RECENT ARTICLES
BMW M4 GT3 Shows Potential In 24H Dubai Race
The first competitive race for the new M4 GT3 took place this past weekend, in the 24H Dubai race in the United Arab Emirates. There were no M4 GT3s on the podium, but all three of them finished in a strong first outing in race conditions, and they even...
BMW G80 M3 Competition xDrive Among Fastest New Cars
The addition of xDrive to BMW’s M cars, first the M5 and M8, and now the M3 and M4, has elevated these nameplates to new levels of previously unrealized performance. While Audi and (much later) Mercedes-AMG have both embraced adding all-wheel-drive to their performance cars, it took BMW, a...
Frank Stephenson Reacts To The BMW XM Concept
Frank Stephenson designed the original E53 X5 and the R53 Mini Cooper—among numerous other models for Ferrari, Maserati, Fiat, and Lancia, along with five separate McLaren supercars. As it seems plenty of others in his profession are, Stephenson is passionate about design in general, and has quickly amassed well...
Recognition Program Announcement: Final Two Weeks For Submissions
Have you ever wondered how to show gratitude for the fellow Club members, BMW centers, and independent businesses that went over and above to support the members of the BMW CCA in 2021, and in years past? Take a few moments now to nominate them for a 2021 BMW...
One Reason Why Audi RS Is No Match For BMW M
What do Mercedes-AMG, Audi Sport (formerly quattro GmbH), and BMW M all have in common? They’re all the performance offshoots of our favorite German automakers. For approximately 30 years, these performance-oriented brands (BMW M, a subsidiary of BMW, is actually recognized as its own manufacturer) have effectively duked it...
BMW Team RLL Names Drivers for Rolex 24 at Daytona
BMW Team RLL will enter the first IMSA race for the new M4 GT3 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona on the last weekend in January, and there are familiar names in the two GTD Pro class entries with a strong lineup of works drivers. The #24 M4 GT3...
Decapitating Louie (Part II)
Years back, I was pulling the head off Kugel, my dear departed Chamonix ’72 2002tii, to prophylactically replace the head gasket before a 3,000-mile trip. My friend Lindsey Brown, shop foreman at The Little Foreign Car Garage in Waltham, Massachusetts and professional 2002 fanatic, gave me one of the little...
BMW M Sales Greater Than Ever In 2021
Sales of BMW M cars reached a new record high in 2021 ahead of the brand’s 50th anniversary this year, with 163,542 deliveries translating to a 13.4% increase over 2020’s total of 144,218 units. Looking back to 2019, when a record 135,289 M cars were sold, things are on...
BMW Posts Record 2021 Sales
Global BMW Group sales grew 8.4% during 2021, with deliveries of 2,521,525 units taking place during the year. The BMW brand was, of course, responsible for the bulk of those, with sales of 2,213,795 units occurring during 2021, a year-over-year increase of 9.1%. The momentum slowed a bit during...
BMW M5 CS Earns High Praise
The BMW M5 CS is probably the most extraordinary model available from the brand right now, and is among the most compelling BMW models of the last few years, ranking among the likes of the M2 CS—but you probably already knew that. Although the formula of making things lighter,...
Additional BMW CCA Packages Now Available For The Rolex 24 At Daytona!
All 50 of the original Rolex 24 corral packages for the BMW CCA corral and hospitality area sold out within seconds back on December 29. However, we have some good news! If you are still interested in attending, we have an opportunity for 25 additional corral spots, which will...
CES: BMW Shows Off iX Flow Featuring E Ink, Big Screens, Digital Art
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), BMW, a longtime fixture of the event, showed off an array of new technologies that could soon find their way into production models like the brand’s current technological flagship, the iX. The first and most exciting of these was the BMW iX...
M Chapter Announces Presence At Amelia Island
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of BMW M GmbH. To help celebrate a half-century of performance and race cars from the iconic brand, the M Chapter is organizing an exclusive opportunity for 50 members to show their favorite M vehicle in a unique area sponsored by BMW at the...
Recognition Program Announcement: Recognizing Amazing Volunteers
Volunteers are a crucial part of the BMW CCA and help facilitate many of the experiences and events members enjoy. Nobody knows better than you what these experiences and events were in your chapter(s) in 2021, and in years past, along with your fellow Club members, BMW centers and...
BMW M5 CS Among Fastest BMW Models Of All Time
When the sixth generation of the M5 arrived for the 2018 model year with standard M xDrive, it effectively changed the game for BMW in terms of performance. For the brand that had long resisted adding all-wheel-drive to its coveted M models, the F90 M5 rocketed to the top...
