Bimmer News - choochoobimmers.org

Bimmer News
DIE LETZTE FAHRBANH – The Ultimate Track
Choo Choo Bimmers Chapter
of the BMW Car Club of America
4th Quarter 2014
October to December
Inside this issue:
FALL 2014
For those of you driving 3 Series BMWs model years 2000 - 2006, like I am,
you may have heard of the passenger airbag recall via a letter you should
have received from BMW North America. If you have not, you probably
heard very boisterously about the enormous 8 million car airbag recall
through the national news as of late.
I've had club members and BMW driving friends alike asking me about
this recall. Please know that, according to the letter, this is a recall for
only the passenger airbag in BMWs. If you are not carrying a passenger in
the right front seat, or anything weighing more than about 30 pounds on
the right front seat, the airbag will not deploy in an accident.
People are frustrated that they cannot get the repair done as replacement
parts are trickling in. This recall affects at least 8 million cars made by
various manufacturers besides BMW, like Subaru and Honda. These are
airbags, not Chicken McNuggets, being made here. These things save
people's lives and take time to make. Do you want the company rushing
through making a colossal order of airbags with the possibility of
mistakes being made? Just pack the patience folks, and have your
passengers ride in the back seat. No back seat? Take another car if
possible or carpool with someone.
BMW will send notice when parts are available to handle the replacement
of the airbags. Right now from what I can determine, companies like
Honda has its hands full as both the passenger's AND driver's front
airbags are affected in this recall. How many Honda owners do you know
that have a spare car to drive?
Drive safe,
Jennifer
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President’s
Address
Contacts
1
Editor’s Notes
2
BMW News
2
Old Curmudgeon
3
2015 O’Fest
3
New Members
4
Meeting
Schedule
Eurofest Article
4
I8 Review link
5
PLEASE SUBMIT
YOUR MEMBER
PROFILE TO OUR
EDITOR BRENDA
TERRELL.
2
5
2014
Board Members
Jennifer Askew
President
423-364-6261
Jennifercummins@epbfi.com
Lana Freeland
Vice President
423-322-7641
lana77@catt.com
Donna Horn
Secretary
Slkmbo9@comcast.net
Ray Horn
Treasurer
Web Master
vonhome@comcast.net
Bob Wilson
Events Coordinator
423-596-2422
REWilson@Bledsoe.net
Art vonWerssowetz
Crisis Communications
ArtvonW@gmail.com
Brenda Terrell
Editor and Member at large
423-432-1079
BrendaJTerrell@gmail.com
Editor’s Note:
Fall in the Chattanooga Valley I can smell the crisp mornings coming on the horizon.
Many happenings are just around the corner: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas
and all the wonderful festivals and celebrations that go hand in hand with these
special Holidays.
Just a reminder to all, if you have not heard from us recently we DO OT have a
current email address for you. CCA has instructed us to send only to email in the
file they send to us and if it is not current you will never hear from us. Even though
we would love to do it, we cannot change this for you, you must login at
BMWCCA.org and change your preferences yourself. If you have never logged in
instructions are there for starting a new login with your membership number.
If we miss you at one of our upcoming meetings and our Christmas Holiday
gathering please have a great Fall Season and see you soon.
Brenda
NEW Membership Benefit
John McLarty, General Manager of BMW of Chattanooga, has offered an upgrade to
our parts discount at his dealership! Instead of the normal 10% off BMW parts, we
now can purchase parts at Sonic Automotive employee pricing, which is about a 25%
discount. Thank you, John!!
Upcoming Events
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October 17 - 18, 2014 - BMW CCA Foundation Open House & Eurofest; BMW CCA Foundation will
have their first annual open house for the Eurofest attendees on Friday, 10/17/14 from 10am to 4pm. You do
not have to be a registrant of Eurofest to attend our open house. Everyone is welcome to visit. They are
going to have some very special cars on display for the day, like a 3.0CSL, M1, an 8 Series, and several
others that are in the works. If all goes well, we will even have a brand new i8 on display. There is no charge
to attend the open house, but they do ask that you register. The Foundation wants to be sure to have enough
staff on hand during the day. Speaking of staff, they are looking for some volunteers to help. Please contact
Michael Mitchell at 864.329.1919 if you would like to help!
November 8, 2014 - Fall Drive; We will meet in the Bi-Lo parking lot at East Brainerd Rd. and OoltewahRinggold Rd. and depart at 9:00 am Eastern time. We will drive some great little roads in southeast
Tennessee and end at the Countryside Cafe for a great lunch and a recap of the drive. RSVP to Bob Wilson
at rewilson@bledsoe.net to be sure you don't get left out.
November 11, 2014 - Mille Miglia Presentation and November Meeting; 6:30 P.M., Walden Club, 633
Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, TN; Hear from Choo-Choo Chapter member and BMW North America retiree,
Rob Mitchell, about participating in this historic event in a BMW 507!
