Gründung der BMW 8-series Community International
-
Martin -
March 22, 2009 at 5:10 PM -
1,263 Views -
0 Comments
History of the 8er Club
It all began in 1999 in France with the launch of the website http://www.ClubE31.net, an initiative of a 17-year-old Frenchman whose father owned a BMW 8 Series. He devoted a great deal of time and energy to gathering information from all over the world.
In October 2000, he organized the first international gathering dedicated to the BMW 8 Series in Dijon, bringing together several cars from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Sweden... And so the story begins.
Starting in 2003, an American took over the administration and hosting of the website at http://www.ClubE31.com.
A copy of this forum was subsequently created for the German-speaking world at the website http://www.clube31.de. Due to the organization’s focus on commercial goals, nearly all members of the clube31.de board of directors founded a new 8 Series club with democratic structures and non-commercial objectives at the 2007 Munich meeting. This was very well received in the world of 8 Series drivers, and many contacts and friendships were formed worldwide with other 8 Series clubs and forums.
The website grew larger and larger over the years, until in July 2008, http://www.ClubE31.com and the then http://www.8er. ch merged with the Switzerland-based http://www.8er.org, thereby creating an international organization dedicated exclusively to the BMW 8 Series. It has since become an indispensable website with 50,000 visits per month and nearly 5,500 registered members worldwide.
All rights reserved by
BMW 8 Series Worldwide Owners Group - Internationale 8er Gemeinschaft
were transferred to the http://www.8er.org.
Press Release dated July 28, 2008
Bern, Switzerland — ClubE31.com and 8er.ch have announced their merger, effective Monday, July 28, 2008, thereby launching the new organization 8er.org. With over 1,000 members, 8er.org is dedicated to the E31 series, the BMW 8 Series.
The partnership between ClubE31.com and 8er.ch brings together the wealth of experience from these two communities to preserve and support BMW’s design icon of the 1990s: the BMW 8 Series.
Our vision is simple: to build and maintain the world's best E31 online community.
ClubE31.com was launched in September 2000 by a young French 8 Series fan. Over the years, the website has grown into the global go-to resource for all things 8 Series, most recently attracting over 50,000 monthly visitors. 8er.ch was founded in August 2007 by long-time Swiss and German 8 Series owners with the goal of providing the young, rapidly growing community with the best possible source of information in a relaxed atmosphere.
The new website now provides access to over 40,000 posts, press reports, and additional information about the 8er collected over a period of 8 years.
The new 8er.org community serves users from Europe, North America, Oceania, the Gulf States, and Asia on its website http://www.8er.org.
About 8er.org -
8er.org, based in Bern, Switzerland, represents fans of the BMW 8 Series worldwide. The BMW 8 Series (E31) was produced between 1989 and 1999 and is still considered a masterful blend of breathtaking design, technical innovation, and BMW’s signature “joy of driving.” At the time of its founding, 8er.org had over 1,000 members from around the world and continues to grow.
International 8 Series Community, home to the “International 8 Series Community, BMW & Alpina E31 Club”
Founding members of 8er.org
- Martin Brügger, Oberdiessbach, Switzerland
- Christoph Brügger, Oberdiessbach, Switzerland
- Fredi Hatt, Waltalingen, Switzerland
- Dr. Reinhard Wolf, Giessen, Germany
Board Members of 8er.org
- Maik Hetterich, Schorndorf, Germany
- Thomas Engl, Wernau, Germany
- Michael Jeske, Stadtlohn, Germany
- Rainer Witt, Essen, Germany
- Steve Kozma, Wiesbaden, Germany
- Jürgen Grun, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
