ExxonMobil

(Redirected from Exxon Mobil) Exxon-branded gas station in California (actually operated by Valero)

Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil NYSE: XOM, headquartered in Irving, Texas, is the largest oil producer and distributor in the world, and it was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. The merger of Exxon and Mobil is symbolic in American history because it once again consolidated the two largest companies (Standard Oil Company of New Jersey/Exxon and Standard Oil Company of New York/Mobil) of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust.

The current Exxon-Mobil is the parent of Exxon, Mobil, and Esso companies around the world. Of the four largest oil companies in the world (Exxon-Mobil, Shell, BP, and Total), Exxon-Mobil is the largest of them all. The current CEO of ExxonMobil is Lee Raymond.

Name

Exxon formally replaced the Esso, Enco, and Humble brands on January 1, 1973 in the USA. The name Esso, which sounds like S-O, attracted protests from other Standard Oil spinoffs because of its similarity to the name of the parent company, Standard Oil. Hence, the company was restricted from using Esso in the USA except in those states awarded to it in the 1911 Standard Oil antitrust settlement. In states where the Esso brand was blackballed, the company marketed its gasoline under the Humble or Enco brands. The Humble brand was used at Texas stations for decades as those operations were under the direction of Jersey Standard affiliate, Humble Oil, and in the mid-to-late 1950s expanded to other Southwestern states including New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. In 1960, Jersey Standard gained full control of Humble Oil and Refining Co., and through a reorganization of the company, restructured Humble into Jersey's domestic marketing and refining division to sell and market gasoline nationwide under the Esso, Enco and Humble brands. The Enco brand was introduced by Humble in 1960 at stations in Ohio but was soon blackballed after Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) protested that Enco (Humble's acronym for "ENergy COmpany) sounded and looked too much like Esso as it shared the same oval logo with blue border and red letters with the two middle letters the only difference. At that point, the stations in Ohio would be rebranded Humble until the name change to Exxon in 1972. After the Enco brand was discontinued in Ohio, it was moved to other non-Esso states. In 1961, Humble stations in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona were rebranded as Enco and the Enco brand appeared on gasoline and lubricant products at Humble stations in Texas that same year with service stations there changed to Enco in 1962. By that time, Jersey had expanded the Enco brand to stations in the Midwest and Northwest that had been operated by various subsidaries such as Carter, Pate and Oklahoma among others. In 1963, Humble was approached by Tidewater Oil Company - a major gasoline marketer along the eastern and western seaboards - to purchase the firm's refining and marketing operations on the west coast, a move that would have given Humble a large number of existing stations and a refinery in California - which was then the fastest growing gasoline market. However, the Justice Department put the kibosh to Humble's plan to purchase Tidewater's west coast operations, which were later sold to Phillips Petroleum in 1966. Meanwhile, Humble gradually built up new and rebranded service stations in California and other western states under the Enco brand and purchased a large number of stations from Signal Oil Company in 1967, followed by the opening of a new refinery near Monterey in 1969. In 1966, the Justice Department ordered Humble to "cease and desist" from using the Esso brand at stations in several Southeastern states following protests from Standard Oil of Kentucky (a Standard Oil of California subsidary by that time). By 1967, stations in each of those states were rebranded as Enco. Despite the success of the "Put A Tiger In Your Tank" advertising campaign introduced by Humble in 1964 to promote its Enco/Esso Extra gasolines, the similar logotypes, use of the Humble name in all Esso/Enco ads and the uniformity in design and products of Humble stations nationwide, the company still had difficulties promoting itself as a nationwide gasoline marketer competing against truly national brands such as Texaco - then a 50-state marketer and the only company selling products under one brand name in each state. Humble officials realized by the late 1960s that the time had come to swallow its pride by developing a new brand name that could be used nationwide throughout the U.S. At first, consideration was given to simply rebranding all stations as "Enco" but that was shelved when it was learned that the Japanese translation of "Enco" was "stalled car." In order to create a unified brand, the company changed its corporate name from Jersey Standard to Exxon, rebranding all its U.S. stations under the latter title in the summer and fall of 1972 following the successful test marketing of the Exxon brand and logo in late 1971 and early 1972 at rebranded Enco/Esso stations in certain U.S. cities. However, the unrestricted international use of the popular brand Esso prompted the company to continue using Esso outside of the USA. Esso is the only widely used Standard Oil brand left in existence. Other Standard Oil descendants, such as BP and Chevron, do however maintain a few stations with the Standard Oil brand in specific states in order to retain their trademarks and prevent others from using them.

The rectangular Exxon logo with the blue strip at the bottom and red lettering with the two "X's" interlinked together was designed by noted industrial stylist Raymond Loewy.

History

Both Exxon and Mobil were descendants of the old John D. Rockefeller monopoly, Standard Oil. In 1911, after a United States Supreme Court ruling which upheld a federal court order to dissolve it, the Standard Oil Trust was split into 34 companies. Two of these companies were Jersey Standard, which eventually became Exxon, and Socony ("Standard Oil Company of New York"), which eventually became Mobil.

In the same year, the nation's kerosene output was eclipsed for the first time by gasoline. The growing automotive market inspired the product trademark Mobiloil, registered by Socony in 1920.