December Meeting/Chapter Christmas Party at BMW of Chattanooga - Details to be announced!
Join Us In Detroit
For those of you interested in a group trip to the North American Auto Show in Detroit, read on! The show will
be open to the public January 17 - 25, 2015, and we want to be a part of it. The dates we are headed to
Michigan have not been decided yet, but if you are interested in going with us let me know! Call or text me at
423-488-6281 or Email jennifercummins@epbfi.com
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The Old Curmudgeon’s Corner . .
Here of recent I’ve been traveling far and wide and learning more about this large country that we live in. Early in August
made a mad dash to Raleigh for a family reunion. Minimum turn out for the reunion and maximum grief for the
Curmudgeon’s better half, in that her 335i encountered fender damage somewhere in the confines of PF Chang’s valet
parking in the Crabtree Mall.
Anyhow we beat a hasty retreat back to Chattanooga, unpacked bags then repacked them and took off via Delta Airlines
to points west starting in Las Vegas, setting up base in Lake Las Vegas near Henderson. Then Lake Las Vegas to Hoover
Dam via Lakeshore Road along the shores of Lake Mead. Next day a drive to Zion National Park, St George Utah and back
to base in Lake LV. Next day to Grand Canyon West Rim. Then next day south to Kingman AZ and Route 66. Lots of
nostalgia for TOC there, I drove Route 66 from Barstow CA to Southern Illinois in late 1958, my pre BMW days. AHH! To
be a young lad of 22 years with a pocket full of money and little sense. I digress. We spent the afternoon in Williams (met
up with our daughter and son-in-law) and then took off for the Grand Canyon South Rim. After photos and dinner at the
Tovar Inn we drove back to Williams for the night. The next day had brunch and long conversation with the family and
then a mad dash back to Las Vegas and Caesars Palace and the venerable Rod Stewart. What a show, what a day. Another
day in Las Vegas and then the long plane ride home via Atlanta. A subject for another day.
TOC
46th Annual Oktoberfest Presented by Michelin
The jagged peaks and brilliant desert vistas of Colorado made a stunning backdrop for 2014’s Oktoberfest show, but
on the horizon, the latest chapter of the show’s story has been unveiled—the 46th Annual BMW CCA Oktoberfest
Presented by Michelin. Hosted by the New Jersey Chapter and held from the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club
venue, next year’s Oktoberfest trades the high-altitude adventure of Colorado’s Beaver Creek resort for the
oceanside experience—and trackside thrill—of Absecon, New Jersey and New Jersey Motorsport Park.
The 46th Annual Oktoberfest will run from Monday, September 21 through Saturday, September 26, 2015, and will
feature many of the events that longtime attendees have become familiar with at previous shows, including the
renowned Pirelli Concours and the BMW CCA Foundation-sponsored golf tournament, both held this year on the
grounds of the host resort. Other events like the Pirelli Throwback Thursday dinner and the gymkhana precision
driving course will return too, each with new themes related to the event’s new location. Oktoberfest’s signature
rallies and street driving events return as well, along with the Bridgestone Autocross, local area tours and activities in
nearby Cape May, tech talks, dinners, and social events—and so does the German Biergarten, which has proven to
be a member favorite in all its forms.
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Future
Meetings
All at 6:30PM
Bimmer News is a quarterly publication of the Choo-Choo Bimmers Chapter (the club), a
non-profit chapter of the BMW Car Club of Am. Ideas and technical information are
solely those of the authors and no authentication is implied. Contributions from all
members are welcome! Information contained herein is for the clubs use. Permission to
reproduce any of its content should be sent to the editor’s attention.
October 14, 2014
Alleia
November 11, 2014
Walden Club
December 9*
Christmas Party
BMW of Chattanooga
Welcome to our Chapter of the BMW CCA come out and join us
when you have a chance. And of course thank you to all those
who renew every year.
*Keep in touch with us
this date may change.
Timothy Pendergrass Mike Bishop Frank Shropshire Christopher Roach
Things to do around Tennessee
German Cars & Coffee.
German Cars and Coffee at Fidelity Motors – expect a great turnout of cool and classic BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes,
us to build
a strong
and active
membership
by telling
and Volkswagens. This much fun would costPlease
you $$help
but Fidelity’s
Michael
Spurgeon
is making
it a quarterly
event his
owners
and enthusiasts
about
thebreakfast
benefitsand
of club
treat. From 8:00-10:00 in the morning, we’llother
meetBMW
up, check
out each
other’s cars, and
enjoy
coffee
Not only
do weMotors,
have monthly
membership
meetings
provided by Michael. Saturdays: Septembermembership.
27, and November
8. Fidelity
1207 Fesslers
Lane, Nashville.
at local restaurants to have fun and discuss club business, there is
Cars & Coffee.
other benefits
listCool
below.
