RECENT ARTICLES
BMW NA 50th Anniversary: Preserving the Past
The life cycle of an automobile has three distinct phases. First, it’s new, exciting, and perhaps expensive. A decade later, it’s out of date, with little value or allure unless it survives to the third phase. At this point, the automobile becomes ‘vintage’, and values rise once again as...
BMW CCA Dream Car: Win a $1,000 VISA Gift Card, Collect 50 Years of 3 Mugs
The BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Raffle is well underway! One lucky BMW CCA member will win a stunning 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive, finished in BMW Individual Ruby Star Neo with an Ivory White Full Merino Leather interior. Learn more about the prizes, the bonus drawings, and how...
BMW Teams Come Up Short In IMSA WeatherTech Race In Canada, But Turner Wins VP Challenge
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship traveled north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) this past weekend of July 12-13, 2025, an old school circuit that’s also one of the fastest on the IMSA calendar. The top-level GTP class sat out this race, with LMP2 prototypes as...
CarBahn Wins In Canada!
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series traveled north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) for round six of the championship, in what was also the unofficial start of the second half of the 2025 season. BMW teams had a strong race, with CarBahn with Peregrine Racing...
The Bavaria Passes to its New Owners
Nearly a month after I submitted the Bavaria to Bring a Trailer, stopped short of paying the listing fee because two friends of mine (Jim and Susan) in Alabama who had bought two other cars from me (a short-duration E28 and “Kugel,” my long-time 2002tii) became interested in the...
///Metamorphosis: 135i to 1M, and Beyond
Community, Featured, Lifestyle
Is it an imposter? An imitation? A tribute? One thing is for certain—CCA Member Raphy Valdez’s 2010 Crimson Red 135i exudes OEM-plus modifications, goes beyond a 1M clone, and turns the dial well past eleven. As a bonus, it’s his three-year-old daughter Mila’s favorite car. The E8x 1 Series...
BMW M Team Redline Successfully Defends Esports World Cup
For the second consecutive time, BMW M Team Redline has triumphed at the Esports World Cup (EWC). On Friday, Luke Bennett (GBR), Sebastian Job (GBR), Jeffrey Rietveld (NED), and Kevin Siggy (SLO) secured victory in the grand finale against strong competition, earning a prize of 200,000 USD. Over the...
Don’t Miss Out! BMW CCA Member Events Are Gearing Up!
BMW Car Club of America, the official BMW enthusiast club, offers membership that includes access to hundreds of BMW-focused chapter, regional, and national events. Here are a few upcoming events that should interest BMW enthusiasts of all types! Find even more events on the official BMW Car Club of...
Register Today! BMW CCA Car Corral and Hospitality Tent at Michelin GT Challenge at VIR
BMW News, Community, Events, Lifestyle
NCC and Tarheel Chapters will again host our BMW car corral and hospitality at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR! This IMSA weekend includes reserved BMW only parking (Mini & Rolls Royce also included), trackside spectating, catered food/drinks/snacks, BMW race team meet & greet, and parade laps around the full track...
Brown Wins 36th BMW International Open
Englishmen Daniel Brown and Jordan Smith, teeing off in the final group, began the final round with a spectacular flurry of birdies that delighted the crowds in Munich. Smith came into the Sunday one shot behind his compatriot, but overcame that deficit with five birdies on the first nine...
MINI USA Goes Red, White, and Blue
MINI USA is celebrating the historic spirit of rebellion and independence this Fourth of July with a boldly colored display of Chili Red, Nanuq White and Blazing Blue MINI models. Highlighting key examples of MINI’s all-new product portfolio launched this year, the colorful trio of MINI models posed on...
Register Today! BMW CCA Car Corral and Hospitality Tent at Michelin GT Challenge at VIR
BMW News, Community, Events, Lifestyle
NCC and Tarheel Chapters will again host our BMW car corral and hospitality at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR! This IMSA weekend includes reserved BMW only parking (Mini & Rolls Royce also included), trackside spectating, catered food/drinks/snacks, BMW race team meet & greet, and parade laps around the full track...
Win the 2025 BMW CCA Dream Car!
The BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Raffle is well underway! One lucky BMW CCA member will win a stunning 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive, finished in BMW Individual Ruby Star Neo with an Ivory White Full Merino Leather interior. Learn more about the prizes, the bonus drawings, and how...
Marketplace Sedans: E36 M3 or E46 ZHP?
Community, Featured, Lifestyle
It’s been a few months since I’ve written about scaling down my car business. Here’s a sit-rep: besides my daily-driver F31 M Sport wagon, the only BMWs I currently have left are a supercharged 2001 740i M Sport and the E36 M3 Lightweight racecar I used for coaching and...
Preparing The Bavaria For Its New Home (part IV)
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
Kind of late to be putting the patient on the table as the cover photo implies, but ah, the things we do for love. Last week, I talked about the surprising pain-in-the-butt of replacing the Bavaria’s belts, water pump, and fan. This week, with the buyers scheduled to fly...
