of Bavaria]] (which in turn are based on the arms of the historic [[House of Wittelsbach]], which [[List of rulers of Bavaria|ruled Bavaria]] for many centuries).<ref name="bmw.com"/> The logo does not bear the distinctive lozenge shape found on the coat of arms, however, as local laws at the time it was introduced forbade the use of state coats of arms on commercial logos.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znBnNJ1Fv08 |title=The origin of the BMW logo |access-date=29 December 2011 |author=BMW |website=[[YouTube]] |date=5 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-date=2 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202033152/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znBnNJ1Fv08}}</ref>

A persistent myth claims that the logo is based on the image of an airplane propeller spinning in a blue sky. This myth likely stems from a 1929 BMW advertisement that depicted the logo superimposed on a rotating propeller. However, the logo predates that advertisement by 12 years.<ref name="bmw.com"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/bmw-roundel-not-born-from-planes/ |title=BMW Roundel: Not Born From Planes |access-date=29 December 2011 |author=Stephen Williams |work=The New York Times |date=7 January 2010 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110222011/http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/bmw-roundel-not-born-from-planes |archive-date=10 January 2010 }}</ref>

The current iteration of the logo was introduced in 2020,<ref>[https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/bmw-changes-logo-digital-age BMW changes logo for the digital age], Retrieved 8 March 2020</ref> removing 3D effects that had been used in previous renderings of the logo while removing the black outline encircling the rondel. The logo is used for BMW's branding communications but it is not used on vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introducing BMW's new brand design for online and offline communication. |url=https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0306305EN/introducing-bmw%E2%80%99s-new-brand-design-for-online-and-offline-communication |website=www.press.bmwgroup.com |access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/4/21163766/bmw-new-flat-logo-design-bad-transparent-background-cars |title=BMW's new flat logo is everything that's wrong with modern logo design |last=Gartenberg |first=Chaim |date=4 March 2020 |website=The Verge |access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref>
{{Gallery|mode=nolines|height=150|width=150
|File:BMW.svg|Logo used in vehicles since 1997
|File:Squircle (120290377).jpg|The logo on a BMW car
|File:BMW logo (gray).svg|Logo used for publicity purposes since March 2020
}}