Over the next decade, both companies grew significantly. Jersey Standard acquired a 50 percent interest in Humble Oil & Refining Co., a Texas oil producer. Socony purchased a 45 percent interest in Magnolia Petroleum Co., a major refiner, marketer and pipeline transporter. In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Co., an industry pioneer dating back to 1866 and a growing Standard Oil spin-off in its own right.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Jersey Standard had oil production and refineries in Indonesia but no marketing network. Socony-Vacuum had Asian marketing outlets supplied remotely from California. In 1933, Jersey Standard and Socony-Vacuum merged their interests in the region into a 50-50 joint venture. Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., or "Stanvac," operated in 50 countries, from East Africa to New Zealand, before it was dissolved in 1962.

Mobil Chemical Company was established in 1960. As of 1999 its principal products included basic olefins and aromatics, ethylene glycol and polyethylene. The company produced synthetic lubricant base stocks as well as lubricant additives, propylene packaging films and catalysts. Exxon Chemical Company became a worldwide organization in 1965 and in 1999 was a major producer and marketer of olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene along with specialty lines such as elastomers, plasticizers, solvents, process fluids, oxo alcohols and adhesive resins. The company was an industry leader in metallocene catalyst technology to make unique polymers with improved performance.

In 1955 Socony-Vacuum became Socony Mobil Oil Co. and in 1966 simply Mobil Oil Corp. A decade later, the newly incorporated Mobil Corporation absorbed Mobil Oil as a wholly owned subsidiary. Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon Corporation in 1972 and established Exxon as a trademark throughout the United States. In other parts of the world, Exxon and its affiliated companies continued to use its Esso trademark.

On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons (42,000 m³) of crude oil. The spill was the largest in U.S. history, and in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez incident U.S. Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. At the time of the spill, Exxon paid $300 million immediately and voluntarily to more than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the Valdez spill. In addition, the company paid $2.2 billion on the cleanup of Prince William Sound, staying with the cleanup from 1989 to 1992, when the State of Alaska and the U.S. Coast Guard declared the cleanup complete. Exxon also has paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments. Virtually all Valdez compensatory damages were paid in full within one year of the accident, and the trial court commended Exxon for coming forward "with its people and its pocketbook and doing what had to be done under difficult circumstances." However, Exxon has yet to pay up for the largest ruling against it, making no payments on $4.5 billion in punitive damages and perpetually appealing each successive judgment for the past 16 years.

In 1998, Exxon and Mobil signed a US$73.7 billion definitive agreement to merge and form a new company called Exxon Mobil Corporation, the largest company on the planet. After shareholder and regulatory approvals, the merger was completed November 30, 1999 (the deal was announced the next day).

In 2000, ExxonMobil sold a California refinery and 340 Exxon-branded stations to Valero Energy Corporation, as part of a divestiture of California assets. They continue to operate over 700 Mobil branded outlets in the state.

In 2005, its stock price surged in parallel with rising oil prices, surpassing General Electric as the largest corporation in the world in terms of market capitalization.

Exxon's long-time mascot is a tiger; Mobil's mascot is a flying horse which dates back to the late 19th century and is one of the oldest marketing symbols still in use.

ExxonMobil now has the most assets in the world, and generated 246.7 billion dollars in total revenue for 2003.

Allegations against ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil's activities in the Indonesian territory of Aceh, where the company extracts and exports natural gas, have attracted scrutiny. In June 2001, ExxonMobil became the target of a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia, under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The suit alleged that the company knowingly assisted human rights violations, including torture, murder and rape, by employing and providing material support to Indonesian military forces, who committed the alleged offenses in Aceh. Human rights complaints involving ExxonMobil's relationship with the Indonesian military first arose in 1992; numerous inquiries have found evidence of human rights violations on ExxonMobil property and/or committed by Indonesian troops guarding ExxonMobil facilities. The company denies these accusations and filed a motion to dismiss the suit, which is still pending as of 2005. The U.S. State Department filed an opinion in the case in July 2002, requesting that the suit, brought by the International Labor Rights Fund, be dismissed on national security grounds. [1]

ExxonMobil controls concessions covering 11 million acres (44,500 km²) off the coast of Angola that hold an estimated 7.5 billion barrels (1.2 km³) of crude. [2] Questions have been raised about ExxonMobil's actions in securing these concessions—Forbes Magazine alleging that "ExxonMobil handed hundreds of millions of dollars to the corrupt regime of President José Eduardo dos Santos in the late 1990s". [3]

In 2003, the Office of Foreign Assets Control reported that ExxonMobil engaged in illegal trade with Sudan and along with dozens of other companies had to settle with the United States government for US$50,000 [4].

Exxon Mobil is regarded by many environmental activists as an example of disregard for environmental concerns by US-based corporations. The company has been a target for a number of political campaigns, including the Stop Esso campaign, held by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and People and Planet, and aimed at boycotting Esso. These organisations commonly parody the company's brandname as "E$$O", an example of alternative political spelling, to indicate their belief that the company is only interested in short-term profit, and is willing to use its financial power to buy influence. Unlike other major oil companies such as Shell Oil and British Petroleum, Exxon is one of the few that has actively fought the Kyoto Protocol and disputed scientific opinion on global climate change.

