RECENT ARTICLES
How Cool Is This Nissan Engine-Swapped BMW 2002?
The 2002 is one of BMW’s most iconic models. It’s the car that cemented BMW’s place in the automotive world, as a builder of simple, lightweight, fun sport sedans. It’s the precursor to the 3 Series, the brand’s bread and butter, and it’s the car that received a such...
French Golfer Wins a BMW iX5 With a 163-Yard Hole-in-One
I don’t watch golf, nor know much about it. But hitting a hole-in-one seems like one of the most impressive, if lucky, achievements in sports achievements. The odds seem impossible to me. The hole is barely bigger than the ball, and it’s often almost two entire football fields away...
Lessons Learned on a Brake Job
Okay. You got me. This was on my wife’s 2013 Honda Fit. But if you’re like me and turn wrenches yourself to avoid paying $1500 for something that you can do with $100 worth of parts and a morning of your time, the lessons are pretty universal. Last week,...
The 25th SIGFest Celebrated the E30 M3’s 40th Birthday with Style
SIGFest, the annual E30 M3 gathering in New Jersey, has become one of the largest gatherings of the model anywhere in the world. This year, E30 M3 owners and enthusiasts gathered on September 12th at the Shore Car Club in Ocean Township for a great day of camaraderie. It’s...
Meet the BMW CCA’s New Executive Director
Dear Fellow BMW Enthusiasts, On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to introduce Tina Leone as the new executive director of the BMW Car Club of America. The Board undertook a deliberate and thorough search for the right person to lead BMW CCA at this stage...
BMW M Team WRT and Turner Motorsport Win at Indy
The penultimate IMSA race weekend took place at the world center of racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend. Both BMW M Team WRT and Turner Motorsport had big wins in the WeatherTech Sportscar Championship race (IWSC), and there were also two BMWs in the top five in...
Club Racers Enjoy a Good Weekend of Racing at Carolina Motorsports Park
The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series held three races at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina on the weekend of September 11th-13th, hosted by the Tarheel Chapter. It was a great weekend of clean racing for those that competed. There were three races over the CMP...
Tech Talk | Diesel Wagon Alignment, New Keys, and Rear-End Noise
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. 328d Touring Issues I turned in my 2007 525xi Touring at BMW El Cajon in 2016...
This ‘Safari’ Style E23 7 Series Looks Like the Most Fun Luxury Rally Car Ever
Alex Kersten, host of the AutoAlex YouTube channel, recently flew from the UK to the U.S. to take a road trip in a very old, very tired Mercedes G-Class. The trip was meant to go from Las Vegas to Houston, Texas, which isn’t the easiest trip in a truck...
One of This Century’s Coolest Bimmers Just Sold For Less Than Every New Car in America
I’d argue that the best looking modern BMWs was the 6 Series Gran Coupe. Its overall shape, profile, body lines, kidney grilles, and just about everything else are just about perfect. It’s also one of the best driving BMWs of its time, has a cool interior, and seating for...
History Comes Alive at the Lime Rock Historics
For many car enthusiasts that live within driving distance of the northwest corner of Connecticut, the Lime Rock Historics has become an annual Labor Day Weekend event that can’t be missed. The Historics is a real celebration of the automobile that leans heavily toward European classics and sports cars,...
This ‘Safari’ Style E23 7 Series Looks Like the Most Fun Luxury Rally Car Ever
Alex Kersten, host of the AutoAlex YouTube channel, recently flew from the UK to the U.S. to take a road trip in a very old, very tired Mercedes G-Class. The trip was meant to go from Las Vegas to Houston, Texas, which isn’t the easiest trip in a truck...
One of This Century’s Coolest Bimmers Just Sold For Less Than Every New Car in America
I’d argue that the best looking modern BMWs was the 6 Series Gran Coupe. Its overall shape, profile, body lines, kidney grilles, and just about everything else are just about perfect. It’s also one of the best driving BMWs of its time, has a cool interior, and seating for...
The Bovensiepen Spider Is an Upgraded BMW Z4 With Frank Stephenson Design Tweaks
The Bovensiepen family is back with a third new model of its post-Alpina era. Like the previous 05 GT and Zagato, the Bovensiepen Spider is based on a BMW and makes no attempt to disguise it. The Spider is based on the BMW Z4, and while it has some...
Tech Talk | Clunk Solution, Convertible Problems, and X5 Reliability
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. WD-40 To the Rescue You may recall my email about my 2009 335i concerning a clunking...
Watch How Tom Tang Tackled Pikes Peak In His E46 M3 Race Car ‘Ursula’
“It’s not that you’re fearless, it’s that you carry the right amount of fear,” said Tom Tang in his new video about tackling the legendary Pikes Peak in his E46 M3 racer. “How much risk do you want to take?” Pikes Peak is easily one of the most dangerous...