BMW M2 CS Wins 2025 BMW M Award
BMW News, Community, Motorsport
It’s a moment the entire MotoGP™ family eagerly anticipates each year: the unveiling of the winner’s car for the BMW M Award. That moment arrived at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands at Assen. Representing all MotoGP™ riders, Brad Binder and Alex Rins revealed the prize that awaits the...
Racing Lines: BMW CCA Club Racing Returns To The Brickyard
The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in June 2025 for the second consecutive year. Club Racing came back, running an enduro and three sprint races in an event hosted by BMW CCA Club Racing, once again the guest of the Sportscar Vintage...
Preparing the Bavaria For Its New Home (part III)
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
Last week, I wrote about replacing the Bavaria’s hood brackets to get the hood to stay up without a broomstick, and increasing the main jet size from 135 to 145 to lessen the buffetting at low to mid RPMs. This week I thought I’d pull the belts off so...
Racing Lines: Three Winners in Four Races as BMW CCA Club Racing Returns to Roebling Road
BMW News, Community, Motorsport
Racers converged on Roebling Road Raceway in June for a Peachtree Chapter event. The 90-degree heat and the choice of tires were major factors in driving performance on the track, where a small group of thirteen racers fought intense battles in an enduro and three sprint races. Mike Akard...
THE CLOUD at BMW’s Welt Isn’t Digital. It’s Delicious.
BMW News, Community, Featured, Lifestyle
On June 27, 2025, visitors could finally actually visit THE CLOUD (full capitalization is apparently required). It’s not some etheric concept used to describe where your iPhone photos are uploaded or even where your computer’s library of cat videos are preserved for posterity. Instead, it’s an etheric concept that...
LAST CHANCE! Buy Dream Car Tickets Before July 3!
BMW News, Community, Events, Lifestyle
Last chance! From now until Thursday, July 3 at 11:59 PM ET, every Dream Car Raffle ticket you purchase unlocks a brand-new opportunity to win — this time in the form of a Continental Tire Certificate, generously provided by our partners at Continental Tire. The BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Raffle is well underway! One...
BMW EV Recall Issue Fixable With Over-The-Air Update
BMW recently announced the recall of over 70,000 vehicles that may have electric drive motor software that could shut down the high-voltage system, causing a loss of drive power, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The vehicles affected include the...
Explaining BMW’s Heart of Joy: Well, It’s Kind Of Like an Octopus
BMW recently announced that the Neue Klasse vehicles it’s working on will have four new “superbrains,” computers responsible for all aspects of performance and comfort. Most highly touted among them is the Heart of Joy, which will serve as the central control unit. It’s designed to take BMW’s driving...
Preparing the Bavaria for its New Home (part II)
Last week, I talked about how, in preparation to tell the Bavaria to good friends who have bought two other cars from me, I replaced the clutch slave cylinder and had the New Old Stock (NOS) muffler I had kicking around the garage for five years welded on. This...
A Tale of Two Tracks
BMW News, Community, Events, Featured, Motorsport
It’s not just on the car; it’s in the cars. Turner Motorsport uses the same LIQUI MOLY motor oils in their racecars as we can in our daily drivers. Thank you to LIQUI MOLY for supporting this column. Same but different? The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and...
Vintage Prep Bingo
BMW News, Community, Events, Lifestyle
Is there a better stress test of a vehicle’s operational condition than a long road trip? While relatively short around-town trips may not reveal issues, a vehicle will let you know what it needs after you’ve been in the driver’s seat for hundreds of continuous miles. What’s that sound?...
The Bavaria Passes to its New Owners
Nearly a month after I submitted the Bavaria to Bring a Trailer, stopped short of paying the listing fee because two friends of mine (Jim and Susan) in Alabama who had bought two other cars from me (a short-duration E28 and “Kugel,” my long-time 2002tii) became interested in the...
Preparing The Bavaria For Its New Home (part IV)
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
Kind of late to be putting the patient on the table as the cover photo implies, but ah, the things we do for love. Last week, I talked about the surprising pain-in-the-butt of replacing the Bavaria’s belts, water pump, and fan. This week, with the buyers scheduled to fly...
Preparing the Bavaria For Its New Home (part III)
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
Last week, I wrote about replacing the Bavaria’s hood brackets to get the hood to stay up without a broomstick, and increasing the main jet size from 135 to 145 to lessen the buffetting at low to mid RPMs. This week I thought I’d pull the belts off so...
Preparing the Bavaria for its New Home (part II)
Last week, I talked about how, in preparation to tell the Bavaria to good friends who have bought two other cars from me, I replaced the clutch slave cylinder and had the New Old Stock (NOS) muffler I had kicking around the garage for five years welded on. This...
Preparing the Bavaria for its New Home (part I)
It was a week for dealing with car sales, both my own and others. As I wrote about two weeks ago, I’m helping Mike Miller’s fiancée and beneficiary Lisa Binder sell his 1977 BMW 320i. She detailed and photographed the car, and I submitted it to Bring a Trailer....
The Incredible True Story of Birgit the Wunder Bavaria
