By the late 1950s, the overall BMW company was in financial trouble. The company narrowly avoided a merger with Daimler-Benz through the combination of financing from brothers Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt, increased success of the automobile division and the selling off its aircraft engine division. Changes in the motorcycle market saw BMW's last shaft-driven single-cylinder model, the BMW R 27, end production in 1967. Also, most of BMW's offerings were still designed to be used with sidecars. However, by the late 1960s, sidecars were no longer a consideration of most riders; people were interested in sportier motorcycles instead. The BMW R 50/2, R 60/2, and R 69 S were the last sidecar-capable BMWs, with the latter being the most powerful and desirable model.