This BMW Isetta Pedal Car Sold For More Than an E90 3 Series
A few years ago, I sold an E90 3 Series. It was a 2006 BMW 325i sedan, in Monaco Blue with tan leather and 164,000-ish miles, for those wondering. And I sold it for $4000. That might seem like a low number for a 3 Series, but it was...
The New BMW 3 Series Comes With 443 HP and a Drift Mode
The new G50-generation 3 Series is the most powerful one yet. Well, it is if you don’t count M cars. Which I’m not. When the G50 hits U.S. dealerships, it’ll come with either four or six cylinders, but right now BMW is more concerned with the latter. The top-of-the-range...
Parting, Sweet Sorrow, and All That
Okay, you’re thinking “A third column about selling the M Coupe? Is Siegel just running on fumes these days?” Maybe. But hey, I owned the car for 20 years. It deserves it. Last week I mentioned that, despite my general feeling that endings should be sharp, clear, and memorable, I wasn’t...
A Father, A Son, and Two New BMW M2s
When Russ and Max de Giulio stopped by BMW CCA Headquarters in Greer, South Carolina, they were elated. And for good reason. Earlier that day, they took delivery of matching BMW M2s at the BMW Performance Center. With the cars parked outside, the paperwork finished, and a long drive...
Tech Talk | How to Find the Right Independent Mechanic
I’ve recently been getting an influx of inquires from potential new customers about if they should bring their car to me for service. While BMW is my forte, I will not turn down someone who has a Toyota and needs an oil change. I have to be versatile enough...
Tech Talk | Suspension Creaks, Battery Questions, and Preservation Best Practices
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. E90 335xi Rear Suspension Creak I have a 2008 BMW 335xi (E90, automatic) that I use...
This Turner E92 M3 Is the Right Way to Go Racing
Racing is an expensive game, especially if it’s a hobby. It ain’t like basketball, where you can get a $10 ball from Walmart and go play a pickup game somewhere. Cars are expensive to own and maintain, especially race cars with their higher-performance parts. So when you come across...
BMW M Boss Isn’t Thinking About Formula 1 Because It’s “Too Far Removed” From Production Cars
BMW’s potential re-entry into Formula 1 is a topic that seems to resurface every year, and every year BMW has to shoot it down. Despite the answer always being “no,” speculation around BMW’s F1 future never goes away. During Monterey Car Week, BMW M Boss Frank van Meel was...
These Are the Issues a Neglected N52 Engine Can Have and How You Can Fix Them
My favorite BMW engine of this century isn’t any of the twin-turbocharged monsters in modern M cars, or even the absolutely brilliant B58 (that’s my second-favorite, though). Instead, my favorite BMW engine is the N52, the 3.0-liter naturally aspirated straight-six from cars like the E90 3 Series, F25 X3,...
My Favorite Memory of the Clown Shoe
In last week’s piece where I described taking a deposit on my 20-year-owned 1999 M Coupe, I said that “road trips are the crucible in which relationships with cars are formed,” and since I never had one with the M Coupe, I said (or strongly implied) that this was...
Lessons Learned on a Brake Job
Okay. You got me. This was on my wife’s 2013 Honda Fit. But if you’re like me and turn wrenches yourself to avoid paying $1500 for something that you can do with $100 worth of parts and a morning of your time, the lessons are pretty universal. Last week,...
Parting, Sweet Sorrow, and All That
Okay, you’re thinking “A third column about selling the M Coupe? Is Siegel just running on fumes these days?” Maybe. But hey, I owned the car for 20 years. It deserves it. Last week I mentioned that, despite my general feeling that endings should be sharp, clear, and memorable, I wasn’t...
My Favorite Memory of the Clown Shoe
In last week’s piece where I described taking a deposit on my 20-year-owned 1999 M Coupe, I said that “road trips are the crucible in which relationships with cars are formed,” and since I never had one with the M Coupe, I said (or strongly implied) that this was...
Putting the Clown Shoe on the Block
Incredibly, come January, I will have owned my 1999 M Coupe for 20 years. That’s an astonishingly long time for it to be swimming in my automotive waters where the churn tends to be high. Only the 40-year-owned 3.0CSi, the car they’ll bury me in, has been around longer....
Hood Struts For My E9 (Part III: Success!)
You wouldn’t think that replacing the hood support mechanism in my 1973 E9 3.0CSi would necessitate a three-part series. I certainly didn’t expect it. But hey, sometimes these little projects that we expect to be trivial turn out to be anything but. When last we left this a few...
My Monumental E91 Mistake
I’ve written multiple times about wanting an E91 unicorn wagon (six-speed, rear-wheel drive, sport package). These are exceedingly rare cars that I believe only exist if they were special-ordered that way (virtually all the ones sitting for sale on dealership lots were AWD automatics). Last year I wrote about...
