Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly referred to as BMW, is a German multinational company which produces luxury vehicles and motorcycles. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945.
Ligier is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier, specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Championship between 1976 and 1996.
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks is a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov which operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour protection during the early stages of the war, especially during the first year of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In certain situations, even a single KV-1 or KV-2 supported by infantry could halt large German formations. The German Wehrmacht at that time rarely deployed its tanks against KVs, as their own armament was too poor to deal with the "Russischer Koloss" – "Russian Colossus".
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan is a system of premier central government schools in India that are instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Education (MHRD), Government of India. As of October 2020, it has a total of 1245 schools in India, and three abroad. It is one of the world's largest chains of schools. The motto of Kendriya Vidyalayas is Tattvaṁ pūṣaṇa apāvr̥ṇu, lit. 'O Sun, please uncover that'; in other words, "where the face of truth is covered by the golden lid, O Sun (God), please uncover so that truth and dharma are visible."
Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", short for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike."
The Peel Engineering Company was a manufacturing company based in Peel on the west coast of the Isle of Man that primarily made fibreglass boats through its subsidiary company West Marine Ltd. and fairings for motorcycles.
The Felber Autoroller T 400 was a three-wheeled microcar with a rear-mounted 398 cc Rotax two cylinder opposed twin, two stroke 15 metric horsepower (11 kW) engine. The cars had an unusual seating arrangement, with a small child-sized seat behind the driver on the left and a conventional passenger seat diagonally behind and to the right.
British Motor Corporation (Australia) was a motor manufacturing company formed in Australia in 1954 by the merger of the Austin Motor Company (Australia) and Nuffield (Australia) Pty Ltd. This followed the merger in 1952 of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Group in the United Kingdom to form the British Motor Corporation. Following further corporate changes in the UK in the late 1960s, BMC Australia was absorbed into the newly established British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia, the name of which became Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia in 1972, and then JRA Limited in March 1983.
Arola SARL was a small manufacturing company based in Lyon-Corbas, France, which manufactured a range of microcars, designed to be driven without a license. Arola became part of the Aixam group in 1983.
Hoffmann was a bicycle manufacturer in Ratingen-Lintorf, Germany. Between 1948 and 1954 the company also manufactured motorcycles. It made a range of models using engines from 125cc to 250cc made by ILO, and the Gouverneur, which had a transversely-mounted 248 cc flat twin four-stroke engine designed by Richard Küchen, and shaft drive. The Gouverneur was developed into the MP 250-2 and finally, in 1953, the S 300 model.
Casalini is an Italian company, founded by Giovanni Casalini in 1939, that makes mopeds and microcars. Casalini S.r.l. is the oldest microcar producer in the world. The factory is situated in Piacenza.
France was a pioneer in the automotive industry and is the 11th-largest automobile manufacturer in the world by 2015 unit production and the third-largest in Europe. It had consistently been the 4th-largest from the end of World War II up to 2000.
Prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, the German armed forces were not aware of two newly developed Soviet tanks, the T-34 and the KV. As a result, they were surprised when they met them in combat for the first time in June 1941. The Germans' standard anti-tank weapons were found to be ineffective against these new Soviet vehicles. This experience prompted a notable leap in tank development in Nazi Germany, mainly in an effort to counter these new threats.
The Ligier JS4 is a four-wheeled, two-seater microcar manufactured from 1980 to 1983 by Ligier, the street vehicle branch of French Formula One manufacturer Equipe Ligier. It marked a change in Ligier's priorities as they had recently ended manufacture of the Ligier JS2 sports car. It is a "Voiture sans permis", a light vehicle which did not require a driver's license and was thus popular with the elderly, the young, or with those who had lost theirs. It was first presented on 25 July 1980.
The Arcfox Lite is an all-electric microcar manufactured by BAIC under the Arcfox brand.
