RECENT ARTICLES
BMW CCA Motorsports & Mascara 2025 Celebrates International Women’s Day
Motorsports & Mascara 2025, powered by Hagerty, the BMW CCA celebrates International Women’s Day Contributors: Ginny Denton, Melissa Dobson, Marissa McDermott Klimek, Denise Noble, Valerie Caprigno The Motorsports & Mascara weekend kicked off with a welcome dinner on Friday, March 7, 2025 at Group Therapy in beautiful downtown Greenville,...
50 Stories for 50 Years Chapter 9: “A New Chapter for BMW Motorrad: BMW NA takes over from Butler & Smith”
Shortly after taking over U.S. sales of BMW automobiles from independent distributor Max Hoffman in 1975, BMW of North America initiated the process to do the same for the motorcycle side of the business. BMW had been exporting motorcycles to the U.S. since 1950, less than two years after...
BMW Group Plant Leipzig Celebrates 20 Years of Series Production
On March 1, 2005, BMW Group Plant Leipzig went on stream – with series production of the fifth-generation BMW 3 Series Sedan. Its construction had been announced four years earlier, in July 2001, with the location chosen from more than 250 applicants. Since then, some 3.75 million cars have...
BMW Art Car World Tour 2025
For the past 50 years, the BMW Art Car series has provided artists fascinated by automobiles with a perfect playground for art and design, technology and innovation, motorsport, and engineering. The collection of 20 BMW Art Cars embodies the essence of global cultural engagement with over one hundred initiatives...
BMWBLOG: 2027 BMW 3 Series and i3 Sedans Spied Testing
BMW has already previewed the new i3, which will switch to the Neue Klasse platform instead of sticking to CLAR. We’ve also seen prototypes of the electric sedan out and about. Additionally, car paparazzi have caught test vehicles portraying the next-generation 3 Series on camera. However, the two different...
The BMW Kidney Grille Through Time 1933-2025
Since 1933, almost every BMW front has featured a twin-kidney grille. Though the design has changed over time—becoming smarter and more functional—it still acts as a distinctive brand ID. Join us on a trip through the history of the BMW kidney grille. A BMW without kidney grilles? Unthinkable. As...
BMW Group Annual Conference 2025
Technology-open innovations, consistent electrification of the model range, and the upcoming launch of the Neue Klasse were the dominant themes at the BMW Group’s Annual Conference in Munich on March 14, 2025. THE BIGGEST FUTURE-FOCUSED PROJECT IN THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY. The BMW Group is driving change –...
50 Stories for 50 Years Chapter 8: “From Hoffman to BMW of North America: A Brand and its Dealer in Transition”
When BMW of North America took over from Max Hoffman on March 15, 1975, it inherited the dealer and distribution network that Hoffman had built since 1962. Hoffman’s dealer directory of April 1967 listed 129 BMW dealerships and six independent distributors in charge of specific geographical territories. Though the...
March Racing Lines: The State of Club Racing Today
As the Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing Series navigates its 30th season, we asked both founders of the series, Scott and Fran Hughes, and the current chairman, Scott Reiman, to reflect on the state of the series today. Scott Hughes said, “We are both quite proud of...
Double Podium for Paul Miller Racing in 12 Hours of Sebring
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held its second race of the year on Saturday, with the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida. It was a disappointing race for the pair of M Hybrid V8s in the GTP prototype class but a very strong race for the pair of M4...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part VI (Condenser Replacement)
When last we saw the FrankenThirty’s a/c rejuvenation project, I’d bought a rebuilt compressor, blown out the lines, found more rust on the discharge side than I was comfortable with, temporarily installed the compressor anyway so I could pressure-test the system, and found and replaced several leaky o-rings. Regarding...
BMW Group Archive Creates Online Catalog of 424 Cars
BMW Group Classic publishes digital historical model overviews for the general public and supplements the recently revised BMW Group Online Archive with a comprehensive historical online product catalog of the BMW, Mini, and BMW Motorrad brands. 424 BMW models are currently available, covering 80 years from 1928 to 2008....
50 Years of BMW North America: Anniversary Livery on BMW M Hybrid V8 at 12h Sebring
The 73rd edition of the Twelve Hours of Sebring (USA) this coming Saturday, 15th March, is all about a significant anniversary. BMW North America celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and the endurance classic in Florida plays a special role in this history. The story of BMW North America...
Neue Klasse Will Feature Four “Superbrains”
In a new press release, BMW focuses on the new “digital nervous system” and the four “Superbains” to be launched with the Neue Klasse vehicles they’re about to launch. BMW has also started describing the Neue Klasse vehicles as “SDVs.” Note that this differs from BMW designating the X...
BMW Receives High Marks From Consumer Reports
BMW News, Community, Featured, Reviews
While you won’t see a BMW roundel in Robb Report’s 2025 Car of the Year issue for the first time in a while (though there is a Rolls-Royce included), you definitely will spot several BMW models ranking highly in the just-released Consumer Reports “2025 Auto Issue: Best & Worst”...
MiX 2025: Experience Slots Still Open!
