Die Flusternde Bombe for July 2007 · Yes, the Portola Valley Garage is now a Dinan Authorized BMW-Mini Performance Center—but knowledgeable clients are probably more impressed

ombeB die flüsterndeVolume 36 Number 6July 2007

Inside:Driving The RingAutocross ResultsStreet Survival SchoolBavarian Tuners Tech Day

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2 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 3July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde 3ombeBdie flüsternde

Newsmagazine of the Golden Gate Chapter,

BMW CCA

Die Die Flüsternde Bombe

On the cover

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depa

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ents

Your input is encouraged! Submissions deadline is the 1st of each month prior to publication.

Volume 36, No. 6July, 2007

Chapter Email List Disclosure:The Golden Gate Chapter has created an

email list from the National BMW CCA data-base to send out event announcements that don’t make it into print. We promise to respect your time and limit the frequency of these mes-sages to one or two a month.

This email list is sent to all Golden Gate chapter members who chose to provide an email address to the BMW CCA when they joined or renewed their membership. You have the option to add or remove your address from this list at any time. To add your email address visit http://lists.ggcbmwcca.org/mailman/listinfo/announce and follow the directions. To remove your address go to http://lists.ggcb-mwcca.org/mailman/options/announce, enter your email address and click on the unsub-scribe button. There is no password.

Chapter Website:www.ggcBMWcca.org

~1971~Golden Gate Chapter

Celebrating 36 years of BMW enthusiasm in the

Golden Gate region.

~2007~Yes, the Portola Valley Garage is now a Dinan Authorized BMW-

Mini Performance Center—but knowledgeable clients are probably more impressed with our history of diagnostics expertise. After all, every BMW driver shares a passion for perfection. But whether it’s a supercharged Dinan M5 or the family sedan, you can't properly tune today's cars without the right equipment... like our BMW GT1 and Progman SSS diagnostic machines, or our alphabet soup of test equipment for other marques: Porsche Systems II... Volvo Diagnos-tic Platform... Saab/General Motors Tech II... Mercedes-Benz DAS (STAR) and WIS... well, you get the idea.

Tom Ramies and his staff of ASE-certified master techs can diagnose, analyze, service, and tune your car, foreign or domestic—and do it right.

Now, about that Dinan supercharger....

Classified Advertising Submissions:Our online Classified Ads are free to all current

BMW CCA members. To submit an ad, please visit Golden Gate chapter’s website: www.ggcb-mwcca.org. This magazine no longer accepts classified ads for print.

PublishingDie Flüsternde Bombe is produced monthly

(except for combined issues Nov/Dec and Jan/Feb). Article/photo submission deadline is the first day of each month prior to publication. Submissions go to the Assignments Editor at: [email protected].

C o m m e r c i a l A d v e r t i s i n g : This publication is read monthly by over

4,900 BMW enthusiasts in Northern California. Deadline for new ad artwork is the fifth day of each month prior to publication. Please submit artwork to the Advertising Manager.

Commercial advertisers are responsible for supplying their own ad copy. All commercial advertising must be paid in advance. Contact the Advertising Manager for further details: [email protected]. Please note, this publication is sent Bulk Rate USPS.

For Web or Email-blast advertising rates, please contact the Advertising Manager.

MAGAZINE AD RATES PER MONTH :Commit to: 1 issue 2-3 issues 4-7 issues 8-10 issuesInside black and white ads:

Full page $344 $327 $310 $275

1/2 page $188 $179 $169 $150

1/4 page $135 $125 $113 $105

Bus. card $ 88 $ 84 $ 79 $ 70

Inside color ads:

Full page $500 $475 $450 $400

1/2 page $263 $250 $237 $210

Specified Placement fee: 25% of ad cost/mo.

Inside front/back cover (color):

Full page $513 $488 $462 $410

Back Cover: $775 $737 $698 $620

Two GGC members have their first Nürburgring experience and come back to tell us about it.

Photos: Jeff Cowan and Kris Linquist

Across The Board ......................................5Calendar Of Events ...................................6Announcements ........................................7Bimmerphile ............................................10New Members .........................................20Meanwhile, Back At The Wrench... .......23CCA Discounts ........................................25Factory Authorized BMW Dealers ......25Chapter Contacts .....................................26

The Ring Of Experience By Kris Linquist ........................... 12

Learning Limits By Dave and Ryan Rich ............... 14

Thank You, Heroes .......................... 17Autocross #2 Results ....................... 19Bavarian Tuning Dinan Tech Day

By Paul DaCruz ........................... 21BMW Festorics 2007 ........................ 22Marina Car-Control Clinic ............ 24Thunderhill HPDS .......................... 28

4 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 5July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde

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By Jeff Cowan, Membership Chair

Joooleye! It’s a fun month—for me it represents BBQs, dinners with friends, sipping afternoon wine on hot summer nights, and of course LOTS of GGC events!

It’s also just a month before our chapter’s joint effort with the Central Cal chapter: the BMW Festorics at the August 17-19 Monterey Historics weekend. Central Cal hosts a gorgeous corral and clean-car contest at Friday’s Concorso Italiano among a sea of some of the most stunning Italian coach-work ever designed. The GGC hosts the weekend corral and hospitality center at Laguna Seca during the historic races, where you’ll bask in the glorious sights and sounds of one-of-a-kind race cars (the ACTUAL cars) that earned podium wins around the world during every decade of motor racing. This year’s featured speaker at the BMW-sponsored dinner on Saturday is BMW spiritual guide and engine tuner Steve Dinan. What?! Haven’t you registered for the event at www.festorics.org yet? It’s already July! You’d better register for it now, or you’ll have to wait for next year, because Festorics is a sell-out event every year.

Be sure to look ahead to all the other August events, too. It’s the busiest event month for the Chapter each year. You might still have time to take part in any number of events, including our car-control clinic, Dorkfest, autocross, and the annual Thunderhill driving school! You can read all about those events on these pages and on our chapter website.

Did you know that most of your questions can be an-swered just by looking at the website? Did you know that we have a new look to our website? Push the cat off your lap and rush over to your computer and look up www.ggcbmwcca.org! It’s really impressive—full of information aimed at help-ing our members.

Do you now see events on our online calendar that you missed because the postal carrier takes your copy of the Bombe home for his cat to read before delivering it to you? Then my guess is you’re not receiving our GGC monthly email announcement. Aha, I see you there, vainly wiping at the cat fur on your pants and wondering aloud, “Jeff—my friend, my buddy—tell me, how do I get signed up for that?” The website is your answer!

Like driving events? The website has you covered. Like so-cial events? Got you covered. Want to know about your BMW CCA member benefits? Yup, again—we’ve got you covered.

Want to buy a T-shirt or license-plate frame to proudly display the GGC logo? How about a GGC-logo thong? Point your e-shopping cart to our website.

Are you a newbie to car-control clinics, autocrosses, or driving schools and want to learn more about what to expect? The GGC site has good first-timer information that explains those events and provides some insights on what you’ll ex-perience. Those articles can probably explain what you need to know better than I can—but if you like the personal touch, I’m here for ya. Guess where my contact info is? You guessed it—the website! (And at the back of the Bombe. – kk)

Our fantastic website was created by some very hard-working and creative volunteers. Event coordinators and board members are all volunteers, too. Every BMW CCA chapter is run by volunteers. Hey, if you think about it, the entire BMW CCA has the potential to collapse upon itself at any moment. How so? Let’s say we all get too busy for our Club work. What then? It’s a scary thought. Fortunately, we volunteers bleed the weiss mit blau—white with blue—of that legendary roundel. So we keep at it—until we can con—er,

persuade a new enthusiast to take our place. And if you do volunteer, you’re joining a pretty historic crowd!

Our chapter evolved from the early Stanford BMW Own-ers Club summer of 1969 before merging into the BMW CCA in 1973—which started in Boston in 1969 as well. (Die Bombe must have been part of the original club due to its volume number. - kk) Just look at the BMW CCA now! 74,000 strong, the largest car club in the world. So the odds are good that we’re going to be around for a very long time!

It takes fresh new faces to keep our volunteer corps rolling along, though. Now, if you’ve had the pleasure (or distress, depending on your threshold of pain) of attending any of our comical and spirited board meetings (the board minutes by Chris Webber can attest to that), you know we are a passionate group. We’re intent on making this a great chapter and keeping things moving in the right direction. The meetings are usually part entertainment and part getting the business done. That said, I encourage you to show up and enlighten us with your presence. All of us on the board love the opportunity to welcome you to our meetings and hear what you have to say. If nothing else, your presence helps keep us in line!

