Still Flying, 75 Years Later.(BMW AG)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON

At any given time odds are somewhere in the world, people are celebrating BMW's heritage. There are hundreds of such events annually, said Holger Lapp. As head of BMW Mobile Tradition, Lapp's mission is to support and guide these festivities. He told us this in a new 6 Series convertible we drove to Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, where two such events converged on Labor Day weekend.

One was the annual BMW-sponsored Fall Vintage Festival, in its third year under Monterey Vintage Festival organizer Steve Earle; the other was a 2500-mile, two-week marathon rally marking BMW's 75th year as an automaker. Of the Vintage Festival, Lapp said he "feels good about the way it is growing,'' and that it has great potential.

As for the Vintage Marathon-well, Lapp did a lot of celebrating of the company's automotive side in 2004. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1918, BMW moved into motorcycles in the '20s, introducing its first car-the 3/15 PSX, better known as the Dixi-in 1929, shortly before the onset of the Great Depression. Fortunately for BMW, its new Berlin carmaking venture was focused on an economy car based on Britain's Austin 7 design, but with new, all-metal bodywork. Though it sold because it was economical (it got about 38 mpg), the Dixi claimed its first rally victory in 1929, setting BMW down ...