Greenpeace have been campaigning against ESSO for many years and their main reasons for doing so include their position on the issue of climate change. They also claim that Esso has flatly refused to believe that the burning of fossil fuels has any negative effect on the environment or climate change as a whole, despite its being accepted by the scientific community. As soon as Bush was elected, they argue, the USA - the world's biggest polluter - withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the international measure to cut down on global warming.

Kelloggs sued Exxon because the Tiger mascot looked like Tony the Tiger.

Diversity

ExxonMobil received a 14% rating from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index in 2004. The company had previously lost points because it took action against the equal rights of LGBT people at the time of the merger.

Sexual orientation was taken out of the ExxonMobil non-discrimination policy following Mobil's merger with Exxon. However, ExxonMobil contends in other publications that the non-discrimination policy does apply to sexual orientation, even though it is not written expressly in the policy.

Domestic partner benefits were ended following Mobil's merger with Exxon. Mobil employees who already had DP benefits were allowed to keep them, but no other employees could join after the merger. ExxonMobil does offer DP benefits in countries where same-sex marriage is legal.


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ExxonMobil does offer DP benefits in countries where same-sex marriage is legal. As such, use of the word "beemer" to refer a BMW automobile is frowned upon by BMW enthusiasts, though the distinction is somewhat arbitrary. Mobil employees who already had DP benefits were allowed to keep them, but no other employees could join after the merger. The term "bimmer" was later coined to refer (exclusively) to BMW automobiles. Domestic partner benefits were ended following Mobil's merger with Exxon. Over time the term became closely associated with BMW motorcycles. However, ExxonMobil contends in other publications that the non-discrimination policy does apply to sexual orientation, even though it is not written expressly in the policy. The term "beemer" started as a pronunciation of the acronym "BMW," adapted from the early-20th-Century British pronunciation of BSA (as "beeser" or "beezer"), whose motorcycles were often racing BMW's.

Sexual orientation was taken out of the ExxonMobil non-discrimination policy following Mobil's merger with Exxon. BMW's high desirability but often spotty reliability record has also gained it the pejorative name of "Bring Money to Workshop.". The company had previously lost points because it took action against the equal rights of LGBT people at the time of the merger. BMW has also gained a reputation as part of an Internet prank, in that it is intentionally referred to erroneously as "British Motor Works" in order to get a charge out of newbies. ExxonMobil received a 14% rating from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index in 2004. The Telelever significantly reduces dive under braking, and is sometimes criticized by sport riders as insulating the rider from road inputs, therefore reducing the rider's "feel" for the roadway. Kelloggs sued Exxon because the Tiger mascot looked like Tony the Tiger. Their trademark front suspension design, called the Telelever, was first seen in the early 1990s.

As soon as Bush was elected, they argue, the USA - the world's biggest polluter - withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the international measure to cut down on global warming. Most modern examples use single-sided rear swingarms. They also claim that Esso has flatly refused to believe that the burning of fossil fuels has any negative effect on the environment or climate change as a whole, despite its being accepted by the scientific community. BMW is an innovator in motorcycle suspension design. Greenpeace have been campaigning against ESSO for many years and their main reasons for doing so include their position on the issue of climate change. BMW was one of the earliest manufacturers to offer ABS on production motorcycles. Unlike other major oil companies such as Shell Oil and British Petroleum, Exxon is one of the few that has actively fought the Kyoto Protocol and disputed scientific opinion on global climate change. Innovations include a unique electronically adjustable front and rear suspension, and a Hossack-type front fork BMW calls Duolever.

These organisations commonly parody the company's brandname as "E$$O", an example of alternative political spelling, to indicate their belief that the company is only interested in short-term profit, and is willing to use its financial power to buy influence. It was BMW's latest attempt to keep up with the pace of development of sports machines from the likes of Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. The company has been a target for a number of political campaigns, including the Stop Esso campaign, held by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and People and Planet, and aimed at boycotting Esso. It is both powerful (the engine is a 167bhp unit derived from the company's work with the Williams F1 team) and significantly lighter than previous K models. Exxon Mobil is regarded by many environmental activists as an example of disregard for environmental concerns by US-based corporations. In 2004, BMW introduced the new K1200S Sports Bike which marked a departure for BMW. In 2003, the Office of Foreign Assets Control reported that ExxonMobil engaged in illegal trade with Sudan and along with dozens of other companies had to settle with the United States government for US$50,000 [4]. (Older Rs are principally air-cooled, and called airheads.) In 2004, BMW updated the oilhead boxer engine, adding double spark plugs per cylinder, a built-in balance shaft, an increased capacity to 1200 cc and enhanced performance to 100 hp (75 kW) for the R1200GS, compared to 85 hp (63 kW) of the previous oilhead s R1150GS.

[3]. These new bikes were principally oil-cooled (hence, called oilheads) and had 4 valves per cylinder. [2] Questions have been raised about ExxonMobil's actions in securing these concessions—Forbes Magazine alleging that "ExxonMobil handed hundreds of millions of dollars to the corrupt regime of President José Eduardo dos Santos in the late 1990s". BMW updated the traditional R design in 1993. ExxonMobil controls concessions covering 11 million acres (44,500 km²) off the coast of Angola that hold an estimated 7.5 billion barrels (1.2 km³) of crude. All BMW motorcycles except for the F series (which have a chain or belt drive) use shaft drive, a characteristic of BMW motorcycles since 1923. [1]. BMW motorcycles tend to be relatively large and heavy, and relaxed and comfortable to ride.