Something we’re pondering is changing to mid-week board meetings, rather than Saturdays. As of this writing, no long-term decision has been made. If that is something that would make it easier for you to make the meetings, let us know! Until then, keep an eye on the website calendar for current dates and locations. Our board meetings are a great place to ask questions and get involved. All the board mem-bers have unique experiences—if you’re looking for BMW information, these are some very knowledgeable folks.

Recently I was reflecting on my own involvement with the Golden Gate Chapter. This year marks my twentieth an-niversary in the Club. My first event was as a seventeen-year old at a car-control clinic—then called a safety school. Wow!

I’ve seen our chapter grow over two decades and I’m proud to be a part of that growth as the membership chair. One of my duties is as a liaison to all our members. In that role, I receive many calls and emails with questions ranging from “How do I join,” to “Where can I get my car serviced,” to “What’s the metric-socket size for a front-brake-caliper bolt on a 1991 M5?” Seriously!

It’s 19 mm.


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gMike Mills Named Club Racing Chairman

David McIntyre, Chairman of the BMW Car Club of America’s Club Racing program since December, 2005, an-nounced recently that he is stepping down from the pro-gram’s top spot. The BMW CCA Board of Directors, which appoints the program’s volunteer chairman, understands the magnitude of the time commitment required of the position and is grateful for David’s contribution over the 2006 and 2007 racing seasons. The Board expressed its sincere appre-ciation and thanks for the excellent job David has done as chairman, and is very pleased that David will be remaining with Club Racing as the Sponsorship Director.

The Board also announced the appointment of long-time Club Racing official Mike Mills as Chairman of BMW CCA Club Racing. Mike is one of the most experienced competi-tion stewards in the program. He has served at the national level before, most recently as National Competition Steward, in addition to an impressive stint as Acting Club Racing Chairman in 2005. David Mcintyre expressed his support of the selection and said he was very pleased to hand over the program’s reins to someone of Mike’s caliber. As Chairman of Club Racing, Mike brings a desire to maintain the program’s high standards of safety, driver skill, equipment preservation, and especially the club spirit of camaraderie that has made the program one that is exciting in which to compete and satisfying for the racers, officials, organizers, and fans.

Sierra Foothills Wine Tasting And TourJoin us on Saturday, July 14, in Sonora for some high-

altitude fun! Grape growing in Calaveras County is as old as the Gold Rush itself. By the 1880s, the area was noted as one of the top grape growing regions in California. Today, dozens of wineries carry on that tradition producing outstand-ing Zinfandels, classic red and white wines in the French tradition, and a growing number of varietals in the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian traditions.

Our tour will start in the town of Sonora and twist its way around Murphys and Angels Camp. If you care to drive up on Friday, we have reserved a block of rooms at the INNS of California-Sonora for the evening of July 13. Call the hotel directly to reserve your spot today:

INNS of California-Sonora350 South Washington StreetSonora, CA 95370800 251-1538 or 209 532-3633

Don’t miss the spectacular mountain roads and private tastings at some of the region’s most notable wineries. A casu-al Mexican dinner will follow near the hotel in Sonora. More details will be posted soon to our web site.

When: July 14, start time is 10:00 a.m. at the hotelWhere: Sonora, CAContact: Jeff Cowan, [email protected]

Dorkfest Strikes Again In AugustJoin the fifth annual Dorkfest—a celebration of Z3 and

M coupes. Last year’s event drew 100 people in 53 cars. Let’s make this year even bigger! Planning is underway for Dorkfest 2007. Check the Mdork.com website for more details regarding location and itinerary.

When: August 4, 2007Where: TBAContact: Scott Barneson, [email protected],

www.Mdork.com

The Festorics are Coming! Make your reservations today for the best BMW social

event of the summer. Alongside supporting events—Concorso Italiano, Monterey Historic Automobile Races (Friday), the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (Sunday), and about five major automobile auctions—the Festorics includes a driving tour around the Monterey area (Friday), lunches, and great trackside view at the BMW Club corral at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Saturday and Sunday), a clean car contest at the Concorso, dinner with Steve Dinan as the featured speaker at the BMW Performance Center sponsored event, and great camaraderie with your fellow club members.

The event tickets sell out quickly, so visit the website—www.festorics.org—now. (See ad on page 22 of this issue.)

When: August 17-19, 2007Where: MontereyContacts: Team Festorics, [email protected] California Chapter, [email protected]

The Ultimate Clean-Car ContestOn Friday, August 17, the Central California Chapter will

host its twelfth annual Ultimate Clean-Car Contest at the Black Horse Golf Course at Monterey Bay. As in years past, the event is held in conjunction with Concorso Italiano and within the confines of the BMW parking corral—all part of the pack-age when you sign up with Concorso Italiano.

Your entry fee to the Concorso Italiano guarantees you preferred parking within the BMW corral—literally feet from the concours area. You also have the option of having your BMW judged or placed for viewing. There is no extra charge to enter your BMW in the clean-car contest. Trophies will be awarded to class winners and special awards will be given for the BMW driven the farthest, highest mileage, and more. This year we will have special parking areas to honor M5s.

The corral area at Black Horse is spectacular with cool green grass and a beautiful view of Monterey Bay. Truly a great place to show off your BMW. Get there early if possible. There are many automobile events happening this weekend, including the Monterey Historic Automobile Races and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Please be advised that separate entry forms and/or tickets are required for each of the week-end events.

For information about the Ultimate Clean Car contest, go to our chapter’s website at www.cccbmwcca.com and click on the Activities button. There you will find links to an infor-mation letter as well as an entry form to pre-register for the clean-car contest. Also, look for our combined ad with GGC’s Festorics in the June and July issues of Roundel.

When: August 17Where: Black Horse Golf Course at Monterey BayContact: Wayne Wundram, [email protected],

www.cccbmwcca.com

IRL Race Corral At InfineonPat deWitt is working furiously to make a BMW Corral

happen for the IRL weekend, where the Dinan BMW powered DP car will race August 25th at Infineon Raceway. Keep tuned for more details.

When: August 25Where: Infineon Raceway, Sears PointContact: Pat deWitt, [email protected]

Dates Event/Location Organization/ContactJuly

Jul 7-8 Club Race - Willow Springs GG Chpt Willow Springs Int'l Raceway, Rosamond, CA Steve Walsh www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 13 Pacific Raceways Driving School Puget Sound Pacific Raceways, Kent, WA Eric Bitte www.bmwpugetsound.com [email protected] 14 Sierra Tour & Wine Tasting GG Chpt Jeff Cowan www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 18 Board Meeting GG Chpt Windy City Pizza, San Mateo, CA Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

AugustAug 4 Car-Control Clinic GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Bob Goebel & Grant Low www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 4 Dorkfest Dorkfest TBD Scott Barneson www.mdork.com [email protected] 5 Autocross GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Kris Linquist & Matt Visser www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 11 Board Meeting GG Chpt East Bay BMW, Pleasanton, CA Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 11 Bay Area 02 9th Anniversary Bay Area 02 San Francisco, CA JP Collins www.bayarea02.com [email protected] 11-12 Club Racing School Willow Springs Int'l Raceway, Rosamond, CA Scott Hughes www.bmwccaclubracing.com Aug 17 Ultimate Clean Car Contest CC Chpt Black Horse Golf Course, Monterey, CA Wayne Wundram www.cccbmwcca.org [email protected] 17-19 BMW Festorics 2007 GG Chpt Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Salinas, CA Team Festorics www.festorics.org [email protected] 17 Backroads To Big Sur GG Chpt Big Sur, CA David Crum www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 25-26 Thunderhill Driving School GG Chpt Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA Bruce Nesbit & Billy Maher www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

SeptemberSep 7 Buttonwillow Driving School Central CA Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA Peter Kwan www.cccbmwcca.org [email protected] 8 Board Meeting GG Chpt BMW of Mountain View, Mountain View, CA Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 8 Pacific Raceways Driving School Puget Sound Pacific Raceways, Kent, WA Eric Bitte www.bmwpugetsound.com [email protected] 15 Autocross GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Kris Linquist & Matt Visser www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

Sep 22 Fall Tour GG Chpt Mt. Hamilton - Mt. Diablo David Crum www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 30-Oct 5 Oktoberfest BMW CCA Fort Worth, TX National Office 864 250-0022 www.bmwcca.org [email protected]

