The Abicana webstore
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The Abicana webstore
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Car parts, accessories and tools to repair and to upgrade the performance and comfort
Welcome to this presentation of car and vehicle parts, vehicle accessories and commodities to use in your vehicle. Furher down there is some information of the history of BMW and Mercedes Benz
All technical car parts for repair and performance upgrade
All types of quality equipent for every car fabricate and model: Motor, gearbox, transmission, suspension, wheels, brakes, electric system, computers, fuel lines, exhaust system, car body, seats, lights and lanterns, glasses and a lot more.
Internal and external car equipment, car electronics, GPS navigation
By clicking at the banner below, you will find a great collection of accessories for your car, like lanterns, antennas, auto radio / stereo / music, communication electronics, security equipment, GPS nevigation equipment, dashboard equipment, car body parts, washers, window accessories, interior styling, bags, tool boxes, interior lights, seat equipment and more. You also find workshop tools and parts for higher car performance and higher class functions.
Comodities to take with you on trips, car parts and tools
Through this link you will find all sorts of comodities to make your journeys comfortable and funny, and also a lot of spare parts, performance parts and workshop tools.
An example of the many products available
Superstore with car workshop tools, GPS navigators and much more
By clicking at this banner, you will enter a superstor where you can find vehicle specialty tools, car elctronics units, tools for most other purposes, and also articles of these cathegories: Herbs and food, Camping and outdoors, Kitchenware, Housewares, Bath and Body, Equipment for Pets, Teas and Koffee, Herbs and Spices, Hydroponics, Sport and Games, Musical Instruments, Media, Electronics, Health and Personal Care.
Books reading materials and elecronic media about cars and other motor vehicles
By clicking at this banner you will find a grat range of books, calendars, manuals, videos and collectibles about: Modern and classic cars, auto racing, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, trains, boats, aviation, military history, bicycles, americana, and collectibles.
SOME OTHER ITEMS
Create your T-shirts, underwear, sportswear and other clothes as you want them yourself with SpreadShirt designer
- By clicking at the banners here, you will find a flash-based tool that you can use to design your own clothes. You can give them the background colors and patterns you want, choose drawings and place them where you want on the clothes, and create texts to place on strategic sites on the clothes. You can then purchase the clothes of your own design and get them sent to you within 48 hours.If you live in America, please click at this banner.
If your home is in UK, please click here.
Watches - Quality models of many brands for affordable prizes: Citizen , Casio , Chase-Durer, Hamilton , Movado , Oakley , Pulsar, Seiko , Skyhawk, Suunto watches, swiss quality models. All kinds of watches, flight chronographs, dive watches, chronographs for advanced applictions, titanium watches.
Electric remote control helicopters and other hobby items: The battery technology is by now so advanced that it is possible to make electric flying remote control hobby aircrafts that are able to hover in 20 min - 1 hour between each charge-up, and these models are not expensive. Because of the electric battery technology and easy controls, there exist hobby RC aircrafts suited for both indoor and outdoor use, and suited for every age and experience level. Pleace click at the banner to learn more or order. You will also find other types of RC models and many other hobby items.r.
SkinStore - Make your skin younger- Take away skin problems. Products for prevention or cure of skin conditions or to ammeliorate symptoms of cronoic skin diseases: Aging symptoms of the skin, scne, scars, rashes, sun-damage, cellulites, thin skin, edema, miscolored skin, rosacea, psoriasis, etc
Cure or support against many diseases - Medicines to be taken by mouth: Acne, aging symptoms, AIDS, allergies, Alzheimers disease/dementia, angina, arthritis (osteoarthritis), arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis), asthma, attention deficit disorder (ADD), breast cancer, burns, carpal tunnel syndrome, cholesterol, cronic bronchitis, chronic cough, chronic fatigue sydrom, cognitive problems, colds and flue, congestive heart failure (CHF), Crohn`s disease, depression, diabetes mellitus type 1, diabetes mellitus type 2, eczema, edema, endometriosis, fatigue, fibromyalgia, hair loss, herpes simplex, hyperlipidemia, hypertention, obesity, otitis media
Click here to find the right product
Natural topical and systemic medicines:
- Here you find many good remedies for body massage against rheumatic diseases, stiff and painfull muscles, hurt tendons and troubled joints. Here are also creams to treat acne, rosacea, wounded skin, irritated skin or skin itching. You also find products for weight loss and items to maintain general good health.
Information resources for our visitors - Here is some history about BMW and Mercedes Benz. To find other information resources, please go to this page
The history of BMW
Founded in 1917 BMW, or Bayerische Motoren
Werke, is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles. BMW is the parent company of the MINI and Rolls-Royce car brands.
The company slogan in English is "The Ultimate Driving Machine" or "Sheer
Driving Pleasure".
BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany.
R32: the first BMW motorcycle
1938 328
1954 BMW 502 V8 Super
The characteristic paired oval intakes were first seen on the BMW 303 in the
early 1930s. Shown here is a BMW 2002.
Early History
BMW was founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp
originally as an engine manufacturer, Rapp Motor. Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH
was founded as a successor company to Rapp Motor on July 21, 1917. [1] The
Milbertshofen district of Munich was chosen, apparently because it was close to
the Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik site. The blue-and-white roundel BMW logo,
which is still used (illustrated above right) alludes to the white and blue
checkered flag of Bavaria. It is often said to symbolize a spinning white
propeller on a blue-sky background, although this interpretation developed after
the logo was already in use. [1]
In 1916 the company secured a contract to build V12 engines for Austro-Daimler.
Needing extra financing, Rapp gained the support of Camillo Castiglioni,
Cornelius Jagdmann and Max Friz, the company was reconstituted as the Bayerische
Motoren Werke GmbH. 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. [2]
After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles (1919) prohibited the production of
aircraft in Germany. Otto closed his factory and BMW switched to manufacturing
railway brakes.[2]
In 1919 BMW designed its first motorcycle engine, used in a model called the
Victoria, which was built by a company in Nuremberg. [3]
In 1924 BMW built its first model motorcycle, the R32. This had a 500 cc
air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine, a feature that would resonate among
their various models for decades to come, albeit with displacement increases and
newer technology. The major innovation was the use of a driveshaft instead of a
chain to drive the rear wheel. For decades to follow, the shaft-drive boxer
engine was the mark of the BMW motorcycle.
In 1927 the tiny Dixi, an Austin Seven produced under licence, began production
in Eisenach. BMW bought the Dixi Company the following year, and this became the
company's first car, the BMW 3/15. By 1933 BMW was producing cars that could be
called truly theirs, offering steadily more advanced I6 sports and saloons
(sedans). The pre-war cars culminated in the 327 coupé and convertible, the 328
roadster, fast 2.0 L cars, both very advanced for their time, as well as the
upscale 335 luxury sedan.
World War II history
BMW motorcycles, specifically the BMW R12 and the BMW R75 combination were used
extensively by the Aufklärungsabteilung of German panzer and motorised divisions
of the German Army, Waffen SS and Luftwaffe.
BMW was also a major supplier of engines; supplying the Luftwaffe with engines
and vehicles, and the Wehrmacht with motorcycles. Planes using the aero-engines
included the BMW 801, one of the most powerful available. Over 30,000 were
manufactured up to 1945. BMW also researched jet engines, producing the BMW 003,
and rocket-based weapons. BMW has admitted to using between 25,000 and 30,000
slave labourers during this period, consisting of both prisoners of war and
inmates of infamous concentration camps such as Dachau.
The BMW works were heavily bombed towards the end of the war. Of its sites,
those in eastern Germany (Eisenach-Dürrerhof, Wandlitz-Basdorf and Zühlsdorf)
were seized by the Soviets. The factory in Munich was largely destroyed.
Post-war history
After the war the Munich factory took some time to restart production in any
volume. BMW was banned from manufacturing for three years by the Allies and did
not produce a motorcycle, the R24, until 1948, and a car model until 1952.
In the east, the company's factory at Eisenach was taken over by the Soviet
Awtowelo group which formed finally the Eisenacher Motor-Werke. 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.
The cars and motorcycles were then branded EMW (Eisenacher Motoren-Werke),
production continuing until 1955.
In the west, the BAC, Bristol Aeroplane Company, inspected the factory, and
returned to Britain with plans for the 326, 327 and 328 models. 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 (sedan), the 400 by 1947, a car so similar to the BMW 327 that it even
kept the famous BMW grille.
In 1948 BMW produced its first postwar motorcycle and in 1952 it produced its
first passenger car since the war. However, its car models were not commercially
successful; models such as the acclaimed BMW 507 and 503 were too expensive to
build profitably and were low volume.
By the late 1950s, it was also making bubble-cars such as the Isetta.
In 1959 BMW's management suggested selling the whole concern to Daimler-Benz.
Major shareholder, Herbert Quandt was close to agreeing such a deal, but changed
his mind at the last minute because of opposition from the workforce and trade
unions and advice from the board chairman, Kurt Golda. Instead Quandt increased
his share in BMW to 50% against the advice of his bankers, and he was
instrumental in turning the company around.
That same year, BMW launched the 700, a small car with an air-cooled,
rear-mounted 697 cc boxer engine from the R67 motorcycle. Its bodywork was
designed by Giovanni Michelotti and the 2+2 model had a sporty look. There was
also a more powerful RS model for racing. Competition successes in the 700 began
to secure BMW's reputation for sports sedans.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1961, BMW launched the 1500, a powerful compact
sedan, with front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension. This modern
specification further cemented BMW's reputation for sporting cars. 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.