State Department filed an opinion in the case in July 2002, requesting that the suit, brought by the International Labor Rights Fund, be dismissed on national security grounds. Combined with a lockable differential, this made the vehicle very capable off-road, an equivalent in many ways to the Jeep. The U.S. Unusually, the sidecar's wheel was also driven. The company denies these accusations and filed a motion to dismiss the suit, which is still pending as of 2005. During WWII BMW produced the BMW R75 motorcycle with a sidecar attached. Human rights complaints involving ExxonMobil's relationship with the Indonesian military first arose in 1992; numerous inquiries have found evidence of human rights violations on ExxonMobil property and/or committed by Indonesian troops guarding ExxonMobil facilities. The R series currently designates machines with a boxer-twin engine, the K series has an inline 4-cylinder engine, and the F series has a single cylinder Rotax engine.

The suit alleged that the company knowingly assisted human rights violations, including torture, murder and rape, by employing and providing material support to Indonesian military forces, who committed the alleged offenses in Aceh. BMW motorcycles were first produced in 1923 and had an unusual "boxer twin" engine, with two air-cooled cylinders protruding from opposite sides of the machine, hence the lateral movement when one accelerates. In June 2001, ExxonMobil became the target of a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia, under the Alien Tort Claims Act. BMW doesn't own RR cars - it licences it. ExxonMobil's activities in the Indonesian territory of Aceh, where the company extracts and exports natural gas, have attracted scrutiny. BMW has competed and won many of the most coveted and prestigious races and motoring events. ExxonMobil now has the most assets in the world, and generated 246.7 billion dollars in total revenue for 2003. BMW has been engaged in motorsport activities since the dawn of the first BMW motorcycle.

Exxon's long-time mascot is a tiger; Mobil's mascot is a flying horse which dates back to the late 19th century and is one of the oldest marketing symbols still in use. These "chassis codes" only change to signify a major redesign of a series, or the introduction of a new series. In 2005, its stock price surged in parallel with rising oil prices, surpassing General Electric as the largest corporation in the world in terms of market capitalization. Internally, BMW associates an "e-code" for each generation of a series ("E" stands for Entwicklung, German for development or evolution). They continue to operate over 700 Mobil branded outlets in the state. BMW made many cars over the years which had great impact on the world of motoring. In 2000, ExxonMobil sold a California refinery and 340 Exxon-branded stations to Valero Energy Corporation, as part of a divestiture of California assets. A possible future V Series will offer MPV practicality for large families, similar to the Renault Scenic.

After shareholder and regulatory approvals, the merger was completed November 30, 1999 (the deal was announced the next day). BMW calls its SUV models Sports Activity Vehicles. In 1998, Exxon and Mobil signed a US$73.7 billion definitive agreement to merge and form a new company called Exxon Mobil Corporation, the largest company on the planet. With the advent of the SUV, BMW also added the X5 - and in 2004 the X3 - to their model range to capitalise on this growing market. Virtually all Valdez compensatory damages were paid in full within one year of the accident, and the trial court commended Exxon for coming forward "with its people and its pocketbook and doing what had to be done under difficult circumstances." However, Exxon has yet to pay up for the largest ruling against it, making no payments on $4.5 billion in punitive damages and perpetually appealing each successive judgment for the past 16 years. The M3 and M5 are based respectively on the 3 and 5 Series and are recognised by enthusiasts all over the world as truly excellent sports cars while retaining the practicality of the models they extend. Exxon also has paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments. BMW M GmbH now makes sporty models based on the production cars with very extensive chassis and engine upgrades.

Coast Guard declared the cleanup complete. As these models started gaining popularity the Motorsport division was split into a separate company. In addition, the company paid $2.2 billion on the cleanup of Prince William Sound, staying with the cleanup from 1989 to 1992, when the State of Alaska and the U.S. The first such car was the M535i of 1979. At the time of the spill, Exxon paid $300 million immediately and voluntarily to more than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the Valdez spill. Later the M letter was used as a prefix to top-of-the-range models which had received special treatment by the BMW Motorsport division. Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The M letter was used prior to the shift to Series-named cars to designate special "Motorsport" models, beginning with the M1 supercar.

history, and in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez incident U.S. The company had considered renaming future 2-door derivatives of the 3 Series as 4 Series cars, but this plan has reportedly been shelved. The spill was the largest in U.S. Coupe versions of the 3 Series sedans have always been named 3 Series vehicles, as well. On March 24, 1989, shortly after midnight, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling more than 11 million gallons (42,000 m³) of crude oil. This practice was revived as the Z4 replaced the aging Z3 roadster in 2003 and continues as the new 6 Series augments the existing BMW 5 Series. In other parts of the world, Exxon and its affiliated companies continued to use its Esso trademark. This convention started informally in 1976 with the introduction of the 6 Series and later continued in 1989 with the 8 Series, but died off when the latter was discontinued in 1999.