OctoberOct 6-7 California Speedway Driving School LA Chpt California Speedway, Fontana, CA Delight Lucas www.bmwclubla.org [email protected] 6-7 Spokane Raceway Driving School Inland Empire Spokane Raceway Park, Spokane, WA Scott Adare www.iebmw.org [email protected] 13 Board Meeting GG Chpt BMW of San Francisco Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 13-14 Club Racing School Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA Scott Hughes www.bmwccaclubracing.com Oct 20 Car-Control Clinic GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Bob Goebel & Grant Low www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 21 Autocross GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Kris Linquist & Matt Visser www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 26-28 Reno-Fernley Driving School Sierra Chpt Reno-Fernley Raceway, Fernley, NV Robyn McNutt www.Sierrabmwcarclub.org/BMWweb [email protected] 27 Pumpkin Tour GG Chpt Half Moon Bay, CA David Crum www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 27-28 Club Race - Thunderhill GG Chpt Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA Steve Walsh www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

NovemberNov 3-4 Infineon Driving School GG Chpt Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA Bruce Nesbit & Billy Maher www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 10 Board Meeting GG Chpt TBD Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 10-11 Club Race - Buttonwillow GG Chpt Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA Steve Walsh www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected] 11 Top Driver Shootout GG Chpt Marina Municipal Airport, Marina, CA Kris Linquist & Matt Visser www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

DecemberDec 8 Not The 49 Mile Scenic Drive Bay Area 02 Ocean Beach, San Francisco, CA JP Collins www.bayarea02.com [email protected] 15 Board Meeting GG Chpt Stevens Creek BMW, Santa Clara, CA Kelly Collins www.ggcbmwcca.org [email protected]

Bolded events are Regional or National CCA events

Dates Event/Location Organization/Contact

The May 2007 GGC board-meeting minutes (as entertaining as always) can be found on the chapter website at: www.ggcbmwcca.org

The Bombe Team welcomes its newest member, Robert Pav-el. He has graciously volunteered to step into the assignments editor position. Way back when Max Hoffman was deliver-ing the 2002tii to America, Pavel was an eager test driver of the Brooklyn dealer’s demo. The little box left rubber in three gears during a lunchtime excursion, sending Pavel down the road to BMW addiction. He joined the BMW CCA in 2000 and

acquired his E36 M3 four years ago---and now he’s been per-suaded to join the Die Flüsternde Bombe team. Pavel will serve his sentence in the assignments editor position by locating, notifying, persuading, reminding, coercing, and pleading with the generous volunteers who help fill the pages of our Golden Gate Chapter magazine with the thrilling sagas of life among BMW owners in this Pacific region. Please send your Bombe submissions to Robert at [email protected].

Additional Notes:


BMW WATER PUMP

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Bimmerphile Editor: Bob Vitkus

BMW NA To Purists: This 1’s For You… BMW wants the upcoming 1 Series to lure enthusiasts back into the fold. The automaker identifies this group as former BMW owners who abandoned the brand because the 3 Series got too big and too luxurious over the past twenty years.

“There are people who always loved BMW but, to be honest, loved some of the older stuff more because, for them, it was smaller, more compact, more pure,” said Rich Brekus, general manager of product planning and strategy at BMW of NA. Brekus said a group of former 3 Series owners who had cars in the 1980s and early 1990s fits this mind-set.

“The series has grown up, but some of them did not necessarily want the 3 Series to grow up,” Brekus said. For them, “the older BMWs were more youthful. The 1 Series is the purest BMW we have.” AutoWeek.com

Plasticomnium Fenders... Borealis has announced that Plastic Omnium is using Borealis’ Daplen EF341AE to manu-facture fender modules for the BMW X5. Borealis has also provided mould design and process management support to the component manufacturer to facilitate production.

According to the company, it has specifically tailored Daplen, a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) compound, to meet BMW’s specifications for the new X5.

Borealis claims that it is the first time that a fender fea-tures integrated components and functions such as headlamp reinforcements and wheel housing, cleaning systems, airbag sensors, and cooling devices. Claims are that the integration provides a 50% weight reduction compared to traditional steel components.

The fender’s pedestrian protection absorber means that the new X5 meets EuroNCAP pedestrian safety regulations for 2010. The fender can deform up to 80mm (3⅛”) on impact to reduce the potential for serious injury to a pedestrian in the event of a low-speed collision. According to the supplier, Daplen offers dimensional stability and prevents warpage caused by expansion and contraction.

Production of the second-generation SUV began late last year at BMW’s US plant, where all X5s are built. Automotiveworld.com

The List Of TLAs Grows: “FAV”… The versatile new BMW, expected to be badged F3 when it reaches showrooms, has been under consideration since 2004, according to inter-nal documentation recently shared with AutoWeek. (F3, F4, F5, F7, F8 and F9 have been applied for by BMW AG with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. ~bv)

What is certain is that BMW’s crossover will sit on a modi-fied version of the existing 3 Series platform. Plans call for adopting various components from the next-generation X3, due out in 2009, together with the new FlexRay system, which is aimed at providing the new car with a stable network for a raft of advanced electronic driver aids and safety features.

BMW’s decision to push ahead with a compact CUV comes on the back of growing concerns over an earlier deci-sion to build a larger seven-seat model. That car, known in-ternally as the RFK (for Raum Funktionales Konzept or “space-functional concept”) but set to be badged F5, would rival the Mercedes-Benz R-Class. However, slow sales of the R-Class, most notably in the North American market for which it was expressly conceived and where it is assembled, apparently have left BMW’s top brass wondering if they might have set their sights a little too high.

Secrecy surrounds BMW’s production plans for the F3, although the key may lie in the company’s recent announcement that it will shift production of the second-gen X3 to its Spar-tanburg, South Carolina, plant in 2009. That move would free space for the F3 at the Magna plant in Steyr, Austria, where the X3 is now assembled. AutoWeek.com (In their February, 2003 issue, Automobile mentioned that the then dubbed “V3” was one of a new class of “FAV” vehicles– “Family Activity Variability.” ~bv)

And Yet Another TLA: “DCT”…The new BMW M3 (E92) will get a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox as an alterna-tive to the standard six-speed manual. Official confirmation of the long-rumored transmission came via a document is-sued to BMW dealers confirming the car’s specification.

The new gearbox, called M DCT, will be available from March 2008. Made by BMW’s long-standing transmission part-ner Getrag, it will provide rapid and nearly imperceptible shifts. The speed of a double-clutch transmission is likely to improve the M3’s 4.8 second 0-62 mph time by a couple of tenths of a sec-ond. The system should offer significantly smoother shifts than BMW’s SMG transmission in the M5 and M6. Autocar.co.uk

Should A Rolls-Royce Phantom Be Not Exclusive Enough, Fear Not… Rolls-Royce is celebrating the 100th an-niversary of the Silver Ghost with a limited-edition Phantom, the Phantom Silver. Just 25 of the cars will be produced, all of them finished in—you’ve guessed it—silver.

The Phantom has ever so slightly more power than its ancestor, with 453 bhp from its 6.8-liter V12 next to the 1906 Silver Ghost’s 48 bhp.

Along with its silver paint, the Phantom Silver gets spe-cial chrome wheel centers, a solid silver Spirit of Ecstasy, and special embossed leather upholstery. Autocar.co.uk

More Frugal And Cleaner Than A Prius… And no extra batteries required! The new Mini Cooper D will be capable of returning an astonishing 72.4 mpg (Imperial gallons), with CO2 emissions of just 104 g/km. Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start-Stop Function, and Switch Point Display complete a package that will come at no extra cost to future Mini cus-tomers. BMW Press UK

Expansion Plans For Spartanburg… The BMW Group sees further growth potential in the USA and will therefore expand its activities in its largest single market. “We will expand the production capacity of our US plant in Spartan-burg in the medium term from the current 140,000 to well over 200,000 vehicles per annum,“ stated Norbert Reithofer, the Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG at the Annual General Meeting held in Munich. “This is one element of our future strategy. Taking this step will help to lower our US dollar currency risk,“ he added. The adverse impact for the BMW Group from the weak US dollar and Jap-anese yen in the last financial year alone totaled €666,000,000. (BMW uses $1.26 as the average Euro/USD rate in the report. - bv) The group currently manufactures the Z4 and X5 in the USA. The X6, as well as a possible successor to the X3, are to be built there in the future. BMW Press

Rumor Mill…We’ve heard from our sources that the next-generation Z4 (E89) will not be built by BMW MC at Spartanburg; and, we are now seeing ’talk’ on Bimmerfest.com that E89 produc-tion will be shifted to Regensburg in Germany - the plant where 3 Series coupes and convertibles are built exclusively. ~bv

Beauty Is Back For BMW… The titan of 21st century car design—BMW—is rewriting the rulebook, with a stunning new concept car shot exclu-sively by CAR. Everyone has an opinion about the current crop of BMWs designed under Chris Bangle. Read the last word on the Bangle era in Gavin Green’s seminal essay and pore over the company’s new styling direction, epito-mized by the stunning CS car. The shoot is another CAR exclusive. CAR

Long, Low, And Wide Design Language… The CS is a landmark concept for ideas, not a thinly veiled model

bound for showroom reality. Yes, the show car packs a 500-bhp V10 from the M5/M6, but this car is way bigger than them and has a standalone rear-wheel-drive chassis.

