RECENT ARTICLES
The Memorable Detour
A dear old friend of mine recently retired and was returning to our old stomping ground of Amherst Massachusetts. We have another Amherst friend in common, a fellow named John Robison. John runs JE Robison Services in Springfield MA, a top-flight restoration and repair shop that specializes in Rolls...
A Colorado Clown Shoe Roadtrip
A few months ago, a good friend asked me if I’d be interested in doing a summer road trip to explore some of Colorado’s best driving roads. His mission was defined by a few criteria: cover as many of Colorado’s backroads in a three-day footprint as possible, avoid interstates...
Wins & Podiums For BMWs In SRO GT World Challenge & GT America At VIR
It was a mostly successful weekend for the BMW teams competing in the SRO GT America and SRO GT World Challenge America races at a hot and humid Virginia International Raceway (VIR), though there where some disappointments as well. In GT America, which is a single-driver sprint series for...
Join X Chapter for X Drives America Rallies
2024 is the 25th Anniversary of the launch of the X5 and the X brand so the X Chapter is celebrating in a big way. To make this celebration extra special, we’ve planned the ultimate road trip in X Drives America. Seeking to connect with all of our members...
Sign Up To Join BMW CCA At VIR Before Prices Increase
Don’t miss out! Registration is now open for our BMW CCA Car Corral for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR! This is a fun-filled and action-packed weekend featuring the following activities for BMW fans: Sign up now before the August 8th price increase!!! Great news! This year’s pricing for...
BMW CCA Central California Chapter Launches Bimmers & Blooms Car Show
The Central California Chapter of BMW Car Club of America launched its first Bimmers & Blooms car show on July 20, 2024, in the flower district of Fresno, California. BMW and car enthusiasts enjoyed coffee & food as they strolled through the Fresno Flower Market inside Sun Stereo Warehouse...
BMW Teams Well Positioned For Championship In SRO TC America & GT4 America
BMW teams competing in the SRO TC America and GT4 America championships competed at Virginia International Raceway this past weekend, and some of them left with strong positions to fight for the championships in the second half of the season. In TC America, Chris Walsh of Carrus Callas Raceteam...
One-Of-One M5 To Be Auctioned At Pebble Beach Automotive Week
One-of-one 2025 BMW M5 is a collaboration between BMW M, BMW Individual, and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Unique interior and exterior finishes and details created exclusively for this special automobile. The first 2025 BMW M5 delivered in North America (estimated delivery October 2024). Proceeds above the vehicle’s MSRP...
MINI Takes The States 2024 – Now With MINI Motoring Club of America
This week, hundreds of MINIs and over a thousand MINI Cooper enthusiasts are participating in the nine-day event that started in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will end in Seattle, Washington. MINI Takes the States, which takes place every two years, started in 2006 and is sponsored by MINI USA,...
Members Only Drop: Custom BMW CCA Air Jordan Shoes During 2nd Special Drawing Period
BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle EXCLUSIVE: Win a one-of-one custom-designed pair of BMW CCA Nike Air Jordan shoes! First revealed at BMW CCA’s 2024 BimmerLife MiX event in Greer, SC, the custom pair of Nike Air Jordan One Mid SE shoes attracted quite a bit of attention from attendees...
One-Of-One M5 To Be Auctioned At Pebble Beach Automotive Week
One-of-one 2025 BMW M5 is a collaboration between BMW M, BMW Individual, and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Unique interior and exterior finishes and details created exclusively for this special automobile. The first 2025 BMW M5 delivered in North America (estimated delivery October 2024). Proceeds above the vehicle’s MSRP...
MINI Takes The States 2024 – Now With MINI Motoring Club of America
This week, hundreds of MINIs and over a thousand MINI Cooper enthusiasts are participating in the nine-day event that started in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will end in Seattle, Washington. MINI Takes the States, which takes place every two years, started in 2006 and is sponsored by MINI USA,...
Members Only Drop: Custom BMW CCA Air Jordan Shoes During 2nd Special Drawing Period
BMW CCA Dream Car Raffle EXCLUSIVE: Win a one-of-one custom-designed pair of BMW CCA Nike Air Jordan shoes! First revealed at BMW CCA’s 2024 BimmerLife MiX event in Greer, SC, the custom pair of Nike Air Jordan One Mid SE shoes attracted quite a bit of attention from attendees...
The Cool Alternator Testing Trick in the Factory Manual
I responded to two questions this week. One was about voltage regulator failure in a 2002. The person said that the car’s radio was going haywire and there was a strong smell of sulphur. When he used a multimeter to check the battery with the engine running, it read...
The Fourth Flight
Community, Events, Featured, Lifestyle
What if there were a vintage war plane show and you could not only bring your car, but park your car among the vintage planes? And what if, while you were parked, commercial and private plane and helicopter flights were arriving and departing close enough that they affected conversations? ...
Trimming the Fleet. A Little. Maybe.