Community, Events, Featured, Lifestyle
April 24-27, 2025 | Greer, SC – Home of BMW in the U.S. Get ready for a full-throttle, high-energy, enthusiast-driven weekend that brings BMW lovers together. Whether you’re an M enthusiast, an i-series fan, or just love the Ultimate Driving Machine, MiX is where you belong. For five...
50 Stories for 50 Years Chapter 7: “Replacing an Icon: The First 3 Series Arrives in the US”
When BMW of North America took over sales and distribution from Max Hoffman on March 15, 1975, the 2002 had been part of BMW’s US lineup for more than seven years. With its agile handling and high-revving engine, the 2002 had given BMW an enthusiastic following and been crucial...
BMW E30 Fan Switch Connector Repair. Sort Of. (Part II)
I have an answer to last week’s mystery about why, when trying to repair the fan speed switch connector in the FrankenThirty, my newly repaired right-angle terminal, and two existing ones don’t fit into the newly ordered connector plug. The answer came from friend and reader Greg Menounos, who...
Register for Bimmer Invasion in West Palm Beach!
BMW News, Community, Events, Featured, Lifestyle
Get ready for an epic BMW tuner show on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Invasion of West Palm Beach, Florida! The BMW CCA M Chapter is leading the charge for the upcoming Bimmer Invasion, which will be held at the South Florida Fairgrounds. All BMW CCA members and...
BMW Charged Up for Gen6 EV Battery
According to the online magazine The Verge, BMW has high hopes for its Neue Klasse, which will heavily rely on the company’s new Gen6 batteries. Announced in March 2024, BMW’s Neue Klasse vehicles will feature an entirely new electric architecture that will benefit from the increased energy density, decreased manufacturing...
BMW iX Leads in EV Satisfaction
BMW News, Community, Lifestyle
According to J.D. Power, in 2024, owners of electric vehicles have become more satisfied with their vehicle experiences, with BMW’s iX owners ranking as the most satisfied. In fact, in the last two years, BMW has taken the top two spots in the Premium Battery Electric Vehicles category. At...
BMW E30 Fan Switch Connector Repair. Sort Of.
If you looked at the cover image and thought, “Something’s missing,” you’re correct. A few weeks ago, while moving forward with FrankenThirty’s a/c rejuvenation, I tested the condenser fan by jumpering the terminals on the switch at the top left of the radiator. The fan didn’t spin, and it...
Racing Lines February 2025: Club Racing Announces 2024 Champions and Award Winners
Community, Lifestyle, Motorsport
The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing Series announced its 2024 national champions and award winners in January. National champions are the racers who scored the most points in their respective classes while running in at least four separate events over the course of the season. In addition to...
Racing Lines February 2025: Club Racing Comes Full Circle at Roebling Road
Community, Lifestyle, Motorsport
Sri Haputantri drove the E30 M3, the same car that Steve Eller had piloted to victory in the first-ever BMW Club Race at Moroso Motorsports Park in Florida in 1995. Haputantri achieved two overall wins at the Tire Rack Series BMW CCA Club Race season finale at Roebling Road...
SIGFest 2024 – Honoring An Iconic BMW
It takes commitment and unvarying enthusiasm to establish traditions; just ask anyone who’s tried to keep high-school or college reunions going on a regular basis. So it’s especially impressive that three BMW CCA members, James Liu, Tony Rausch, and John Henriquez, have maintained the E30 M3 SIGFest event for...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part VI (Condenser Replacement)
When last we saw the FrankenThirty’s a/c rejuvenation project, I’d bought a rebuilt compressor, blown out the lines, found more rust on the discharge side than I was comfortable with, temporarily installed the compressor anyway so I could pressure-test the system, and found and replaced several leaky o-rings. Regarding...
BMW E30 Fan Switch Connector Repair. Sort Of. (Part II)
I have an answer to last week’s mystery about why, when trying to repair the fan speed switch connector in the FrankenThirty, my newly repaired right-angle terminal, and two existing ones don’t fit into the newly ordered connector plug. The answer came from friend and reader Greg Menounos, who...
BMW E30 Fan Switch Connector Repair. Sort Of.
If you looked at the cover image and thought, “Something’s missing,” you’re correct. A few weeks ago, while moving forward with FrankenThirty’s a/c rejuvenation, I tested the condenser fan by jumpering the terminals on the switch at the top left of the radiator. The fan didn’t spin, and it...
Making it Fit
First, big thanks to Carlos Perez for sending me a spare carbon ring for the one I broke while rebuilding my Behr wing cell compressor. When it came in the mail without a name in the return address, and I opened the envelope, I first thought, “Oh wow, someone...
The Two Estate Sale Roundie 2002tiis in Virginia
I field a fair number of “What’s this 2002 worth?” questions through my Roundel email address and Facebook presence. When these are posted for general feedback on the Facebook 2002 forum, and when, reading between the lines, it looks like the person asking the question just picked up the...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part V (Digging myself out after trashing the compressor rebuild)
Last week, I patted myself on the back for having rebuilt the Behr wing cell compressor in the FrankenThirty for $17, the price of a Santech gasket and o-ring kit. I had it all back together and then had a qualm of concern that I hadn’t correctly installed the...