Despite its similar name, four-doors, and coupé –like profile, the CS is no potential Mercedes CLS fighter. Stretch-ing longer than a standard 7 Series at 5.1 meters (16’ 8¾”), the CS is much bigger. It’s also very wide and low (just 136 cm (53½”) tall, in fact). BMW design boss (BMW autos ~bv) Adrian van Hooydonk: “We are aiming higher than the CLS. When you look at the car’s proportions, it is actually a class above any that we make today.”

BMW already makes a long-wheelbase version of the 5 Series specifically for China, so don’t bet against something like the CS making production. The car itself is striking, but far from an outlandish flight of fancy—inside or out.

Van Hooydonk has the last word, “We could do this car without a problem, not to sell out engineering knowledge short. In this concept car, you see the sum total of all our thoughts, craft, and dreams.” CAR

A New Product Bigger Than The 7 Series?… German outlet Auto Zeitung is report-ing that BMW has be-gun work on an R8/911 competitor. To be called the M10, this front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe would be the spiritual successor to the M1 and Z8. Though BMW has dabbled with carbon fiber in some of its recent designs (See Z29 in Bimmerphile, Sep-tember ’06. ~bv), the M10 would likely be almost

completely covered in the mate-rial to keep weight around 3,000 pounds. Power for the M10 could come from either the M3’s 420-hp, 4.2-liter V8 or the corporate 5.0 liter V10 producing around 550 horsepower. We would expect both engines to be offered so that BMW could square off the M10 against the R8 and RS8, as well as the 911 and 911 Turbo.

If BMW is working on such a car, development is going on behind many closed doors and any official info is far off. Regardless, such a car makes sense for the brand that pur-ports to build ultimate driving machines. Autoblog.com

Customize Mini Roof Graphics… A new website tool, called the Mini Roof Designer, offers the Mini community many individualization possibilities for the roof of their favorite car. (Currently available only in Italy, Germany, and Austria. Other countries are expected to follow.) At www.Mini.com/roof-designer (Flash Player 8 required), one will arrive at the virtual parking deck where currently 90 exist-ing roof designs await inspiration. The highlight on the web page is the “Mini workshop,” where one can have a free run. After selecting the desired Mini model, with body and roof colors, an innovative 3D design machine will generate a personalized roof design. Roof Designer is available exclu-sively on the Internet. Select personal favorite; place order for the foil; and, then have it installed by a Mini dealer of own choosing. BMW Press DE

Not enough flair fur die Em Funf? Vas ist das?!!Bob claims to be retiring from the position of Bimmerphile Editor. I wish I could talk him out

of it, but I guess he needs the time to continue his fevered research into BMW minutia. I thank him for his time and phenomenal insight into the facts he finds for Bimmerphile. My gratitude goes out to him, as I’m sure our readers’ do too. Thanks, Bob! Many happy trails to you! - kk

See You Labor Day Weekend At Z3/Z4 Homecoming 2007 in Spartanburg, SC…Posted on Roadfly.org. The original source of this picture and the story behind it are unknown… thankfully. ~bv

Go visit Mini Planet: Using a few circles, half circles, and a square, you can even create this for a graphic. Although somehow I think BMW might have a cow over this one. - kk

Royalty In The U.S.: Brad Pitt arrived at the Ocean’s 13 premiere in a BMW Hydrogen 7. Do you think the hydrogen highway is pure hype? If the hydrogen highway will some day be a reality, when is that day? HybridCarBlog.com

Royalty In England: Three Hydrogen 7s took part in the June 2007 Revolve Brighton-to-London rally for low and zero-emission cars. During the course of the event, HRH The Prince of Wales, a government minister, the Deputy Mayor of London, Nicky Gavron, and a number of other dignitaries drove the H7. BMW Press

Hydrogen 7 Sightings

Stefan Baldauf

BMW Press


Sliders Guest House. (www.slidersguesthouse.com) Checking in involved opening the door to the house and saying, “Um… hello?” We were immediately greeted by Bren, the owner of the guest house, who then showed us to our room.

Sliders has seven or eight rooms in the house, each with two or three beds. There are three or four full bathrooms throughout the house for use by the guests. Downstairs, there is a very large common area with a big-screen TV and a refrigerator full of Ger-man beer.

Mmmmm. beeeeer. The Nürburgring just happens to be open from 5:45 p.m. to

7:30 p.m. on Thursday nights, so we drove the ten or so miles to the car park. At the Ring, all German road laws apply—accidents are investigated by the police, all passing must be done on the left, etc. Worth noting: It’s not uncommon for the entire track to be shut down several times during a full touristenfahrten day for accident investigation and cleanup. At €1,300 an hour for closure, this is not a cheap addition to your Ring experience if you have the misfortune of creating such a situation.

I walked up to the ticket building where they slipped my credit card past the magnetic reader for the charge of approximately $475 for a 25-lap ticket. I then jumped back in my not-so-outrageous Audi and proceeded toward the ticket read-ing gates. Swipe your ticket and the gate opens—you’re good to go! No helmet, no driving instructor, just you and 12.9-something miles of the most famous racetrack in the world.

I think I did three heart-pounding must-take-it-easy-Kris laps that eve-ning before returning to Sliders.

The atmosphere at the guest house is incredible—everyone staying there is a motorhead. The lead editor for Performance Bike magazine happened to be a guest that weekend. He was there to test the new Japanese 600cc crotch rockets. Other guests had their two Integra Type-Rs and two Subaru WRX STis, as well as several motorcycles, parked in the driveway. Each evening, everyone watched each other’s video-recorded laps on the big-screen TV. (The rules prohibit you from recording video around the Ring, which actually means that you need to hide your camera while passing the marshals at the gates.) We freely drank beer out of the fridge—as seems to be the custom. You just put a tick mark next to your name on a sheet and then you’re charged appropriately at the end of your stay.

Bren told me, “I ride about 1,000 laps a year. My fastest lap is seven minutes, 32 seconds on my Yamaha-R1 motorcycle.” That lap time indicates he was able to average 102.93mph. Wow!

The next morning, I woke up early to get to the car park by opening time—8:00 a.m.. The early morning fog lay heavily on the track, so it didn’t actually open until nearly 10:00 a.m.. I took advantage of the extra time to just soak in the surroundings: a

12 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007

While most die-hard BMW motorheads know about the Ring Taxi, some of you may not. BMW has a fantastic marketing gimmick set up at the Nürburgring; this taxi is a bone-stock BMW M5—emblazoned with fancy graphic tattoos. The real fun comes from the taxi drivers—they’re members of BMW’s racing team. This is an E-ticket ride in one of the most powerful sedans in the world, on the world’s most famous race track! (Check out www.YouTube.com for various video clips of the Ring Taxi.)

Sounds great, right? Well, there are some downsides. It costs nearly €190 to reserve the car. (You reserve all three available seats.) According to Ben Love-joy’s website (www.nurburgring.org.uk), “It’s reputed that it costs BMW €480 per lap. (Following an accident years ago in which either a wheel or suspension component failed, BMW changes the tires every ten laps, the brake pads ev-ery twenty laps, and the suspen-sion every 50 laps. The cars are replaced annually.)”

And it isn’t easy to reserve, either; tickets are generally sold out a year in advance. Once you have a ticket, you can then look at the available dates and book one. Booking dates and buying your ticket are independent—and customer-un-friendly. The upside is that many of those who have reserved the Taxi do not have a full car and are more than happy to sell you a back-seat ride. So I left my name and mobile number with the very friendly staff at the Ring-Taxi desk—and luck was with me! They called with a back-seat opening which cost me a mere €50!

Claudia Hurtgen, a very ac-complished race driver for BMW, was our driver. There were no parade laps here! She was out for blood—fortunately, she didn’t get any!—and the nine-minute lap in the M5 was simply awesome. I highly recommend it if you want to experience the Ring at speed.

After all, there’s no way you could ever have such an experi-ence in the U.S.! —Jeff Cowan

parking lot now spilling over onto the street filled with some of the best cars in the world. Porsche GT3s outnumbered “regular” 911s. E46 M3 CSLs outnumbered “regular” M3s. Car and motor-cycle owners spoke a multitude of languages—most often you’d hear the Nordschleife turn names: Karoussel, Pflantzgarten, and Adenauer Forst. Many things were happening, yet everyone was watching the marshals out of the corner of their eye… prepared to run back to their vehicle once the barricades are moved from the gates to The Ring.

