Grapevine

By DAVID ELLIS/

GEMACHT IN THE U.S.A. Worried about Japanese entries into the luxury car market, BMW will abandon a 40-year tradition of crafting cars exclusively in West Germany. American suppliers have been told that the company plans to open an assembly plant in the U.S. in the mid-1990s to cut delivery time. But will a BMW not built in Bavaria have the same snob appeal?

With reporting by David E. Thigpen