Jersey Standard changed its name to Exxon Corporation in 1972 and established Exxon as a trademark throughout the United States. In 2004 BMW announced plans to make odd-numbered models sedans and estates or wagons (BMW calls its estates/wagons Touring models), while even-numbered models will be two-door coupes and cabriolets. A decade later, the newly incorporated Mobil Corporation absorbed Mobil Oil as a wholly owned subsidiary. the 3 Series. and in 1966 simply Mobil Oil Corp. The current BMW model line-up is split into what they call "Series", traditionally identified by a single digit - e.g. In 1955 Socony-Vacuum became Socony Mobil Oil Co. The new factory at Goodwood produced the new Rolls-Royce Phantom, unveiled on January 2, 2003, and officially launched at the Detroit Auto Show on January 5, 2003.

The company was an industry leader in metallocene catalyst technology to make unique polymers with improved performance. In the meantime, BMW was faced with the need to build a new factory and develop a new model. Exxon Chemical Company became a worldwide organization in 1965 and in 1999 was a major producer and marketer of olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene along with specialty lines such as elastomers, plasticizers, solvents, process fluids, oxo alcohols and adhesive resins. Volkswagen was permitted to build Rolls-Royces at its Crewe factory until 2003 but shifted most of its marketing emphasis to Bentley. The company produced synthetic lubricant base stocks as well as lubricant additives, propylene packaging films and catalysts. Volkswagen bought the company for £430 million, but BMW outflanked its German rival by acquiring the Rolls-Royce trademark for cars for a fraction of the price (£40 million). As of 1999 its principal products included basic olefins and aromatics, ethylene glycol and polyethylene. In 1998, both BMW and Volkswagen tried to purchase Rolls-Royce Motors.

Mobil Chemical Company was established in 1960. In the early 1990s, BMW and Rolls-Royce Motors began a joint venture that would see the new Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and Bentley Arnage adopt BMW engines. Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., or "Stanvac," operated in 50 countries, from East Africa to New Zealand, before it was dissolved in 1962. BMW has established a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Brilliance to build BMW 3 Series and 5 Series vehicles for the local market. In 1933, Jersey Standard and Socony-Vacuum merged their interests in the region into a 50-50 joint venture. Starting from October 2003, BMWs are produced in Shenyang, China. Socony-Vacuum had Asian marketing outlets supplied remotely from California. The plant now exports over 50,000 3 Series cars a year, mostly to the USA, Japan, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Jersey Standard had oil production and refineries in Indonesia but no marketing network. In the mid-1990s, BMW invested R1 billion to make Rosslyn a world-class facility. In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil Co., an industry pioneer dating back to 1866 and a growing Standard Oil spin-off in its own right. After a period of local assembly, BMW's Rosslyn, South Africa plant now manufactures cars, with over 70 percent of its output destined for export. Socony purchased a 45 percent interest in Magnolia Petroleum Co., a major refiner, marketer and pipeline transporter. It employs about 4,700 people and manufactures over 500 vehicles daily. Jersey Standard acquired a 50 percent interest in Humble Oil & Refining Co., a Texas oil producer. The Spartanburg plant is open six days a week, producing automobiles approximately 110 hours a week.

Over the next decade, both companies grew significantly. Today, the plant manufactures the BMW X5 and BMW Z4 Roadster. The growing automotive market inspired the product trademark Mobiloil, registered by Socony in 1920. BMW started producing automobiles at its Spartanburg, South Carolina plant in 1994. In the same year, the nation's kerosene output was eclipsed for the first time by gasoline. The first X5 sketches (which highly resembled the production car), were designed by him, and under his tenure the E46 came to be. Two of these companies were Jersey Standard, which eventually became Exxon, and Socony ("Standard Oil Company of New York"), which eventually became Mobil. What is not well known, however is that Bangle was indeed responsible for many 'conservative' BMW designs and has worked at BMW for almost a decade.

In 1911, after a United States Supreme Court ruling which upheld a federal court order to dissolve it, the Standard Oil Trust was split into 34 companies. Despite the controversy, BMW sales have increased year after year, showing the buying public's embrace of the new design philosophy. Rockefeller monopoly, Standard Oil. While Bangle did not pen all of these designs, and has indeed been promoted within the company, some question what long term effect the disaffection of BMW traditionalists for these designs will have on sales, and on the company's future. Both Exxon and Mobil were descendants of the old John D. These designs, which were much curvier and 'swoopier' -- a design cue called "flame surfacing" by Bangle -- did not rest well at all with BMW enthusiasts or the automotive press which referred to the new designs as "Bangled" or "Bangle-ized". The rectangular Exxon logo with the blue strip at the bottom and red lettering with the two "X's" interlinked together was designed by noted industrial stylist Raymond Loewy. In the early part of the 2000s, BMW undertook another of its periodic cycles of redoing the styling design of its various series of vehicles, under the auspices of newly promoted design chief Christopher Bangle.