Finally, the track opened. And despite that fact that it was a busy Easter weekend, we were still able to get quite a few clean laps—not held up by accidents or insanely slow drivers. By the end of the weekend, I was fairly confident that I had most of the corners memorized. And by most, I mean 25 percent!

Wow, I need more laps! During our down time, I went around to several of the loca-

tions listed on Ben Lovejoy’s Nürburgring site (www.nurbur-gring.org.uk/) as great spots for a photographic opportunity. The Adenauer Forst section was definitely the most interesting location—an uphill left hander, followed by another left-hander, which is both unexpected and blind until you’re on top of it. There’s plenty of runoff room in the grass in case you miss the turn, which is fortunate since we heard that can happen several times an hour. We witnessed plenty of sliding, one-eighties, and a motorcycle crash—yes, the rider was okay!

My time at the Ring gave me a little over a dozen trips around the circuit. (I split my 25-lap ticket with Aleks.) I can absolutely say I had a great time… while the Audi might have fared worse—the brakes were toast after a bit over ten percent of their life—about 350 miles—after being tortured on the track.

The Nürburgring is a unique experience which many enthu-siasts aspire to. I’m here to tell you that this “public road” is seri-ous business. And, if you’re a true “driver,” you must experience at least once in your lifetime!

Kris Linquist’s photos are available for view at: www.linquist.net/gallery2/2007/

Single lap: €194-lap ticket: €648-lap ticket: €12415-lap ticket: €22025-lap ticket: €34560 laps: (Breakeven point for a Jahreskarte)Jahreskarte (Full-calendar year): € 895

The thrill of a fast lap in a great car... priceless.

Looking for a little snazzier drive for the track? www.Rent-Racecar.de is the ticket. Day rates range between €360-695 with BMWs ranging from a 318ti to a 300 HP E36 M3.

The Ring Of Experience

Ready, steady, go! This way, to enter the Ring!

Aleks Tan, another one of the instigators of the trip.

ombe

Tan passed this Ferrari in the Karoussel with the lowely diesel Audi.

By Kris Linquist Photos by Jeff Cowan and Kris Linquist

In the May 2007 issue of Roundel, I described how to get to the Nürbur-gring on a budget. Now that I’ve been back from the trip for a month, I think my adrenaline level is low enough to type without my hands shaking.

The Nordschleife—the German name for the north loop of the Nürburgring—is classified as a one-way public toll road. During the Touristenfahrten (tourist driving), anyone with a ticket—you, me, Great-Aunt Nora, or

even O.J. Simpson—can drive a road-legal vehicle on the very same track that Hans Stuck has burned up on his way to wins for BMW race teams. Consider this ticket as an E-plus-plus Disneyland ticket! Each lap can cost between thirteen to nineteen Euros, depending on what ticket package you choose… if you want to go whole hog, €895 buys you unlimited laps for the entire calendar year.

Driving the Ring has been a dream for me for as long as I can remember, and so when the opportunity for a spur-of-the-mo-ment trip came up, I leapt at it. If you remember my Roundel story, you’ll recall how stupid-cheap the flights I got were. On the first leg, Aleks Tan (another GGC chapter member) and I flew to New-ark, where we met three other friends who all live in New York City. Since we had a twelve(!) hour layover, we took the train into Manhattan to go enjoy the Big Apple. After a great day in the city, we returned to the wonderful Newark Liberty airport to continue our journey to Cologne, Germany.

After the uneventful flight, we picked up our rental car. I had reserved a BMW 3 Series, but the keys they handed us was for an Audi A6… automatic! They have automatics in Europe?!

The A6 barely had enough power to pull its two-ton carcass out of the way with its 180-bhp 2.7-liter turbodiesel engine. We then drove to Amsterdam for the first two nights of our adven-ture. Once we arrived in Amsterdam

And that was our adventure in the Netherlands!We drove about three-and-a-half hours at (oh, the joy!) Au-

tobahn speeds to Dollendorf, Germany where we checked into

****AMSTERDAM TRIP REPORT OMITTED BY EDITOR****

Of course there’s an on-track photographer! Here’s one of my dozen or so laps in the Audi.

14 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 15July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde14 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007

When I went to the Street Survival School, I thought it was going to be a day of just classes and boring lectures. Boy, was I

wrong! Everything was hands-on: lots of driving! All the instructors were nice and had volunteered their time that day to help us learn.

First up for my group was the braking and accident-avoidance session. In this exercise, we approached the stage at a speed of around 35 mph. For our first drill—emergency braking—they gave the instruction to stop—right before hitting some cones. It really taught us what brakes can do! In the next drill they had us maneuver our car around a “box” of cones (simulating a stopped vehicle) and come to a complete stop. In the last exercise, we were instructed to drive toward the box of cones; then at the last second they signaled which direction to swerve to avoid the cones. These exercises showed us how to control our car while making last-second transitions.

Next up was the wet and dry skid pad—two different set-ups. Both exercises had cones set up in an oval. Our goal was to drive around the oval holding the steering wheel in one position—using only the power from the throttle to steer the car. When we were comfortable with the dry oval, they moved us to the wet skid pad to give us a chance to see how slick tires can act when the pavement is wet. When you weren’t paying attention during your time on the pad, the instructor riding along would pull on the emergency brake—giving us the chance to experience a spinout. The dry skid pad showed us what the car’s limits are on dry pavement. Because we got to drive on both wet and dry surfaces, we got to compare the different levels of traction.

The final course was two differently-spaced slaloms with hairpins at either end. This exercise taught us how to be smooth and shift the weight of the car properly. We learned that if we weren’t smooth, the car would break traction and slide—losing grip at either the front or rear, depending on whether we were too soon or too late in our transition.

All the courses gave us a chance to learn new skills. I think one of the most important skills I learned was to always look ahead—keep your eyes up—and look where you want to go.

I really enjoyed this class, and would like to do it again. I met many new friends and had a blast. This kind of fun at a school was the furthest thing from what I expected!

Dear Paula,I want to thank you so very much for

instructing Erica on the wet skid pad at the Tire Rack Street Survival School. You had a tremendous impact on her.

Erica is a pretty reserved and shy twenty-year old. She didn’t choose to get her driving license until she was eighteen. She has always been a cautious driver, but had no practical understanding of what to do (or what a car could do) in an accident-avoidance situation.

I suggested the Street Survival School to her and, with a little nudging, she signed up.

She was very nervous that day, but in true Erica fashion, she kept it hidden inside. As the day progressed, I could see that she was gaining little bits of confi-dence here and there, but she was still quite nervous.

The Son’s Perspective

By Ryan RichLearning LimitsA father-and-son‘s perspective on a great day at the Street Survival School.By Dave Rich

I’m proud to tell you that I’m a father of a great kid. Ryan is sixteen years old and I’m pleased that he’s a careful driver, but, until recently, his lack of experience concerned me.

There are a lot of drivers on the road who are reckless, rude, and even drunk. I had seen the advertisements for the Street Survival School last year and my wife and I thought it would be a great idea for Ryan to attend once he had his license. If it only saved him from just one accident, it would be worth it.

Ryan was interested, too. He had attended his first BMW CCA autocross the month prior to the school and had found it gave him a bit more con-fidence and a keener interest in learning better car control skills. So he was all for us signing him up for the school. He read up on the school requirements in advance and even performed his own tech inspection the night before on our 1985 535i—the car he drives to school. The things to inspect seemed pretty straight forward; you can’t have things like bungee cords holding down batteries, etc.—pretty simple stuff.

The day of the school, he and I got up at 6:00 a.m. and loaded the cars for the ride from San Jose to Candlestick Park. When we arrived, the event had not yet started, but you could already tell there was a very well coordinated feel to it. Two volunteers cheer-fully tech inspected the 535i, which passed inspection with no problems—as expected.

As Ryan stood with the other students—44 in all—the volunteers gave an enthusiastic introduction on the lessons to be taught at the clinic. The clinic would consist of four sessions: a braking and ac-

cident avoidance exercise, wet skid pad, dry pad, and a slalom course.

Ryan started with the braking and accident avoidance exercise. For the braking part of the exercise, the intent was to approach the cones at 35mph and then execute an emergency stop, ending up as close to the cones as possible without knocking them over. At one point, the instructor said, “You get extra points if you knock over a cone, but then pull it back up into the original position when you back the car up.” Yeah right! If you can believe it, on Ryan’s

very next run he did just that!—and got a rousing ovation from all of the parents and coaches watching.

As a result of his experience at the autocross the month before, Ryan was very open to the coaching given during the day. And I cannot say enough about the instruction by the Golden Gate Chapter volunteers. It was quite obvious to everyone watching that the kids got better at the maneuvers on each successive run. A good percentage of the instructing was one-on-one, with the instructors rotating through the students to give different per-spectives. These instructors were great with the kids and are the reason the program is a success.

