RECENT ARTICLES
Like BMW M in the U.S.? Credit the BMW Car Club of America
In the latest of BMW NA’s 50th Anniversary articles, the BMW Car Club of America’s member enthusiasts are largely credited with convincing BMW AG to keep the M performance vehicles coming to the U.S. In 1992, BMW saw low sales numbers for M vehicles in the U.S. and was...
Ultimate Driving . . . Scent?
BMW News, Community, Lifestyle
Admittedly, I checked the calendar and then the press release posting date to see if April 1st was involved when I first got a whiff of this story. BMW, creators of the Ultimate Driving Machine, masters of automotive engineering, supporters of the arts, and caretakers of a beloved brand,...
A Spiritual Journey in a BMW E30
Community, Featured, Lifestyle
If I were to measure the progress of closing my service business by the number of industrial spaces I rent, last month would be a good milestone. I made the final payment for a storage space where I had the last of my equipment, and with it, breathed a...
BMW Celebrates Seven Million BMWs Assembled in the U.S.
BMW Manufacturing is celebrating a historic milestone this month as the seven millionth BMW rolled off the assembly line in Spartanburg, SC. To commemorate this special event, associates assembled a truly exceptional vehicle – a BMW ALPINA XB7 painted ALPINA Green Metallic and powered by a 4.4-liter BMW ALPINA...
Bavaria Blower Fan Fix
I’m flirting with the idea of selling the Bavaria, so I brought the old girl back from the Monson warehouse and began addressing a number of issues. One of them was that the blower fan wasn’t working and never has for the eleven years I’ve owned the car. Of...
BMW Win & Podiums At Brands Hatch
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup championship held their first pair of races at the Brands Hatch circuit in the UK this past weekend of May 3-4, 2025, and BMW teams came away with a class win and podium finishes. BMW has four M4 GT3 EVO entries in...
BMW M Motorsport Introduces New M2 Race Car, With A Twist
We already knew that BMW M Motorsport was coming out with a new M2 race car, but they officially announced it over the weekend of the DTM season opener in Germany at Oschersleben. The twist is that even though the car is called the M2, it has the B48...
BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Revealed
This M3 Didn’t Roll Off the Line. It Landed The wait is almost over. The BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Raffle is about to launch! One lucky BMW CCA member will win a stunning 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive, finished in BMW Individual Ruby Star Neo with an Ivory...
Experience Bourbon, BMWs, and Bluegrass Like Never Before
Register today for BimmerLife Rendezvous: Bourbon Trail 2025 June 12-15, 2025 | Louisville, KY Get ready for a BMW CCA experience that blends horsepower, heritage, and hospitality in true Kentucky fashion. Rendezvous – The Bourbon Trail 2025, taking place June 12–15 in Louisville, KY, invites you to immerse yourself in the world of...
Mixing It Up at the BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend!
BMW News, Community, Events, Featured
(We’d like to thank XPEL for sponsoring this column covering the BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend presented by Continental Tire.) When you ask yourself what draws you to BMWs, the answers were most likely found at the 2025 BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend presented by Continental Tire. Do you like the...
BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Revealed
This M3 Didn’t Roll Off the Line. It Landed The wait is almost over. The BMW CCA 2025 Dream Car Raffle is about to launch! One lucky BMW CCA member will win a stunning 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive, finished in BMW Individual Ruby Star Neo with an Ivory...
Experience Bourbon, BMWs, and Bluegrass Like Never Before
Register today for BimmerLife Rendezvous: Bourbon Trail 2025 June 12-15, 2025 | Louisville, KY Get ready for a BMW CCA experience that blends horsepower, heritage, and hospitality in true Kentucky fashion. Rendezvous – The Bourbon Trail 2025, taking place June 12–15 in Louisville, KY, invites you to immerse yourself in the world of...
Mixing It Up at the BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend!
BMW News, Community, Events, Featured
(We’d like to thank XPEL for sponsoring this column covering the BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend presented by Continental Tire.) When you ask yourself what draws you to BMWs, the answers were most likely found at the 2025 BimmerLife MiX Enthusiast Weekend presented by Continental Tire. Do you like the...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part IX (Charge!)
Last week, I explained how I was ready to charge up the resurrected a/c in the FrankenThirty, but found that the system wasn’t holding pressure due to a leak at the big #12 suction fitting on the compressor. As I’d explained way back in February, this fitting had been...
2025 South Carolina Teacher of the Year Will Drive BMW X5
Corey Bedenbaugh Named 2026 South Carolina Teacher of the Year. Spartanburg, S.C.- State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver announced on Thursday afternoon that Corey Bedenbaugh, a social studies teacher at Batesburg-Leesville Middle School, has been named 2026 South Carolina Teacher of the Year. Bedenbaugh received this honor during the South...