The "New Class" 1500 was developed into 1600 and 1800 models. In 1966, the
two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967.
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.
By 1963, with the company back on its feet, BMW offered dividends to its
shareholders for the first time since before World War II.
By 1966, the Munich plant had reached the limits of its production capacity.
Although BMW had initially planned to build an entirely new factory, the company
bought the crisis-ridden Hans Glas GmbH with its factories in Dingolfing and
Landshut. Both plants were restructured, and in the following decades BMW's
largest plant took shape in Dingolfing.
In 1968, BMW launched its large "New Six" sedans, the 2500, 2800, and American
Bavaria, and coupés, the 2.5 CS and 2800 CS.
Of major importance to BMW was the arrival of Eberhard von Kuenheim from
Daimler-Benz AG. Just 40 years old, he presided over the company's
transformation from a national firm with a European-focused reputation into a
global brand with international prestige.
Already commercially successful by the mid 60s, in December 1971, BMW moved to
the new HQ present in Munich, architecturally modeled after four cylinders.
In 1972, the 5 Series was launched to replace the New Class sedans, with a body
styled by Bertone. The new class coupes were replaced by the 3 Series in 1975,
and the New Six became the 7 Series in 1977. Thus the three-tier sports sedan
range was formed, and BMW essentially followed this formula into the 1990s.
Other cars, like the 6 Series coupes that replaced the CS and the M1, were also
added to the mix as the market demanded.
From 1970 to 1993, under von Kuenheim, turnover increased 18-fold, car
production quadrupled and motorcycle production tripled.
(This information is obtained from wikipedia.org, and is therefore free to copy and reuse)
The history of Mercedes Benz
The origins of the Daimler-Benz company founded through a merger in 1926 date
back to the mid-1880s, when Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900) working with Wilhelm
Maybach (1846-1929), and Karl Benz (1844-1929) independently invented the
internal combustion engine-powered automobile, in southwestern Germany. Although
they were merely sixty miles apart, these pioneers were unaware of each other's
early work.
The first logo of Mercedes-Benz from the 1926 merger of the companies of Karl
Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.Karl Benz had his shop in Mannheim and invented the
world's first true automobile powered by an internal combustion engine in 1885.
It had three wheels. He was granted a patent for his automobile, dated January
29, 1886, for what he called the "Benz Patent Motorwagen". Among many inventions,
Benz patented his first engine in 1879 and included in his 'integral' design for
the Motorwagen patent application, a high-speed single-cylinder four-stroke
engine of his own design.
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler and design partner Wilhelm Maybach, working in
Cannstatt, Stuttgart, were granted a patent dated August 29, 1885 for what is
generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine, that they named
the "grandfather clock engine".
On March 8, 1886, Daimler purchased a stagecoach made by Wilhelm Wimpff & Sohn
and he and Maybach adapted it to hold this engine, thereby creating a
four-wheeled carriage propelled by an engine, as many had before them. The only
distinction about this carriage was that it carried an internal combustion
engine. None of many similar attempts to adapt carts, boats, or carriages, in
many countries, were propelled by this type of engine. On the official history
pages of the Mercedes-Benz Internet site it is referred to as "a carriage —
without a drawbar but with the conventional drawbar steering. A carriage without
horses..." Daimler and Maybach later purposely built, from scratch, the first
four-stroke engine powered automobile with four wheels in 1889. They founded DMG
in 1890 and sold their first automobile in 1892.
Stationary engines were his major business and he invented many improvements to
them and their application, but Karl Benz continued to refine his Motorwagen
through several models and sold his first automobile in 1888. He built his first
four-wheeled model in 1891. Benz & Cie, the company started by the inventor,
became not only the world's first, but also largest manufacturer of automobiles
by 1900.
In 1899, DMG automobiles built at Untertürkheim (a city district of Stuttgart)
were raced successfully by Emil Jellinek (1853-1918), an automobile enthusiast
and dealer. He had the name of his daughter, Mercedes, painted on the
automobiles for good luck. Wanting faster race cars, it was Jellinek who spurred
the development of the seminal 1900 DMG model that would be the first of the DMG
Mercedes series, bearing the name of his daughter.
After suggesting some design specifications, he promised to purchase thirty-six
of the new DMG model if Maybach would name the new 35 hp engine contained in it
the Daimler-Mercedes engine. A contract of five hundred and fifty thousand marks
was made for these new models. Within weeks he contracted for thirty-six of
another DMG model with 8 hp engines. He was granted an exclusive concession to
sell the new DMG automobiles in Austria-Hungary, France, Belgium, and USA.
