The name BMW has always gone hand in hand with quality, as whether you buy new BMW cars or a used BMW, you know what you are buying is excellent craftsmanship and engineering. It very nearly went wrong for the German car manufacturer though.

BMW suffered three major crises in its history that has threatened the company, but ultimately only served to make it stronger. The first two were caused by the first and second world wars, with the end of World War I causing much lost business for the firm. World War II saw many of the firm's plants bombed by the Allies. Both of these crises were survived by BMW.

BMW went through its third crisis in 1959 when the management wanted to sell the troubled car maker to new owners. The major shareholder at the time was a man named Herbert Quandt, and he almost signed the deal before deciding at the last minute, against advice from his bank, to actually increase his shares in BMW. He then owned 50% of the German car manufacturer, before turning the company's fortunes around.

Just a few years later BMW was ready for expansion, and bought up the company Hans Glas GmbH, which held factories in Landshut and Dingolfing allowing the productions of new BMW cars.

When Herbert Werner Quandt died in 1982, his vast fortune was passed to his daughter Susanne Klatten, who is now regarded as the richest woman in Germany.

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