Other Standard Oil descendants, such as BP and Chevron, do however maintain a few stations with the Standard Oil brand in specific states in order to retain their trademarks and prevent others from using them.
. Esso is the only widely used Standard Oil brand left in existence. Mini has been a highly successful business, though the Triumph name has not been used. However, the unrestricted international use of the popular brand Esso prompted the company to continue using Esso outside of the USA. BMW retained the Mini and Triumph marques. cities. Even the British press was not particularly sympathetic toward Rover.

stations under the latter title in the summer and fall of 1972 following the successful test marketing of the Exxon brand and logo in late 1971 and early 1972 at rebranded Enco/Esso stations in certain U.S. BMW itself, protected by its product range's image, was largely spared the blame — even though it was the serious marketing issues that brought Rover down. At first, consideration was given to simply rebranding all stations as "Enco" but that was shelved when it was learned that the Japanese translation of "Enco" was "stalled car." In order to create a unified brand, the company changed its corporate name from Jersey Standard to Exxon, rebranding all its U.S. The German press ridiculed the English firm as "The English Patient", after a film at the time. Humble officials realized by the late 1960s that the time had come to swallow its pride by developing a new brand name that could be used nationwide throughout the U.S. In the press, many years of under-investment by Rover before BMW's ownership were mainly blamed for the debacle; productivity and industrial relations were generally good during this period. Despite the success of the "Put A Tiger In Your Tank" advertising campaign introduced by Humble in 1964 to promote its Enco/Esso Extra gasolines, the similar logotypes, use of the Humble name in all Esso/Enco ads and the uniformity in design and products of Humble stations nationwide, the company still had difficulties promoting itself as a nationwide gasoline marketer competing against truly national brands such as Texaco - then a 50-state marketer and the only company selling products under one brand name in each state. In 2000, BMW disposed of Rover after years of losses, with Rover cars going to the Phoenix Consortium for a nominal £10 and Land Rover and Range Rover going to the Ford Motor Company.

By 1967, stations in each of those states were rebranded as Enco. BMW was more successful with the Mini, Land Rover and Range Rover brands, which did not have parallels in its own range at the time. In 1966, the Justice Department ordered Humble to "cease and desist" from using the Esso brand at stations in several Southeastern states following protests from Standard Oil of Kentucky (a Standard Oil of California subsidary by that time). In the six years under BMW, Rover was positioned as a premium automaker, a mass-market automaker, a division of BMW and an independent unit. Meanwhile, Humble gradually built up new and rebranded service stations in California and other western states under the Enco brand and purchased a large number of stations from Signal Oil Company in 1967, followed by the opening of a new refinery near Monterey in 1969. BMW found it difficult to reposition the English automaker alongside its own products and the Rover division was faced with endless changes in its marketing strategy. However, the Justice Department put the kibosh to Humble's plan to purchase Tidewater's west coast operations, which were later sold to Phillips Petroleum in 1966. For years, Rover tried to rival BMW, if not in product, then in market positioning and "snob appeal".

In 1963, Humble was approached by Tidewater Oil Company - a major gasoline marketer along the eastern and western seaboards - to purchase the firm's refining and marketing operations on the west coast, a move that would have given Humble a large number of existing stations and a refinery in California - which was then the fastest growing gasoline market. The venture was not successful. By that time, Jersey had expanded the Enco brand to stations in the Midwest and Northwest that had been operated by various subsidaries such as Carter, Pate and Oklahoma among others. This brought the Rover passenger car range, the Mini, Land Rover and Range Rover, plus historical names such as Triumph, into BMW ownership. In 1961, Humble stations in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona were rebranded as Enco and the Enco brand appeared on gasoline and lubricant products at Humble stations in Texas that same year with service stations there changed to Enco in 1962. Between 1994 and 2000, under the leadership of Bernd Pischetsrieder, BMW owned the Rover Group in an attempt to get into mass market production, buying it from British Aerospace. After the Enco brand was discontinued in Ohio, it was moved to other non-Esso states.
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At that point, the stations in Ohio would be rebranded Humble until the name change to Exxon in 1972. Other cars, like the 6 Series coupés that replaced the CS and the M1, were also added to the mix as the market demanded. The Enco brand was introduced by Humble in 1960 at stations in Ohio but was soon blackballed after Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) protested that Enco (Humble's acronym for "ENergy COmpany) sounded and looked too much like Esso as it shared the same oval logo with blue border and red letters with the two middle letters the only difference. Thus the three-tier sports sedan range was formed, and BMW essentially followed this formula into the 1990s. In 1960, Jersey Standard gained full control of Humble Oil and Refining Co., and through a reorganization of the company, restructured Humble into Jersey's domestic marketing and refining division to sell and market gasoline nationwide under the Esso, Enco and Humble brands. The New Class coupes were replaced by the 3 Series in 1975, and the New Six became the 7 Series in 1977. The Humble brand was used at Texas stations for decades as those operations were under the direction of Jersey Standard affiliate, Humble Oil, and in the mid-to-late 1950s expanded to other Southwestern states including New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. In 1972, the 5 Series was launched to replace the New Class sedans, with a body styled by Marcello Gandini.

In states where the Esso brand was blackballed, the company marketed its gasoline under the Humble or Enco brands. By the 1970s, BMW was commercially successful and in December 1971, moved in to its present HQ in Munich, architecturally modelled after four cylinders. Hence, the company was restricted from using Esso in the USA except in those states awarded to it in the 1911 Standard Oil antitrust settlement. In 1968, BMW launched its large "New Six" sedans, the 2500, 2800, and American Bavaria, and coupés, the 2.5 CS and 2800 CS. The name Esso, which sounds like S-O, attracted protests from other Standard Oil spinoffs because of its similarity to the name of the parent company, Standard Oil. These models were called the '02' series—the 2002 being the most famous—and began the bloodline that later developed into the BMW 3 Series. Exxon formally replaced the Esso, Enco, and Humble brands on January 1, 1973 in the USA. In 1966, the two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967.