2022 BMW CCA Elections Now Under Way
Voting is now underway for the position of Pacific Regional Vice President, who will serve on the National Board of the BMW CCA. Only members in the Pacific Region will receive ballots in accordance with the Club’s bylaws since there is only one candidate for the positions of BMW...
Drag Race! BMW i4 M50 Versus Tesla Model 3 Performance
We’ve all heard a lot about the BMW i4 over the last few years, and now that the model is finally hitting the streets around the world, with the first units delivered in Europe toward the end of last year, it’s only a matter of time until we learn...
The Heavy Lightweight
The car found me, really: Kurt’s wife, Jean, told him he had to sell a car—or two. So I got an email about his situation, and replied with mild interest about the ’98 M3 convertible. I was lukewarm on the interior—kinda orangey-tan. BMW calls it Modena. Kurt said it...
Recognition Program Announcement: 2021 In The Rearview Mirror
As 2022 stands before us, we reflect on 2021 and those that have gone over and above to support the members of the BMW CCA. This includes your fellow Club members and BMW Centers who championed, advocated, and promoted the Club during the year, and in years past. Take...
Submissions Wanted: Share Your Best Holiday-Themed BMW Photo
BimmerLife is announcing its first holiday photo contest. Did you stack the trunk of your BMW with gifts or use it to haul the tree home this year? If so, you’re invited to submit your best holiday-themed BMW photo to HolidayPhoto@BimmerLife.com. Club staff will review submissions through the end...
Rolex 24 At Daytona Corral—Sold Out!
Update 12/29/21: All available packages for the BMW CCA corral and hospitality area are now sold out and the waitlist is currently full. Registration for the BMW CCA corral and hospitality area at the Rolex 24 at Daytona will open on Wednesday, December 29, at 9 a.m. EST at...
Recognition Program Announcement: Ring In The New Year With Nominations
Right now is a great time to reflect on all of the great people and accomplishments of 2021 as we prepare to ring in the new year. What began as a slow and apprehensive year went on to feature outstanding events like Vintage, the BMW CCA Foundation’s “BMW Z...
National Capital Chapter Winter Sim-Racing Season
The National Capital Chapter of the BMW CCA is currently in the midst of hosting its winter sim-racing series. This season, the BMW M8 GTE race car is being used with a fixed setup. The season is held over a twelve-week period from December 2 until February 17, with...
BMW Shows Off i4 M50 Track Capability
The blistering acceleration of multiple electric motors making maximum torque from a standstill can make for an exhilarating straight-line driving experience, but as many BMW owners will testify, there’s more to the thrill of going fast. For generations, BMW has effectively specialized in making cars that are almost transcendent...
BMW Sends Season’s Greetings With Christmas Film Starring Christoph Waltz
The man behind everyone’s favorite diminutive Bond villain is back in another BMW short film. While the last video in which he appeared for BMW involved him and BMW CEO Oliver Zipse taking the then-upcoming iX on a test drive, the latest edition is intended as a warm welcome...
Decapitating Louie (Part II)
Years back, I was pulling the head off Kugel, my dear departed Chamonix ’72 2002tii, to prophylactically replace the head gasket before a 3,000-mile trip. My friend Lindsey Brown, shop foreman at The Little Foreign Car Garage in Waltham, Massachusetts and professional 2002 fanatic, gave me one of the little...
Decapitating Louie (Part I)
The year was 2012. The place was the parking lot of the Hawthorne Inn in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the host hotel for what was still called Vintage at the Vineyard. The head gasket in Paul Wegweiser’s 1972 2002tii (aka the F-Bomb) had blown on the way back from dinner....
The Visitation Of The Lotus
As we cross into 2022, the good news is that my E39 has not misbehaved any further. But other than that, I feel like much of my time has been spent in a bit of automotive limbo. Once again, I’ve been distracted from my stated winter project of pulling the...
The E39 Does Not Go Gently Into Winter
Near the end of the summer, I wrote about giving my daily-driver 2003 E39 530i stick sport some long-delayed preventive maintenance. The work was triggered by the car’s dying repeatedly on a hot day when the fuel tank was low; I used it as an opportunity to replace not...
The Sun Is Setting On Those Fitchburg Garages
The big sweep of my automotive storage situation has been: 1984–1992: Occupying both bays in the two-car garage of my mother’s house in Brighton. 1992–2005: Living with the one-car rusting, leaning WWII-era corrugated metal garage in Newton. It held my recently-painted 3.0CSi; everything else had to sit outside. So...
The Cost Of Driving In The Rain
My tii is rusting. Over the years, I’ve written a number of pieces addressing the issue of driving our highly rust-prone vintage BMWs. The star character in most of these has been my precious ’73 3.0CSi, since E9s are legendary rust buckets. (It was CCA member and Nor’East 02er organizer...
