1930 BMW DA2

This BMW 3/15 DA2 Cabriolet was produced on August 28, 1930 and delivered new to Dresden, Germany on October 28, 1930, to the Union of Automobile Driving Medical Doctors in Dresden, Germany. A Dr. Freise in Bethel had purchased it to carry out his house calls. After coming to the United States, it was owned by Tomas Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, who sold it in 2001 to Mike Sheehan, who gifted it to his son and daughter when they were 8 years old. The family showed the little car at Pebble Beach in 2003, where it received Third in Class.

This vehicle was built on a 76-inch wheelbase and weighs little more than 1,000 lbs. Production of the 3/15 began in December 1927 and was the first car to carry the BMW badge and a total of 15,948 units were produced before BMW withdrew from the licensing agreement to launch the new 3/20 model. The car is powered by a side-valve 4-cylinder engine developing 15 horsepower coupled to a 3-speed manual transmission.

The first vehicle ever made by BMW was the Dixi. From 1904 on, Dixi was a car brand of Eisenach car factory that had difficulty selling its 6/24 and 9/40 models in the tough automotive economy of the 1920s. Eisenach was having trouble entering into the small car market so in 1927 they agreed to a licensing agreement with the Austin Motor Company to build a variation of their Austin 7. The agreement included a production level of 2,000 vehicles a year, and Dixi paid Austin a royalty on each vehicle that was produced. The initial 100 vehicles were supplied as kits, but by December 1927 the official Dixi-manufactured vehicles, the DA-1 3/25PS rolled off the production line. The 'DA' designation stood for Deutsche Ausführung, or ‘German version', while the 3/15 indicated the actual horsepower ratings and the taxation.

Virtually identical to the Austin, the Dixi nonetheless was left-hand drive and used metric fasteners. Available body styles were roadster, coupe, tourer, and sedan with a few chassis that went to external coachbuilders. The majority of the vehicles left the factory as tourers. BMW purchased the Automobilwerk Eisenach in 1928 and with it, the rights to build the Dixi vehicle. The vehicles were originally badged as BMW Dixi, but the Dixi name was dropped in 1929 and the DA-1 was replaced by a slightly updated version, the BMW 3/15 DA-2; the vehicle that allowed BMW to survive the Great Depression.
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The original Dixi's utilized an open room and were powered by a743cc 4 cylinder engine that produced 15 hp. With a top speed of 50 mph, the Dixi 3/15 PS was basically the same model as the US Bantam and the Japanese Datsun. The DA/2 was the new and improved version that featured an all-steel body, 4-wheel brakes. In 1930, Dixi scored its first wins in motor racing. Total production of the BMW Dixi was 18,976 units. This period of the Dixi production ended up being the best for BMW and was the beginning of all of the success that is BMW today.

By Jessica Donaldson