RECENT ARTICLES
Monterey And O’Fest Registration Opening Soon!
We have been working behind-the-scenes, preparing for this year’s national events including the BMW CCA Monterey Weekend and the 50th Annual BMW CCA Oktoberfest, both presented by Michelin! We will soon be releasing the official schedules and fees, and then announcing the dates on which registration will open. Those...
Bavarian Autosport: Remembering An Old Friend
The saying goes that companies aren’t our friends—but Bavarian Autosport always felt like one. The Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based retailer of BMW parts, upgrades, and accessories announced abruptly last week that it would be closing its doors after a run of more than four decades, and as enthusiasts, we wanted...
Restomod E30 M3 Given Bespoke Treatment
It was during the summer of 2015 that automotive news media outlets first circulated the story of the Redux E30 M3 Leichtbau, which promised to take one of the most exalted cars ever manufactured to the next level of performance and engagement. Now, roughly four years later, the first in...
3 Series Gran Turismo Nixed From Lineup
In a move aimed at preserving profitability while the future of global trade hangs the balance, BMW has announced that the F34 3 Series Gran Turismo will not be succeeded by a new generation. Love it or hate it, the 3 Series GT has proven to be a viable...
“50 Years Of The BMW CCA”: Submit Your Photos And Videos!
After 50 amazing years, thousands of events, and decades of fun, there is a great story to tell. We often say that the cars are what bring us here, but it’s the people who make the BMW Car Club of America everything that it is. As we embark on...
BMW Group Sales Dip In February Ahead Of Full 3 Series Availability
Global BMW deliveries declined 4.1% on a year-over-year basis during February, with 171,501 unit sales of BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce vehicles taking place during the month. Although BMW Group sales were up marginally during January, February brings the year-to-date figures to 341,977 deliveries, or 1.9% fewer than during the...
Breathing Life Into Old Hardware Part 1
Currently, I’m making preparations to do a more or less complete rebuild of my Jetta’s suspension and brakes. Given that it’s my daily driver until my Subaru WRX arrives in June, it’s taking precedence over my E34 project, but that’s not a bad thing. I’ll be able to experiment...
Team RLL M8s Finish Fourth And Seventh In 12 Hours Of Sebring
John Edwards, Jesse Krohn, and Philipp Eng in the #24 BMW Team RLL M8 GTE finished fourth in the GTLM class at the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring. Their teammates Connor De Phillippi, Tom Blomqvist, and Colton Herta finished seventh in car #25. The race started in the rain...
#81 Team MTEK M8 GTE Finishes Second In WEC Sebring Race
Nick Catsburg, Martin Tomczyk, and Alexander Sims in the #81 BMW Team MTEK M8 GTE finished second in the GTE class in the World Endurance Championship 1000 Miles of Sebring, run on the Friday before the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring. The second Team MTEK 8 GTE, the #82...
Clay and Jones Finish Second In Sebring MPC Race
James Clay and Devin Jones in the #82 BimmerWorld M4 GT4 finished a strong second in the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Sebring. Their finish moves them into a tie for first in Grand Sport class drivers’ points. Both drivers put in strong performances. At the start of...
A Generational BMW Love Affair
Article and photos by Kevin Ghee. As I sit in the passenger seat of my wife’s new Certified Pre-owned BMW, with the seat warmers comfortably set to 70 degrees, we cruise through of New York’s windy two-lane parkways with leaves and rain falling around us. I think of how...
Motors Maketh Man: Processing An S62-Powered Touring
We’re going to jump right into this: Last week a black 2003 BMW 540i M-Sport Touring sold for $72,000 on Bring A Trailer. Maybe you were following the auction closely—we at BimmerLife and the BMW Car Club of America certainly were!—or maybe you read about it in the reams...
A Utopian Enclave Of BMW Passion In Southern California
Back in 2015, the online automotive community was taken by storm after a video posted by BMW detailing an anonymous and secret collector went viral. The secret BMW Collector, as the video was titled, has since been removed from YouTube, perhaps adding to the mystery surrounding the warehouse full...
Earn A $50 Shell Card By Referring New Members This Month!
Refer enough friends and fellow enthusiasts to the club to make this month’s top five list of referring members and you’ll be awarded with a $50 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ gift card! Sometimes it only takes two or three referrals to make the top five—and this special incentive for March...
Seventh-Gen 3 Series Praised As Return To Form
The latest round of test-drive reports are in—see the March Roundel for our take—and the seventh-generation 3 Series, internally referred to as the G20, is carding high marks in metrics that are important to enthusiasts. While the previous two generations, the F30 and E90, peaked in terms of disconnected...