Racing Lines | New BMW CCA Club Racing Chairman Announced
The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series announced in April that Mirril McMullen will become chairman of the series in August 2025, succeeding Scott Reiman, who has led club racing since 2021. In an announcement on the Club Racing Facebook page, Reiman stated, “I will be stepping down...
Racing Lines | BMW CCA Club Racing History: The Series Goes National
As the Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing series turns 30, we will run stories of historical interest over the course of the year. In this post we will focus on the series’ first national races and the establishment of the new national championship series, both taking place in...
BMW BEV Sales Grow Worldwide
Despite everything going on in the world, BMW continues to prove it’s a stable brand and popular with buyers. Delivering over 586k vehicles to customers, BMW saw growth in virtually every market, with the exception of China, where demand dropped less than 1.5%. BMW’s push to bring more fully...
BMW NA 50th Anniversary | 50 Stories for 50 Years Chapter 16: “BMW Manufacturing: Commitment to America”
Note: This article was written for BMW by Jackie Jouret, who also serves as Features Editor for BMW Car Club Magazine: BimmerLife. In South Carolina, history can be divided into two epochs: Before BMW, and After BMW. BMW’s own history can be similarly divided: Before Spartanburg, and After Spartanburg....
BMW Celebrates 50 Years of Art Cars
BMW’s legendary Art Car series is going on a world tour to celebrate 50 years of the project that turns BMW’s into both engineering and artistic masterpieces. While the tour’s US dates are not yet set, the collection is planned to come to the US in 2026. From the...
BMW Vision Driving Experience Wows Shanghai
You’ve read about the new Heart of Joy and the other Superbrains of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse vehicles coming soon. And now, BMW continues to showcase the new engineering leaps they’re making with driving experiences that demonstrate just how far ahead they’re getting. At the Auto Shanghai 2025...
Springtime Odds and Ends
With the road trip to The Vintage now just a month away, I really really wanted to finish the a/c rejuvenation of the FrankenThirty by charging the damned thing already on this 80-degree day, but one final round of pressure-testing with nitrogen revealed dropping pressure from a leak at the...
Register By April 20: Buttonwillow High Performance Driving School
High Performance Driving School May 3–4, 2025 – The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park Buttonwillow, CA Hosted by the San Diego and Los Angeles CCA Chapters Join us for the BMW Car Club debut at the newest road course on the West Coast — Buttonwillow Raceway’s all new Circuit!...
Racing Lines: VIR beyond the races: happenings on a busy weekend
A number of things were happening at VIR in addition to the racing on the last weekend in March. 1) A BimmerWorld BMW CCA Club Race School was held on the Thursday and Friday of race weekend. There were 26 graduates, with five going on to race on...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part VIII (Electrical System)
In my book Just Needs a Recharge: The Hack Mechanic Guide to Vintage Air Conditioning, I define “vintage air conditioning” as a system that doesn’t have climate control (meaning the evaporator assembly is separate from the heater box and there’s no blend door combining the hot and cold streams), has...
Bavaria Blower Fan Fix
I’m flirting with the idea of selling the Bavaria, so I brought the old girl back from the Monson warehouse and began addressing a number of issues. One of them was that the blower fan wasn’t working and never has for the eleven years I’ve owned the car. Of...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part IX (Charge!)
Last week, I explained how I was ready to charge up the resurrected a/c in the FrankenThirty, but found that the system wasn’t holding pressure due to a leak at the big #12 suction fitting on the compressor. As I’d explained way back in February, this fitting had been...
Springtime Odds and Ends
With the road trip to The Vintage now just a month away, I really really wanted to finish the a/c rejuvenation of the FrankenThirty by charging the damned thing already on this 80-degree day, but one final round of pressure-testing with nitrogen revealed dropping pressure from a leak at the...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part VIII (Electrical System)
In my book Just Needs a Recharge: The Hack Mechanic Guide to Vintage Air Conditioning, I define “vintage air conditioning” as a system that doesn’t have climate control (meaning the evaporator assembly is separate from the heater box and there’s no blend door combining the hot and cold streams), has...
The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Gold Basketweaves (Part II)
Five years ago, I wrote a fluffy little piece called “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Gold Basketweaves.” In it, I detailed how, in 2009, I bought a set of gold 14-inch basketweaves that were an option on late E30 convertibles, put them on a slightly patina’d ‘Agave 2002 I’d...
E30 A/C Rejuvenation – Part VII (Hoses)
Last week, I got slippery-sloped and rabbit-holed by the broken bolt on the corner of the FrankenThirty’s upper timing cover when I realized that it’d never be easier for me to address than before I reinstalled the condenser. So I had at it and secured the cover by drilling...