As I wrote about back in April, when I went out to the warehouse in Monson MA where I store five cars, all five of them had issues that prevented starting, driving, inspection, or all three. The Bavaria was the most trivial, with a battery that was not only...
Playing Hooky: Autocrossing The New 5 Series At BMW’s Ultimate Driving Event
Community, Events, Featured, Lifestyle
Playing hooky on a Friday to autocross BMW’s brand-new 5 series for free—sounds pretty great, right? Thanks to BMW NA’s Ultimate Driving Experience (UDE), the yearly coast-to-coast tour that showcases the marque’s latest models, that’s exactly what my daughter Avery and I did on June 28th at Bowie Baysox...
BMW North America Sales Increase, With Electric Growing Fastest
It appears that more and more drivers in North America are becoming BMW enthusiasts, particularly if they’re looking for a well-made electric vehicle. BMW North America reported year-over-year increases in sales, with a dramatic increase in electric sales as they’ve rolled out more all-electric options for buyers. Read the...
Electric MINI John Cooper Works to Debut at Goodwood
All-electric MINIs aren’t exactly new, as we’ve published dozens of articles about the efficient, fun cars. But one type of MINI had held off on going full-electric until it could successfully carry the performance torch of its gas-powered predecessors: the John Cooper Works models. It seems time and technology...
BMW CCA Members: 2024 Dream Car Raffle First Special Drawing Period Closes Soon
**UPDATE: The first Special Drawing Prize Period Ends July 12, 2024! Buy tickets now for a chance at the $1000 Amex Gift Card!** Get ready for the chance to win a fantastic BMW dream car, but only if you’re a member of the BMW Car Club of America. The...
Join BMW CCA For The Michelin GT Challenge At VIR
Don’t miss out! Registration is now open for our BMW CCA Car Corral for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR! This is a fun-filled and action-packed weekend featuring the following activities for BMW fans: BMW race team paddock meetings Reserved infield parking Trackside spectating Catered lunch and refreshments Closed-circuit...
2025 M5 Starts Production
The recently announced 2025 BMW M5 started rolling off the assembly line at BMW Group Plant Dingolfing. The M Hybrid luxury sports car combines the quick power of an EV with the steady V8 engine gives the new sedan increases in horsepower and sprint-speed over prior models. It does,...
2002tii Starting Troubles
Having convinced myself that I’d solved the mysterious brake fluid loss problem in Louie the ’72 2002tii, I began using the car as I believe one should. That is, things like road trips to show a car at a concours or going to cars and coffee gatherings are all...
The Eye of HFMSTRS: Jasper Schwering
Community, Events, Featured, Lifestyle
We’re truly spoiled by the ability to so easily reach out and instantaneously connect with members of our automotive community, whether it be chatting with someone on the other side of the world about your project, or in this case, meeting up with famed professional photographer and co-founder of...
BMW Launches All-New M5 for 2025
BMW News, Community, Featured, Motorsport
It’s been quite an M5 announcement kind of year, which is appropriate for such an iconic vehicle reaching its 40th anniversary. From the welcome news that BMW is bringing the M5 Touring to the states, to BMW bringing every generation of M5 to BMW CCA’s BimmerLife MiX event in...
The Memorable Detour
A dear old friend of mine recently retired and was returning to our old stomping ground of Amherst Massachusetts. We have another Amherst friend in common, a fellow named John Robison. John runs JE Robison Services in Springfield MA, a top-flight restoration and repair shop that specializes in Rolls...
The Cool Alternator Testing Trick in the Factory Manual
I responded to two questions this week. One was about voltage regulator failure in a 2002. The person said that the car’s radio was going haywire and there was a strong smell of sulphur. When he used a multimeter to check the battery with the engine running, it read...
Trimming the Fleet. A Little. Maybe.
As I wrote about back in April, when I went out to the warehouse in Monson MA where I store five cars, all five of them had issues that prevented starting, driving, inspection, or all three. The Bavaria was the most trivial, with a battery that was not only...
2002tii Starting Troubles
Having convinced myself that I’d solved the mysterious brake fluid loss problem in Louie the ’72 2002tii, I began using the car as I believe one should. That is, things like road trips to show a car at a concours or going to cars and coffee gatherings are all...
The E9 Gets a Mini Vacation
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
I have a cousin who lives in Nahant, Massachusetts, an island just north of Boston connected by a causeway to the town of Lynn. The relationship between Nahant and Lynn is well-described in the song I’m From Lynn What Can I Say? by my singer-songwriter friend Don White: “I’m...
Selling The Outlier
Community, Lifestyle, Resto & Mod
Up until yesterday, I owned 13 vehicles. I count them as the nine cars on my Hagerty policy (the three 2002s, the E9, the Bavaria, the ’79 Euro 635CSi, the Lotus Europa, and the ’99 Z3 2.3 and the ’99 M Coupe), the two daily drivers (my 2003 E39...