Once this first session was over, it was time for lunch. While munching on some great sandwiches, we listened to instructor Clint DeWitt (a traffic court judge in his real job and an SCCA race-car driver) give compelling information about how much more dangerous a car can be—in terms of force—compared to a handgun. That talk made me—and I’m sure everyone else—think about the power you harness when you drive.

After the lunch break, the next session up for Ryan was the wet skid pad. He explained to me, “The object is to control the car in a slide around the pad and keep it in between the cones.”

The dry skid pad was uneventful, EXCEPT for burning the rubber off of my new Yokohama tires! That lost tread is worth it, though. It’s a good thing for Ryan to understand the point at which physics take over and the tires let go.

The last event of the day was the slalom—another opportunity to kill more helpless cones. With instruction, the students learned more physics and transformed their awkward, sliding turns into smooth transitions, better control, and a more efficient path through the cones.

As the last session wound down late in the afternoon, the stu-dents met up at the trailer for graduation. Each student received a certificate of completion and some nice goodies from the event sponsor, The Tire Rack.

It was a tiring day, but we learned a lot—both student and dad. Ryan really felt he found out where the limits of his car were and improved his braking skills a lot. As a father, I can sense more confidence in Ryan’s driving. He seems to drive slower on the street now—at least when I am around. More defining evidence of the effects of the school showed in his autocross times the next weekend. He shaved several seconds off his times, which made him feel really great.

Street Survival is an invaluable asset which BMW CCA Foundation and The Tire Rack provide. In my opinion, these kids came out better, safer drivers, and how can you place a price on something that important?!

If there was a downside to the day, it was that Dad felt left out… so I’m fixing that by signing up for the next car-control clinic!

The wet skid pad was Erica’s last ses-sion of the day. The kids lined up their cars for the exercise and you hooked up with Erica at that time—what luck! She devel-oped more confidence in driving in those 30 minutes with you than she had in two years of driving on her own. I could tell from the brief snippets of conversation I had with her in between each skid-pad run that she felt she was understanding what you wanted her to do, and—maybe more importantly—really having fun doing it. She thrived on your encouragement.

Midway through the exercise, the seat belt jammed on her mom’s Passat. Erica thought she was done for the day, but you said, “You’ll drive my car.” I could tell it was a moment of both absolute terror AND ex-citement for her. She only accepted the offer to drive your M3 because of your encour-

Thanks for Instructing Ericaagement. When she came back from her first run, she had such a grin on her face!

On the way home she talked about now being the right time for her to get her own car. When we got home, the first thing she did was watch the video I took of her driv-ing your M3 on the skid pad. Then, when her 24-year old brother got home later that night, she called him to the TV where she had the clip of her spinning your M3 up on the screen. I could hear him yelling, “NO WAY! You got to drive an M3?!!”

I was so very proud of how far Erica progressed in her confidence behind the wheel that day—thanks to all of the in-structors and especially you. You were an awesome role model for her in more ways than you’ll know.

Thank you for being there. Erica’s Dad

A letter received by instructor Paula Williamson

Photos by Dave Rich

16 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 17July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde16 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007

I want to mention a couple of things about the group of instruc-tors we have for the Street Survival Schools. Some of them drive the extra mile. Ken McKay and Clint deWitt drove in from Sacramento to instruct—about 125 miles one way—and Ken Whitson and Tony Cattedra drove up from Carmel/Monterey to instruct—nearly 120 miles one way. So, these guys got up WAY early, drove two hours, worked eight hours, and drove two hours home.

Steve AlbrechtGregory AmicoBill ArnoldRodger BallJonathan BensenTony CattedraRalph Conway

Mark DadgarBob GoebelChris GoelkelClint deWittSteve JacksonDave JohnsonPaul Kunz

Kris LinquistGrant LowPaul MannheimerLuis MartinezRandy McFarlandKen McKayDonna Seeley

Zack SteinkampAleks TanMartin UmehDonovan UnksMike VincentySteve WalshKen WhitsonPaula Williamson

And what do they and their fellow instructors get for their long day of volunteering out in the middle of a parking lot? Perhaps they come out for our three course lunch—a sandwich, a cookie, and chips! But it’s obviously not the food that is the reward, it’s a “thank you,” and—the best compensation—the chance to make a difference in the life of a new teen driver. That’s dedication—I love working with these guys! ~ Bob Goebel, Organizer

Our very dedicated instructor group from the May 2007 school is listed below. Thank you for your commitment to this important program!

We Couldn’t Do It Without You

Thank You, From The BMW CCA Foundation

May 15, 2007

To: Bob Goebel

Dear Street Survival Hero,

On behalf of the Trustees of the BMW CCA Foundation, Michael Mitchel, and myself, I want to thank you for all your effort and hard work facilitating your recent Tire Rack Street Survival School. I know it was hard work and you ended up spending much more time on it than expected, but I hope you think it was worth it.

Because of your tireless labor—again and again and again—you have taught another group of teenagers how to be better drivers and better citizens of our roadways, mak-ing it safer for all of us to travel our roads. These skills will pay off immediately, and for the rest of their lives.

With your help, we are well on the way to meeting our goal of hosting 50 schools this year.

Thank you and your dedicated crew, and again for all that you have done. Please thank them for me.

Sincerely,Bill WadeNational Program ManagerTire Rack Street Survival®

BMW CCA Foundation4001 Pelham Road, Ste 291 Greer, SC 29650

877 269-2202 www.streetsurvival.org

Bob Goebel and Grant Low put in a lot of hours or-ganizing the GGC Street Survival School program.

Chris Goekel Clint deWitt

Paul Kunz Tony Cattedra

Steve Jackson

18 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 19July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde 19July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde

