BMW 3 Series Brings Home the Gold

1 December 1999
BMW 3 Series Brings Home the Gold
               Wins 'Designs of the Decade' Gold Award From the
                Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)

    WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Nov. 30 -- BMW Group today announced
that the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) bestowed its top honor
on the BMW 3 Series, a Gold award in the transportation category.  Choosing
from 189 entries, the jury honored 12 designs with the Gold award in the
Designs of the Decade: Best in Business 1990-1999 Awards Competition.  The
competition also recognized 12 Silver and 12 Bronze winners.
    "On behalf of the BMW design team, I thank you for recognizing our
commitment to beauty, style and performance," stated Chris Bangle,
American-born Chief of Design, BMW AG, who accepted the award at a black-tie
gala held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on November 19, 1999.
"BMW has a rich history of brilliant proportions in automotive design.  Thirty
years and more than 7 million customers later, the 3 Series has evolved into
an icon of sporty, dynamic performance and timeless styling.  As the first and
original sport sedan, to be honored with this award is a fitting way for BMW
to close out the millennium."
    "As an awards program, the Designs of the Decade competition is unique in
its focus," said IDSA President Mark Dziersk.  "It recognizes the most
compelling design/business success stories of the 1990s and honors products
and strategies that have made a significant business impact.  Our objective is
to measure design's value to business.  The winning entries were able to
demonstrate in quantitative measures the corporate impact it generated."
    "Classic and elegantly sporty, the BMW 3 Series signifies and communicates
solid design and manufacturing.  It has carved a permanent place in the
automotive lineup of designs that made a difference," said IDSA Juror, Dr.
Lorraine Justice, Georgia Institute of Technology.  An automotive icon, the
BMW 3 Series family offers a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, sport wagon and
convertible with 4-cylinder, 6-cylinder or M high-performance engines.  BMW is
widely credited with inventing the sports sedan segment.
    Entries were submitted to IDSA in categories ranging from cars and
computers to museum exhibits and furniture.  Entrants were asked to describe
the product's effect on marketing and financial performance as well as its
strategic, design and social impact.  BMW 3 Series sales continue to set the
pace for record growth with an increase of 42 percent year-to-date over last
year.
    BMW entered the U.S. market in 1975.  Since then, the company has grown to
include marketing, sales and financial service organizations in the United
States; a South Carolina manufacturing operation; Designworks USA, a design
firm in California; a technology office in Palo Alto and various other
operations throughout the country.  BMW is represented in the U.S. through a
network of more than 340 automobile and 160 motorcycle retailers.  BMW (US)
Holding Corp., the Group's headquarters for North, Central and South America,
is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.  Information about BMW products is
available to consumers via the World Wide Web on the BMW homepage.  The
address is: http://www.bmwusa.com.