. The "New Class" 1500 was developed into 1600 and 1800 models. The current CEO of ExxonMobil is Lee Raymond. It was the first BMW to officially feature the "Hofmeister kink", the rear window line that has been the hallmark of all BMWs since then. Of the four largest oil companies in the world (Exxon-Mobil, Shell, BP, and Total), Exxon-Mobil is the largest of them all. This modern specification further cemented BMW's reputation for sporting cars. The current Exxon-Mobil is the parent of Exxon, Mobil, and Esso companies around the world. At the Frankfurt show in 1961, BMW launched the 1500, a powerful compact sedan, with front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension.

Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust. Competition successes in the 700 began to secure BMW's reputation for sports sedans. The merger of Exxon and Mobil is symbolic in American history because it once again consolidated the two largest companies (Standard Oil Company of New Jersey/Exxon and Standard Oil Company of New York/Mobil) of John D. There was also a more powerful RS model for racing. Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil NYSE: XOM, headquartered in Irving, Texas, is the largest oil producer and distributor in the world, and it was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its bodywork was designed by Giovanni Michelotti and the 2+2 model had a sporty look. That same year, BMW launched the 700, a small car with an air-cooled, rear-mounted 697 cubic cm boxer engine from the R67 motorcycle.

In 1959, BMW planned to merge with Daimler-Benz but board chairman Kurt Golda convinced majority shareholder Herbert Quandt to think otherwise. By the late 1950s, it was making bubble cars such as the Isetta. In 1952, BMW produced its first passenger car since the war, but its attempts to get into the premium sector were not commercially successful. These plans, which became official war reparations, along with BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler allowed the newly formed Bristol Cars to produce a new, high-quality sports saloon, the 400 by 1947, a car so similar to the BMW 327 that it even kept the famous BMW grille.

In the west, the BAC, Bristol Aeroplane Company, inspected the factory, and returned to Britain with plans for the 326, 327 and 328 models. The cars were then branded EMW (Eisenacher Motoren Werke), production continuing until 1955. That company offered "BMWs" for sale until 1951, when the Bavarian company prevented use of the trademarks: the name, the logo and the "double-kidney" radiator grille. In the east, the company's factory at Eisenach was taken over by the state-owned Awtowelo group.

BMW was banned from manufacturing for three years by the Allies and did not produce a car model until 1952. After the war the Munich factory took some time to restart production in any volume. The factory in Munich was largely destroyed. Of its sites, those in eastern Germany (Eisenach, Dürrerhof, Basdorf and Zühlsdorf) were seized by the Soviets.

The BMW works were heavily bombed towards the end of the war. BMW has admitted to using between 25,000 and 30,000 slave laborers during this period, consisting of both inmates of infamous concentration camps such as Dachau and prisoners of war. BMW also researched jet engines, producing the BMW 003, and rocket based weapons. Over 30,000 were manufactured up to 1945.

The aero-engines included the 801, one of the most powerful available. BMW was also a major supplier of engines to the Luftwaffe and of engines and vehicles, especially motorcyles, to the Wehrmacht. BMW motorcycles, specifically the BMW R 12 and the BMW R 75 combination were used extensively by the Reconnaissance formations of German panzer and motorised divisions of the Heer, Waffen SS and Luftwaffe. The pre-war cars culminated in the beautiful 327 saloon and 328 roadster, fast 2-litre cars, both very advanced for their time.

By 1933 BMW were producing cars that could be called truly theirs, offering steadily more advanced inline 6-cylinder sports and saloon cars. BMW bought the company the following year, and this became the company's first car, the BMW 3/15. In 1927 the tiny Dixi, an Austin Seven produced under licence, began production in Eisenach. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to manufacturing railway brakes.

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) prohibited the production of aircraft in Germany. Over-expansion caused difficulties; Rapp left and the company was taken over by the Austrian industrialist Franz Josef Popp in 1917, and named BMW AG in 1918. Needing extra financing, Rapp gained the support of Camillo Castiglioni and Max Friz, the company was reconstituted as the Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austria-Hungary.

The blue-and-white circular logo BMW still uses (illustrated above right) is a stylized spinning aircraft propeller, and dates from this period in the company's history. The Milbertshofen district of Munich location was chosen because it was close to the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site, a German aircraft manufacturer. BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in October 1913, originally as an aircraft engine manufacturer, Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke. .

The company's slogan is "The Ultimate Driving Machine". In North America and some other regions, BMW cars are sometimes referred to as "bimmers," often pronounced "beemers," which is technically incorrect as "beemer" refers to BMW motorcycles. In German, the acronym BMW is pronounced "b:eh - emm - v:eh". BMW is the parent company of the Mini and Rolls-Royce car brands, and, formerly, Rover.

BMW AG (an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works), is a German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. Paris Dakar Rally. Nürburgring. Mille Miglia.

Le Mans 24 Hours. Touring car racing. Team McLaren. Brabham Racing Organisation.

WilliamsF1. Mini: a small hatchback; inspired by the 1960s Mini, which was the British equivalent of the Beetle. Land Rover: sold to Ford; the current Range Rover was developed mostly by BMW during their ownership of the company and until recently was powered by their 4.4 L V8 petrol engine and contines to use the BMW 3.0 L straight six diesel engine. Rover: briefly owned by BMW, which retained the Mini after selling off the rest of the company (see MG Rover Group).