C Class

Place Name Car TimePoints Earned

1 Harold Dorton 1998 Z3 2.8 53.446 20

2 George Tin 2001 330i 4 Dr Sport 54.544 15

3 Dave Rich 2003 325i Wagon 56.007 11

4 Nicholas Li 1998 318ti 56.477 8

5 Al Kaehler 1998 328i 4 Dr 58.418 6

6 Diane Dorton 1998 Z3 2.8 59.040 5

B Class


1 Mark Young 2005 Mini Cooper 48.531 20

2 Jeff McCormick 2004 M3 Convertible 49.224 15

3 Philip Shirvani 2004 330Ci Sport 50.816 11

4 Jon-Mark Schneider 2006 330i 51.261 8

5 Joe Mercado 1994 325is M Technik 51.758 6

6 Tom McIntyre 1998 M3 4 Dr 51.760 5

7 Laura Brodzinsky 1998 M3 4 Dr 51.789 4

8 Greg Malter 2003 330i PP 51.870 3

9 Kevin Cabral 1994 325is 51.873 2

10 Dudley Kenworthy 2003 M5 53.083 1

11 Ryan Rich 1985 535i 53.762 0

12 Ryan Laroux 1999 M3 Convertible 54.111 0

13 Dan McCormick 2004 M3 Convertible 54.814 0

14 Chu Chang 2002 330Ci 54.972 0

15 Steven Ho 2002 M3 Convertible 55.305 0

A Class


1 Paul Berton 2007 335i Sedan Sport 47.322 20

2 Russ Bowlus 1998 328i 4 Dr 47.841 15

3 Michael Do Couto 2004 M3 48.779 11

4 Kristopher Linquist 2003 330i PP 48.844 8

5 Guillermo Guadron 2001 325Ci Sport 49.524 6

6 Chris Goelkel 1988 535is 50.390 5

7 John-Paul Nguyen 1998 M3 50.562 4

8 Frederick Pickel 2001 M Roadster 51.557 3

9 Sasha Mestetsky 1988 M5 51.561 2

10 Elena Osterreicher 1991 325i 52.040 1

11 Geri Gorski 2002 330xi Wagon 52.357 0

12 Helmut Meisl 1995 M3 52.570 0

13 David Ho 1999 M Coupe 52.743 0

14 Robert Monge 1995 M3 53.560 0

15 Alison Cook 2006 Z4 M Coupe 56.043 0

AA Class


1 Rodger Ball 2003 M3 47.932 20

2 Chris Webber 1997 328i 4 Dr 47.985 15

3 Brenden Selvig 1988 325(e) 48.071 11

4 Reid Conti 2000 M Coupe 48.118 8

5 Henry Young 1999 M3 48.796 6

6 Matthew Mitchell 1999 Z3 2.3 49.141 5

7 Aleks Tan 1995 M3 49.644 4

8 Barbara McCrory 1992 325is 49.929 3

9 Geoff White 2003 M3 Conv 49.954 2

10 Matthew Visser 1996 328i Convertible 50.580 1

11 Steve McCrory 1992 325is 50.857 0

12 Cliff Oates 2006 Z4 M Coupe 51.393 0

13 Kelly Collins 2005 M3 51.699 0

14 Garrett Nakamura 1995 M3 52.433 0

AAA Class


1 Ken Garcia 1987 325is 45.201 20

2 Peter Mottaz 1987 325is 45.929 15

3 Jeff Cowan 1989 M3 45.989 11

4 Anthony Zwain 1987 325i 46.202 8

5 Scott Miller 1990 325i 46.733 6

6 Jeff Conner 1995 M3 47.584 5

7 Mario Shen 1999 M3 49.219 4

8 Eric Lam 1987 325is 49.807 3

Gonzo Class


1 Richard Vijeh 1996 328i 4 Dr 45.245 20

2 Raza Uddin 1998 M3 4 Dr 45.358 15

3 Sean Trapp 1996 328i 4 Dr 45.504 11

4 Les Brown 1970 2002 45.921 8

5 Erik Lind 1995 M3 46.010 6

6 Steve Kupper 1970 2002 46.183 5

7 Ivan Petrov 1997 M3 4 Dr 48.923 4

X ClassPlace Name Car Time

1 Jason Sams 2005 Lotus Elise 44.758

2 John Stimson 2005 Honda S2000 44.951

3 Karl Gumerlock 2006 Ariel Atom 2 46.566

4 Colm Gavin 2005 Lotus Elise 47.844

5 Mark Mervich 2002 Subaru WRX 48.029

6 Larry hoover Porsche 911 48.081

7 Peter Chow 2003 Subaru WRX 48.402

8 Nate Walton Go-Cart 48.885

9 Ted Kaczmar 2006 Corvette Z06 50.141

10 Sarah Scherzi 2004 Honda S2000 50.515

11 Kelvin Leung 1994 MX-5 Miata 50.797

12 Jerry Mouton 2001 Porsche Boxster S 51.171

13 A. Sakhartochuk 2004 Honda Civic Si 51.814

14 Matthew Rich 1981 Porsche 911SC 52.085

15 Chris Hallahan 2002 Acura NSX 52.416

16 Tony Wong 1996 Miata 54.349

Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA 2007 Autocross #2 Results

Congratulations to Michael Do Couto on making it to his wedding on time after getting in his June autocross runs! Now there’s dedication.... or daring. 18 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007

Co-organizer, Linquist, loses it—temporarily—after learning there would be more than 120 autocross registrants. Photos by:

Jay ChanskyBenjamin HirschBarbara McCrory (groundspeed.com)Cliff OatesAnna Reid


Last First City Model Year Refered ByBartels C Atherton Steve KupperBauman Steven Los Altos 650i 2006 Berger Marc Carmel Valley 335i 2007 Boyce Will Sunnyvale 325is 1994 Brandes Robert Pleasanton 530i 2006 Brown-Faciane Tawana Elk Grove 325ci 2005 Bui Danny San Francisco M5 1991 Bushnell Ron Aptos M3 1999 Butwill Candy San Leandro Chao James San Francisco Frederick KimCherney Liza Novato 328i 2007 Leroy JohnsonCooper Glenn San Rafael M5 2002 Crew William San Luis Obispo Philip LindstromDarby Brian San Jose 328i 2007 Dobrota Agata San Jose 530i 2002 Dunwoodie David Morgan Hill M3 1997 Duvall Neville Fairfield 318ic 1991 Elderkin Michael Pleasant Hill Escobedo Mark San Jose 528 1999 Fenner Bradley Tiburon 535i 2008 Ferrante B. Santa Rosa Doug WoodsField Bret Palo Alto 650i 2007 Steve ChapmanFleming Kevin Pleasanton Anatoly NescheretFong Rick San Jose Friedrich Sundance San Rafael 328ic 1997 Gandhi Abhiroop Foster City Giang Eric Milpitas 328i 1998 Goodacre James Carmel M5 2001 Goto Ken San Jose 335i 2007 Jonathan SpiraGottfried Danny Salinas Hamilton Matthew Oakland Isetta 1959 Kirk LiesbscherHandley Craig Aptos Z4 2006 Hardy Nigel Monterey 740i 1995 Hofer Richard Santa Cruz M3 1999

Hoover Larry Templeton Howard Brian Fremont 650i 2007 Hsu Maria Honolulu, HI 530i 2007 Kippen Helene San Jose 328 2007 Kubal Patricia Atherton 740il 2000 Law Michael San Ramon 540i 1999 Lu Chee San Ramon 740il 2000 Malilay Derrick San Mateo Z4 2004 Mansourian Nader San Rafael 750i 2007 Mao Yuhong Fremont Kris LinquistMarker Chris Mill Valley X5 2003 Massoudi Mo Carmel McCrone Billy Los Altos M3 2002 Meyn Danelle Dublin X5 2005 Moran Matthew Richmond Mugele Gerald Glen Ellen Nancy DovalMullin Greg Larkspur 328i 1997 Ngo Kevin Sunnyvale Picciotto Carol El Cerrito 330c 2001 Po Edward Fairfield M3 2001 Proto Ronald Castro Valley X5 2007 Reinertson Ray San Mateo Ring Rhydonia Orinda Rosberg Ron Hillsborough 325 2007 Jeff CowanSaunders Greg Hollister 540i 2002 Saxena Maneesh Cupertino Z4 2004 Vikram SaxenaSchmidt Lisa Oakland 330ci 2004 Schumacher Jake San Mateo 335i 2007 Jonathan SpiraSenigo Mark Los Gatos Z4 2004 Sherwood Steven San Jose 335i 2007 Siersema Nick San Jose Snyder Darin San Rafael 750li 2006 Soman John San Jose Soureh Majid Sunnyvale 335i 2007 Stanley Jevan Monterey 325is 1988 Stevens James Palo Alto M3 1999 Tessier Colin Alameda Vang Angelica Fremont 328i 1999 Wolff Harold Walnut Creek M3 2004 Yeung Kenneth Daly City X5 2005 James Chao

Last First City Model Year Refered By

New

Mem

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Bavarian Tuning, together with Dinan Engineering, held a Tech Day last month. It was a beautiful Saturday after-noon for BMW CCA GGC club members to soak up all

the Dinan technology they could handle. Dinan supplied an awesome supercharged S3 M3 which ev-

eryone could examine to see how the tuning pieces could improve their own BMW. Those who wanted to experience the Dinan differ-ence had the chance for a white-knuckle ride with The Izzy. It was definitely a ride to give thanks to the Oh-God handle! The faces of the passengers exiting the M3 told the whole story. WOW!

The presenters explained Dinan parts and service work in detail, and listed the discounts offered to all attendees. In addition, Autosport Detailing and Dent Dynamics added to the education of the group by showing the best techniques to deal with the perils of every-day abuse to a car’s paint and bodywork.

There was plenty of food and drink for all to enjoy between the action. The event concluded with a raffle drawing for some unique BMW Motorsport gear. A few lucky participants won $100 gift certificates toward Dinan goods.

Special thanks to everyone who made the event a success, including the Golden Gate Chapter of the BMW CCA.

Visit the Bavarian Tuning web site for more photos of the event and feel free to call them if you missed the it and have questions.

Bavarian TuningSanta Rosa, CA 95407www.bavarian-tuning.com707 575-3757

Thanks to Mary Lou (left) and Hannah (right) from Bavarian Tuning for coordi-nating the day’s events!

Above: Quinn Barri from Autos-port Detailing demonstrates how to revive paint.

Bavarian Tuning’s E46 Grand Am Cup race car

with Dinan upgrades was on display for the event.

Paula Williamson signs in for a ride in a Dinan supercharged M3 and raffle for BMW Motorsport gear and Dinan gift certificates.

Bavarian Tuning Dinan Tech DayBy Paul DaCruz


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Email your questions to: [email protected]

BY JONATHAN BuSH

The Problem With Free Cars

In my last column, I wrote about the various possibil-ities regarding the Next Stupid Old Car. On that list were gems such as an E34 M5, an E38 740i Sport, and

a Z3 (in either roadster or coupe form). I also have a slight jones for an E28 M5. However, one car conspicuous by its absence (or not) is a 1982 528e.

Chris, a friend of mine, recently purchased an Anthra-zitegrau 1979 BMW 733i. It’s a local car that has covered only 35,000 miles due to a cylinder-head failure in 1985. Having been in a garage since, it’s remarkably well-preserved. Just another nice, one-owner car that needs everything mechani-cal replaced or rebuilt.

