RECENT ARTICLES
Nor’East 02ers Spring Meet and Drive
Last week, I wrote about the whirlwind sale of Bertha to Craig B., who flew in from Austin on Friday and set sail that evening for MidAmerica 02Fest in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We swapped a few messages on the way regarding his discovery of wetness on the back of...
Interview | BMW’s VP of Design on the 7 Series, Neue Klasse, and Design Philosophy
The design of the G70 7 Series ignited a firestorm of opinions from everyone who saw it. This design departed radically from the 7 before it, much like how the E65 created controversy when it was first shown. The giant kidney grilles, split headlights, and really every design choice...
Tom Tang vs. The Mountain | The Circuit
Tom Tang will drive his 654hp E46 M3 (750+hp when the nitrous is turned on) up Pikes Peak as fast as he possibly can on June 21st, with the goal to get up in less than 10 minutes. The biggest obstacle to doing that isn’t Tang’s driving ability or...
A Look Back at the 2025 Tire Rack One Lap of America
The 41st running of the Tire Rack One Lap of America once again had a massive field, with BMWs and Minis showing up in force. There were nine BMWs and two Minis from 10 different states in the 82 car field, meaning they made up nearly 15 percent of...
Turner Motorsport Wins Michelin Pilot Challenge at Laguna Seca
After a six-week break since the last race at Sebring in mid-March, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series traveled to beautiful Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California for the third round of the season. The Turner Motorsport duo of Dillon Machavern and Luca Mars left California with their first...
BMW M Team WRT on GTP Podium at Laguna Seca
After the two longest races of the year at Daytona and Sebring and the shortest race of the year at Long Beach, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) headed to northern California and Laguna Seca Raceway for the fourth round of the season. It was a solid weekend for...
Dealer Maintenance for Your Older BMW Is Getting Cheaper
BMW’s Value Service Program has been around for over a decade, offering more competitive pricing for routine maintenance and service on older vehicles. Essentially, the program allowed certain dealers to opt in, letting BMW North America subsidize the cost of routine maintenance to make it more competitive with local...
Tech Talk | Comfort Access Headache, Extended Warranties, and Telematics Problems
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. Key Fob Issues I have an ongoing periodic issue with the key fob on my...
BMW M Reminds Us That It Once Built an M5 CSL Prototype
BMW M has quite the secret dungeon. In it are countless weirdly awesome prototypes that the bigwigs in Munich never had the courage to sell. Cars like an E34 M5 Convertible, an E39 M5 Touring, and an E46 M3 CSL with a V-8 all lurk in the underbelly of...
BMW iX5 60 Will Reportedly Have a Massive 147.8 kWh Battery
BMW is prepping its next-generation of electric vehicles, and it just sent specs of its upcoming 2027 lineup to the EPA. Unearthed by a Bimmerpost user, the spec sheet claims that an upcoming BMW iX5 60 is going to have a massive 147.8 kWh battery back. That will make...
Beyond the Racing at the Long Beach Grand Prix
The only time the entire weekend there was a pause was when they asked, “What’s your favorite part?” Long pause. Pensive expression. Furrowed brow. Then the reply: “Yes.” All of it? Yes, all of Long Beach Grand Prix weekend. Ok, maybe the $18 curly fries were a bit on...
BMW M Reminds Us That It Once Built an M5 CSL Prototype
BMW M has quite the secret dungeon. In it are countless weirdly awesome prototypes that the bigwigs in Munich never had the courage to sell. Cars like an E34 M5 Convertible, an E39 M5 Touring, and an E46 M3 CSL with a V-8 all lurk in the underbelly of...
BMW iX5 60 Will Reportedly Have a Massive 147.8 kWh Battery
BMW is prepping its next-generation of electric vehicles, and it just sent specs of its upcoming 2027 lineup to the EPA. Unearthed by a Bimmerpost user, the spec sheet claims that an upcoming BMW iX5 60 is going to have a massive 147.8 kWh battery back. That will make...
Beyond the Racing at the Long Beach Grand Prix
The only time the entire weekend there was a pause was when they asked, “What’s your favorite part?” Long pause. Pensive expression. Furrowed brow. Then the reply: “Yes.” All of it? Yes, all of Long Beach Grand Prix weekend. Ok, maybe the $18 curly fries were a bit on...
Letting Bertha Go
I’ve told the story of Bertha multiple times—how I bought it in Austin in 1984 because I wanted to bring a big-bumpered 2002 to Boston to survive its demolition derby of traffic and parking, how Maire Anne and I drove off from our wedding in it, how I transmogrified...