One Day Only! BMW CCA Members Can Save 25% During Brooks Brothers Shopping Event!
Brooks Brothers is excited to announce their upcoming Corporate Shopping Event on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. BMW CCA members are eligible to receive a 25% savings on full-price purchases online, by phone, and in retail stores (not valid in factory stores). You must sign up for a free Corporate...
Video: 12 Hours Of Sebring Ticket Winners Announced!
Recently, members were entered to win one of three pairs of BMW hospitality tickets for the 12 Hours of Sebring with every $25 spent in the BMW CCA store during a 12-hour window. The offer applied to purchases made between 12 noon EST and 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday,...
How To Update Your BMW CCA Chapter Newsletter Preference
The club’s 68 chapters produce quarterly newsletters throughout the year to keep members up-to-date on the latest news and events at the local level. If you haven’t already, make sure to set your chapter newsletter preference on the BMW CCA website. You can choose to have chapter newsletters printed...
M Club Day At BMW Performance Center, March 16
The BMW CCA’s Heart of Dixie Chapter has organized a special M Club Day at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, South Carolina, on March 16. This school is a special program designed by the Performance Center staff for the club and includes the chance to improve your car...
Membership Cards Delayed, Print-At-Home Option Available
With the recent switch to our new membership management platform, there have been delays in the printing and mailing of membership cards. While we work to quickly resolve the issue with our service providers, we wanted to make members aware of the print-at-home option available on the BMW CCA...
Video: 49th Annual Oktoberfest Presented By Michelin
Last July, more than 1000 BMW CCA members gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the ultimate BMW celebration, combining the 49th Annual BMW CCA Oktoberfest with the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix for an incredible celebration of BMW community. From a Concours d’Elegance at Heinz Field, to driving tours across the...
Consumer Reports Picks New X5 As Best Luxury SUV Of 2019
Every year for some time now, Consumer Reports has put together together a list of their picks for the best cars of the year. The models which make this list must best their competitors on a number of metrics, which include track tests, lengthy road evaluations, safety analysis, and various...
Future Lexus Models Could Be Powered By BMW Engines
Is the inline-six truly experiencing a renaissance? New engines from Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz might suggest so, and although it’s nothing more than speculation at this point, sources in Japan are stoking a rumor that the next-gen Lexus IS, the luxury brand’s 3 Series and C-Class competitor, could come with...
The South African 745i Was The First M7
If you’re lucky enough to live near a Menard’s, you’ve discovered by now that it’s far more than just a home improvement store. As a young homeowner, I find myself there quite often, picking up everything from plumbing fittings, to Christmas lights, to bedding for my chickens. One of...
BMW CCA Member #1 Bob Mehrman Passes Away
It is with great sadness we report that BMW CCA Member #1, Bob Mehrman, the club’s first president and one of its founding members, passed away on February 17, 2019. “We often opine that it is the cars that bring us together, but we stay for the people. Bob’s 50-year...
The Cost Of Doing Business
I’ve long said that I am not a car-collector; that word conjures up images of straw hats, silk suits, deep pockets, and mint cars stored and displayed in pristine spaces. I will admit that I do own one silk Armani sport coat, but I paid eight bucks for it...
Another Trick In The Stuckness Toolbox
There’s a chapter in my first book that details a number of techniques for removing stuck fasteners. Near the end of the chapter, I refer to welding a nut onto the end of a snapped-off stud. I didn’t give a lot of detail, because not owning a welder, I’d...
The Lama Departs The Premises
Last month I reported selling the Lama (my resurrected 1987 E28 535i) to sight-unseen buyers Jim and Susan Strickland of Birmingham, Alabama. As I described here and here, my inner Boy Scout wanted to do as much as possible to ensure that the remote buyers were happy. I wasn’t as...
Beginnings And Endings
You may already have read the sad news: Bob Merhrman, BMW CCA Member #1, passed away on February 17 at age of 91. The obituary can be read here. In Joe Chamberlain’s video of the early history of the BMW CCA, he says that it was Bob who placed a...
Wagons, Revisited
I didn’t plan that last week I would look at two very different niche German wagons and have the exercise lay bare what I like and dislike about certain cars. It just happened. Although my preference is small, light rear-wheel-drive vehicles like my recently-departed Z3, about eight years ago...
Shepherding The Lama To A New Home (Part II)
Last week I made the surprise announcement that, to ease my cash flow and simplify my life a bit, I sold the Lama, my recent E28 5 Series acquisition. The buyers are Jim and Susan Brown Strickland. Well, Jim is technically the buyer; Susan is along for the ride...