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited: currently owned by BMW. Glas. Isetta. BMW E90 - (2005-present) 3 Series.

BMW E87 - (2004-present) 1 Series. BMW E85 - (2003-present) Z4. BMW E83 - (2004-present) X3. BMW E70 - future X5.

BMW E66 - (2002-present) 7 Series long wheel base. BMW E65 - (2002-present) 7 Series short wheel base. BMW E64 - (2004-present) 6 Series convertible. BMW E63 - (2004-present) 6 Series coupe.

BMW E60 - (2004-present) 5 Series. BMW E53 - (2000-present) X5. BMW E52 - (2000-2004) Z8. BMW E46 - (1998-2005) 3 Series.

BMW E39 - (1997-2003) 5 Series. BMW E38 - (1994-2001) 7 Series. BMW E36 - (1990-1999) 3 Series/Z3 (as E36/7). BMW E34 - (1988-1995) 5 Series.

BMW E32 - (1986-1994) 7 Series. BMW E31 - (1990-1999) 8 Series. BMW E30 - (1983-1993) 3 Series. BMW E28 - (1981-1988) 5 Series.

BMW E26 - (1978-1981) M1. BMW E24 - (1976-1989) 6 Series. BMW E23 - (1977-1986) 7 Series. BMW E21 - (1975-1985) 3 Series.

BMW E12 - (1972-1981) 5 Series. BMW E9 - (1969-1975) 2800CS, 3.0CS, 3.0CSL "New Six" coupés. BMW E3 - (1968-1977) 2.5, 2.8, 3.0, 3.3 "New Six" sedans. New Class (1500/1502/1600/1800/1802/2000/2002) - Acknowledged as the first modern sports saloon and the predecessor to BMW's core product, the 3 Series.

New Sixes (2500/2800/Bavaria/2.5/2.8/3.0/3.3) - Predecessor to today's 7 Series. 3200 CS, 2000 CS. Isetta, 501, 502, 503, 507, 600, 700. Dixi, 3/20, 303, 309, 315, 319, 320, 321, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 335.

Only 5000 were built, the last 500 being a special edition built by Alpina but sold directly from BMW. Z8: flagship sports car; design based on the classic 507 roadster from the 1950s. Z1: a late 1980s two-seater with innovative modular construction; only 8,000 were made. 8 Series: a fast, high-technology coupe of the 1990s meant to replace the older 6 Series.

M coupé and roadster: high-performance hard-top and soft-top versions of the Z3, very popular with enthusiasts. Z3: a compact two-seater roadster.

    . M1: a 1970s mid-engine sports car, designed in conjunction with Lamborghini. The 760li is also made in a bulletproof version for clients who need the extra protection.

    The 7 series comes in the 750i and 750li with the same engine as the 550i, and in the 760i and 760li, with a 6.0 liter V12 producing 438bhp. 7 Series: a full-size, executive-class, luxury car competing with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8, and Jaguar XJ. Developed by BMW's M Division, it powered by the same 5.0 L V10 507bhp engine seen in the BMW M5. M6: A high performance version of the 6 Series.

    For the 2007 model year, the 630i (with the same engine as the 530i) and the 650i (with the same engine as the 550i) will be availible.

      . 6 Series: The coupe verson of the 5 series, the 6 series is currently availible only in the 645i version with a 4.4 liter V8 producing 325bhp. X5: BMW's first SUV (called SAV or Sports Activity Vehicle by BMW) competing against the Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes M-Class. The new M5 (E60) is powered a F1-inspired V10 engine producing 507bhp and mated with a 7-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) transmission.

      M5: The motorsport division's version of the 5 Series. Other models, including diesel models, are availible outside of the United States.

        . For the 2007 model year, the 545i will be phased out in favor of the 550i, with a 4.8 liter V8 producing 360bhp. This series has is availible with three different engines: the 525i with the same engine as the 325i, the 530i with the same engine as the 330i, and the 545i with a 4.4 liter V8 producing 325bhp.

        5 Series: a mid-size sports/luxury sedan. Availible in 2.5 liter and 3.0 liter models. Z4: a two-seater roadster that succeeded the Z3. X3: a small SUV with emphasis on practicality and affordability.

        A new revision is expected in 2007. Currently availible only in the fourth generation E46 body style and with a 3.2 liter engine producing 333bhp. M3: The motorsport division's race-inspired version of the 3 Series. Other models, including diesel models, are availible outside of the United States.

          .

          Also availible in the middle of 2006 will be the all wheel drive touring (wagon) model, the 325xi. Currently the 3 series coupe is only availible in the fourth generation E46 body style (with a 2.5 liter in-line 6 producing 184bhp for the 325ci and a 3.0 liter in-line 6 producing 225bhp for the 330ci) until the middle of 2006 when the E90 coupes will be availible. The E90 is currently availible in the 325i (with a detuned 3.0 liter in-line 6 engine producing 215bhp) and the 330i (with a 3.0 liter in-line 6 engine producing 255bhp). The E90 line (starting with the 2006 model year) is availible now in the United States.

          3 Series: the successor to the 2002; a compact, entry-level, luxury sedan, now in its fifth generation (E90). 2 Series: a coupe/convertible based on the 1 Series platform. 1 Series: a new, small car designed to compete with the VW Golf, launched in autumn 2004 in Europe; autumn 2006 in the USA.