Join the BMW CCA at VIR’s Michelin GT Challenge
Come join your fellow BMW enthusiasts for our BMW CCA Car Corral for the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Located only a few hours away on the VA/NC border, VIR is one of the best race tracks in the world. This is the exclusive BMW VIP...
Tech Talk | Dead Batteries, Alarm Issues, and Oil Loss
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. Question on E82 I bought a 135i coupe in June, and really enjoy driving it. I...
German Tuner Boosts BMW M5 to 999 HP With Just Bolts-Ons and a Tune
Some car enthusiasts pine for the good old days. Others appreciate the higher-than-ever performance and technology of today. One thing is certain, though, we are living in the golden age of easy horsepower. Never before have owners been able to tune their cars to absolutely wacky power figures with...
Former Alpina Boss’ New Car Is a $433,000 Hand-Built M4
Before BMW fully acquired Alpina as its own entity (that it hopefully doesn’t just turn into a trim package for the 7 Series), it was its own manufacturer. Alpina would take BMWs, strip much of them down, and replace many of the parts with its own. Now that BMW...
2027 BMW 7 Series LCI: It’s the Neue-ish Klasse
BMW’s Neue Klasse is all the rage in Munich right now, with the recent reveals of the new i3 and iX3. With those two cars in the “middle of the brand” being the biggest stars, BMW couldn’t leave its flagship luxury car feeling old hat. So it gave the...
I Wasn’t At The Vintage, But My Cars Were
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I missed The Vintage this year, something I’ve only done twice before since 2010 (in 2012 I had a kidney stone, and in 2023 Maire Anne had a cardiac appointment as part of the on-ramp to major surgery). This time, it...
2026 540i Update: The Good and the Less Good
About a month ago, BMW dropped off a 2026 540i to sample for an extended loan into the spring. Typically, auto journalists get to spend a week or less with a car for a review. That’s a fine amount of time to get an overview of a car, but...
Register Today for the 2026 Boston Concours
Join us for the BMW CCA Boston Chapter’s 2026 Concours d’Elegance at Prowse Farm in Canton, MA, on Sunday, June 28. For over 21 years, BMW CCA Boston Chapter has hosted this competition of some truly amazing BMWs. Whether you have a car to show or just love BMWs,...
Tom Tang vs. The Mountain | The Car
Tom Tang began his racing adventures with a Honda S2000, but switched to BMW after the Honda met its demise in an accident at Sonoma Raceway. “The class at that point had become highly competitive, and a lot of the front runners were S54-powered BMWs, either E36 cars with...
Tech Talk | Codes, Sensors, and Brake Squeal
Welcome to Tech Talk, where our resident BMW tech Nick Owen answers all your pressing BMW technical questions, frustrations, and issues. Have a question for Nick? Email him at techtalk@roundel.org. Let’s get into it. Fault Codes I have a 2010 BMW X5 3.0 with the N52. Codes p0012 and p0015...
The BMW i4 Could Be Discontinued By the End of 2026
Like that old Toy Story 2 meme, BMW is dropping its current crop of electrified cars, so it can play with its Neue Klasse toys. Along with news that the BMW iX has officially been discontinued in the United States market, there’s also a report that says the i4...
Nor’East 02ers Spring Meet and Drive
Last week, I wrote about the whirlwind sale of Bertha to Craig B., who flew in from Austin on Friday and set sail that evening for MidAmerica 02Fest in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We swapped a few messages on the way regarding his discovery of wetness on the back of...
Letting Bertha Go
I’ve told the story of Bertha multiple times—how I bought it in Austin in 1984 because I wanted to bring a big-bumpered 2002 to Boston to survive its demolition derby of traffic and parking, how Maire Anne and I drove off from our wedding in it, how I transmogrified...
I Wasn’t At The Vintage, But My Cars Were
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I missed The Vintage this year, something I’ve only done twice before since 2010 (in 2012 I had a kidney stone, and in 2023 Maire Anne had a cardiac appointment as part of the on-ramp to major surgery). This time, it...
The Fuel Delivery Checklist
A friend messaged me this week with a fuel delivery issue on his ’76 2002. The car had the original-style mechanical fuel pump installed, and a fuel filter before the pump. As I wrote about here, I don’t believe that any carbureted 2002 ever had a fuel filter installed...
The Alfa Valve Shim Trick
Well, Bertha and I aren’t going to The Vintage after all. I have a dear 84-year-old cousin with whom Maire Anne and I have done some travel. She has slow-moving lung cancer, but right now she feels fine and wants to enjoy life. She called us last week and...
An Unusual Use of a Flashing Power Supply
I haven’t had a lot of flashing in my past. Not that kind—I mean updating the software in a control module. (Well, didn’t really have the other kind in my past either). I believe that there was just one time I needed to contact BMW coding guy Sam Aleksanyan...