Saturdays. Roll into the parking lot at the Carmike
Theater on
Springs Blvd around 8:00, look at some great cars,
and visit with other car enthusiasts. This has grown into a big Cars & Coffee and an especially large turnout, including
exotics, shows up the first Saturday of every month. Continues through the second weekend of November.
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BMW CCA offers the following benefits and service
D
Newsletter Stuff
Contributions to this newsletter are welcomed and encouraged by the editorial staff. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity, and content. All editorial
material: classifieds, articles, art work etc. should be sent electronically to the editor
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South Carolina Car Heaven, BMW Style
Article by club member Jerry Thompson
Driving up the interstate in Greenville, SC, when a Porsche Carrera GT passes me. Don’t see that every day, right? Then a
Mercedes AMG SLK goes by. Followed by a copper-colored McLaren P1. And then a slant-nosed 930 Turbo. And bringing
up the rear is a gorgeous red, 1970’s 4-door Mercedes 3.5 Cabriolet, top down and windows up. When I got where I was
going, there was a string of beautiful European cars of every description waiting for a place to be displayed and ogled,
although my Civic rental drew very little attention.
So if it’s the 3rd Saturday in October it must be Eurofest at the BMW facility in (actually) Greer, SC. This show has been
going on for well over a decade and it is one of the biggest (400+ cars) and best car shows in the Southeast. It was at this
show a few years ago that I saw my first—actually first 2, sitting next to each other—Mercedes Gullwings so that should
establish the cred of this show. The cars are displayed around the Zentrum, BMW’s visitor center and mini museum. This
year the featured marque was Porsche, so another compelling reason to visit. The BMW 8 series was a featured model and
there was a large display of these unusual and rare cars, even a Schnitzer model.
This show is exclusively European and nearly every marque has its own area—Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Bentley,
Lamborghini, Jaguar, many British cars, Saabs, even an Opel GT. There were 2 BMW i8’s, their new electric/hybrid sports
car that has to be considered One of the Most Beautiful Cars Ever Made. The Porsche area featured from 356’s to new 991
turbos, a little something for everyone. Everyone is very laid back and willing to stand around and talk about their cars.
Around the main tent is a “Best of the Best” circle of cars specially selected and invited. These are beautiful and perfect
older cars like a 1972 BMW 3.0 CS Coupe owned and driven well and often by Amy Lester, a full-fendered 1950’s Jaguar, a
Sean-Connery-era James Bond Aston Martin, and a couple 356’s. These cars are judged as in a full-blown concours and
awarded prizes. All the other cars in the show are eligible for People’s Choice type awards.
The show started on Friday, actually, with an open house at the BMW CCA Foundation. If you don’t know about the
Foundation, well, you should. They are a place where all sorts of BMW and CCA information and artifacts and things for
sale reside. The Foundation is curated by Michael Mitchell, son of our own Rob Mitchell. They just moved into a much
larger facility next to the BMW Performance Center and held their first open house. Michael showed us much of the great
stuff he has accumulated, including parts of race cars, autographed posters and models. The Foundation has a great on-line
store. For the open house, Michael not only showed us the new facility but also had on display an M1 and an i8, both
owned by the same very fortunate person. Outside was a great collection of cars from 3.0 CS coupes to a bunch of 8 Series
cars. This will be an annual event that should be on calendars with Eurofest.
Eurofest is a full-fledged automotive event for the whole weekend. There are tours, guest speakers and banquets, a
scavenger hunt, tech sessions and other activities for those who want to make a several-day event of it. You can even
participate in events at the BMW Performance Center with on-track instruction in their cars. All European cars are
welcomed, so think about it for next year. I saw the show at a dead run this year, trying to get home from a business trip, so
I hardly scratched the surface.
Bob Wilson offered up a great article on the i8 however it is quite lengthy, so here is the internet link to:
2015 i8: The Jalopnik Review.
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http://jalopnik.com/2015 -bmw-i8-the-jalopnik-review-1641783103
Please help us to build a strong and active membership by telling
other BMW owners and enthusiasts about the benefits of club
membership. Not only do we have monthly membership meetings
at local restaurants to have fun and discuss club business, there is
other benefits list below.
BMW CCA offers the following benefits and services:
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The single finest automobile publication available: Roundel
Discounts on parts and supplies
Free classified ads reaching all members plus non-member web surfers
Library and video services
Help from technical and maintenance experts
Distinctive club decals
"Friends of BMW" booklet listing members who will assist you
Ombudsmen to assist you with BMW dealers or suppliers
Value Information Coordinator to assist with insurance claims, purchase or sale
BMW Special Interest Groups (SIG's) listed in the Roundel
For additional membership information, contact BMW CCA:
at web site: www.bmwcca.org (BMW CCA National Office)
BMW CCA Office Fax: 864-250-0038 BMW CCA Office Phone: 864-250-0022
Choo Choo Bimmers
PO BOX 21766
Chattanooga, TN 37421
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