That new model later would be named "Mercedes 35 hp" and it was a very important
advance in automobile design. The contract called for delivery of the first
automobile to Jellinek in the Fall, but it did not reach him until December 22,
1900. He became obsessed with the name Mercedes and even had his name changed to
Jellinek-Mercedes. Jellinek was invited to sit on the DMG board of directors,
which he did from 1901 until 1909, when he retired from automotive activities in
favor of diplomatic appointments.
The name change also was helpful in preventing legal troubles, because after the
death of Daimler, DMG had sold exclusive rights to the name, Daimler, and
technical concepts to companies abroad. As a result, luxury automobiles branded
Daimler were, and still are, built in England. A fire that gutted the old
Steinway piano factory in New York, which had been converted to produce the new
Mercedes models, cut short the dream of American production.
1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK "Count Trossi" in the Ralph Lauren collection.The rival
companies of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and Benz & Cie. started to
cooperate in 1924, due to necessity arising from a troubled German economy after
World War I, and finally merged in 1926 to become Daimler-Benz AG, which
produced Mercedes-Benz automobiles and trucks. The merger agreement established
that the two companies were required to remain together until 2000. While
focusing on land vehicles, Mercedes-Benz also built engines to power boats and
airplanes (military and civil), and even Zeppelins. Karl Benz died in 1929.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe from the Ralph Lauren
collection.Although the brand is most famous for limousine models, a significant
number of notable sports cars have also been produced. For example, the early
supercharged SSK developed by Ferdinand Porsche. Another distinctive model was
the iconic 300SL Gullwing of 1954; that was suggested by Max Hoffman, explicitly
for the USA market, and introduced at the New York Automobile Show.
Mercedes-Benz has also produced higher volume, less expensive cars.
Interestingly, the prototypes of the Volkswagen were built and tested in
Stuttgart, in cooperation with Porsche. Before that, Mercedes-Benz had a similar
rear-engined, yet rather unsuccessful, small car, the 130 H. In recent years
Mercedes have produced the A-Class, relatively inexpensive compared to its other
models. Also the Smart brand of small affordable automobiles has been part of
the Mercedes-Benz Group since 1994 and are still producing cars today in
conjunction with DaimlerChrysler AG.
Quality & Reliability
Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz has had a reputation for uncompromising
emphasis on quality and durability. Increased focus on costs and volume, and the
dramatically increased complexity in modern automobile electronics led to
plummeting quality in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By 2005, Mercedes
temporarily returned to the industry average for initial quality (if the "complexity"
variable was ignored), according to J.D. Power.[1] In J.D. Power's Initial
Quality Study for the first quarter of 2007, Mercedes showed dramatic
improvement by climbing all the way up to 4th place, surpassing quality leader
Toyota and earning several awards for its models.
Motorsport
A DMG Mercedes Simplex 1906 in the Deutsches Museum
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Cabriolet
1959 Mercedes-Benz W120 Model 180The two companies which were merged to form the
Mercedes-Benz brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport of
motor racing throughout their separate histories- both had entries in the very
first automobile race Paris to Rouen 1894. This has continued, and throughout
its long history, the company has been involved in a range of motorsport
activities, including sportscar racing and rallying. On several occcassions
Mercedes-Benz has withdrawn completely from motorsport for a significant period,
notably in the late 1930s and after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where a
Mercedes-Benz 300SLR collided with another car and killed more than eighty
spectators. Although there was some activity in the inteverning years, it was
not until the late 1980s that Mercedes-Benz returned to front line competition,
returning to LeMans and sportscar racing with Sauber.
This long absence inspired by the disaster is understandable considering that
Mercedes-Benz is viewed by many to be the world's safety leader due to their
dominant contribution to automotive safety as well as licensing their safety
innovations for use by their competitors, placing family safety above profit and
competitive advantage.
The 1990s saw Mercedes-Benz purchase engine builder Ilmor, and campaign cars at
the famed Indy 500 race under the USAC/CART rules, eventually winning that race
with Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel. The 90's also saw the return of Mercedes-Benz
to GT racing, and the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, which took the company to new
heights (both figuratively) by dominating the FIA's GT1 class and (literally) by
notably taking flight at the end of a long straight at La Sarthe.
Mercedes-Benz is currently active in three forms of motorsport, Formula Three,
DTM and Formula One. In Formula One, the company part owns Team McLaren and has
supplied the team with engines since 1995. This partnership has brought great
success, including back to back Drivers Championships for Mika Häkkinen in 1998
and 1999 and a Constructors championship in 1998. The collaboration with McLaren
has been extended into the production of roadgoing cars such as the
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
(This information is obtained from wikipedia.org,
and is therefore free to copy and reuse)