The car came to Chris with the engine partially disas-sembled. The long-block was still intact, but the spooky early L-Jetronic fuel injection was in pieces, both in the engine compartment and in a box in the trunk. L-Jet of that era has all sorts of weird valves, hoses, and solenoids, as well as the dreaded cylinder-head-melting thermal reactors—BMW’s great idea in lieu of a catalytic converter.

Chris replaced the cylinder head and then called me to help reassemble the fuel injection. All we had to go on was a large glossy photo of the engine compartment from the facto-ry brochure… and the fact that things seem to piece together only one way. Rather than discard the extra valves, solenoids, etc., we decided to quickly slap it back together in the interest of hearing the motor run. That seemed easier than filling all the vacuum holes left by the plumbing removal.

At the end of that day, the engine did not run, a disap-pointing result. Later in the week, Chris discovered the prob-lem: he had the distributor timing off a bit—only 45-degrees or so. Correcting that, the engine just fired right up like any good old M30 should.

Sometime in between me agreeing to help on this project (Sunday afternoon—drinking North Carolina moonshine with Chris on my buddy Dale’s deck) and me actually laying hands on his car (Memorial Day), Chris left a voicemail on my cell phone: “I have a great idea. Remember that 528e I told you about at Dale’s? The one at my dad’s place? The one I wanted $300 for? Tell you what: You help me with the 733i, and I’ll give you that car. My dad pretty much just wants it gone.”

How do you say “no” to that?Cutting back through the moonshine haze, I have a vague

recollection of Chris saying the 528e was a nice car with good Burgundrot paint and a nice black interior. That got my thought process going: Being such an early example, it won’t have ABS and it’s likely it doesn’t have an OBC; and it will probably have an 85 mph speedometer. I think Chris said it runs out well, but needs brake work—an excellent excuse for some upgrades!

Which is pretty much where my head is right now. Up-grades… to a car I do not own and have not seen.

I’ve bought several ATM-money cars, ranging from Ba-varias to E30s. Some of them were even nice, like the 2002tii. You almost feel bad messing with them because, well, you actually laid out twenty-dollar bills, albeit only a few. But this car could be free. As in, no money and take it away.

Imagine the possibilities. I could drive it into the nearest tree and have it hauled to the dump. I could paint it yellow and get short-term parking in the taxi zones downtown. I could turn it into a sick little beater with the sole purpose of smoking all the front-wheel drive Volkswagen ricers floating around these parts.

Ah, yes, but how to get there?

The simple upgrade would be to buy an E28 535i parts car and swap everything over. That isn’t more than two week-end’s worth of work. At the end, you’d pretty much have a 535i—which is a nice car. However, I would always wonder why I didn’t just buy a 535i.

Slightly less simple is to bolt an E30 325i head and fuel injection to the 528e bottom end. Yes, I know, the 1988 super-ETA bottom end is stronger, but this is a free car we’re talking about. Parts are everywhere, and with those parts, the M20 turns into a torquey little motor that actually likes to spin.

Here’s the thing: If you are going to go through all the trouble of swapping motors or major motor components, why not just put an E36 M3 S50B30 in it? Custom engine mount plans exist; Bill Arnold and I used mounts from TC Design when we built Frankenbav.* Wiring would take a weekend armed with a couple of electrical troubleshooting manuals and a soldering gun. The 528e transmission bolts up to the M50/S50 block. Simple, but involved.

Since the brakes need work anyway, a full swap to E34 540i hardware could be justified, complete with stainless lines and a 750iL master cylinder. Retrofitting ABS is doable, but sort of down on the priority list. Suspension upgrades are simple and omnipresent.

Simple, but necessary, interior modifications include sport seats and steering wheel. The onboard computer is a stand-alone system in the E28. So, if inspired, I could add that. I would instead probably swap the LCD clock for a cool Euro analog piece and leave it at that. The car would need a real gauge cluster.

Eventually it would get Euro bumpers and headlights, because I’m that kind if geek. I might go so far as to put an “is” rear lip spoiler on it, but probably not. The car would receive a set of seventeen-inch throwing-star wheels (without the center covers).

These plans add up to a great beat-around and occasional track car. Best of all, with cold air conditioning I could take friends to dinner or on roadtrips. Hey, my wife wants another 5er anyway.

Say it with me again: Upgrades… to a car I do not own and have not seen.

Guess I should call Chris.* Frankenbav is a 1972 Bavaria with full E28 suspension and

subframes in it. The first motor we put in was a US-spec 1995 M3 S50B30. Bill Arnold has won Targa Newfoundland twice in this car.

BMW Festorics 2007

24 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007 25July 2007 ombeBdie flüsternde 25July 2007 ombeBdie flüsterndeJuly 2007

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1945 Market Street Concord, CA 94520 925 682‑3577BMW of Humboldt Bay 1795 Central Ave. McKinleyville, CA 95519 707 839‑4BMW (4269)BMW of Monterey One Geary Plaza Seaside, CA 93955 831 899‑5555BMW of Mountain View 150 E. EI Camino Real Mountain View, CA 94040 650 943‑1000BMW of San Francisco 1675 Howard St San Francisco, CA 94103 415 863‑9000BMW of Santa Maria 2150 South College Drive Santa Maria, CA 93455 805 614‑0306Claridge’s BMW 4421 5 Auto Mall Circle Fremont, CA 94538 510 360‑5900Coast BMW 1484 Auto Park Way San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 805 543‑4423East Bay BMW 4355 Rosewood Drive Pleasanton, CA 94566 925 463‑2555Peter Pan BMW 2695 S. El Camino Real San Mateo, CA 94403 650 349‑9077Prestige BMW 2800 Corby Avenue Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707 545‑6602Sonnen BMW 1599 E. Francisco Blvd San Rafael, CA 94901 415 482‑2000Stevens Creek BMW 3737 Stevens Creek Santa Clara, CA 95050 408 249‑9070Weatherford Motors 735 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 510 654‑8280

One of the many member benefits of BMW CCA is a members-only discount at various participating services and dealers.

Below you can find the businesses in our area who offer our members a discount. Please note that businesses often require you to show your current CCA membership card in order to receive the discount.

Please contact us with any deletions to the list due to a compa-ny being out of business. We ask that additions, changes, or dele-tions (no longer participating in discount program) are requested by the business owner directly. Updates should be directed to: [email protected].

Independent Service & Supply Discounts

2002 Haus San Luis Obispo 805 541-2002 5% Parts

Bavarian Enterprises Sunnyvale 408 737-6100 Various Parts

Bavarian Motorsport Milpitas 408 956-1662 10% Parts

Bavarian Professionals Berkeley 510 524-6000 10% Labor

Berkeley Motor Works El Cerrito 510 528-1214 5% Parts/Svc

Bimmers BMW Service San Carlos 650 591-2474 Various

Burrel School Winery Los Gatos www.burrellschool.com 10% on Wine (thru 9/30/07)

Catalpa Street Garage Santa Cruz 831 464-2269 10% Parts

Classic Euro-Asian Oroville 530 534-6887 10% Parts

Conversion Techniques Oakland 510 639-0911 Various

Dinan Engineering Mountain View 650 962-9401 10% Labor

Dinan Engineering Morgan Hill 408 779-8584 10% Labor

Double 02 Salvage Hayward 510 782-2002 10% Used Parts

Edge Motorworks Dublin 925 479-0797 10% off Labor

evosport www.evosport.com 888 520-9971 10% Parts, $1000svc=free dyno

Extreme Performance San Jose 408 923-6404 10% Parts/Labor

German Auto Santa Maria 805 922-1262 10% Parts

GS Tuning Santa Rosa 707 284-2680 10% Sales/Service

Heynnemann European San Rafael 415 400-1234 $50 off Service

Jam Engineering Monterey 831 372-1787 Various Parts

John Gardiner Automotive San Francisco 415 777-2697 10% Labor

Nate Smith’s Optimal Auto Santa Cruz 831 476-1332 10% Parts

Patelco Credit Union www.patelco.org 415 442-6200 Special Offer

Phaedrus San Francisco 415 567-8000 10% Parts

Portola Valley Garage Portola Valley 650 851-7442 10% Labor

RennWerks Campbell 408 370-7480 20% Labor

Rossi’s Tire & Auto Svc Salinas 831 424-0011 Various

SAS German Auto Pleasanton 925 846-4886 10% Parts

Schulba BMW Service Belmont 650 592-7352 10% parts orders

Sound Innovations Hayward 510 471-9062 10% Parts

Valley Motorwerks Rancho Cordova 916 636-9526 10% Parts/Labor

West Bay Bavarian San Rafael 415 457-0820 10% Parts/Labor/Dinan work

Dealership Discounts

BMW of Fremont Fremont 510 360-5900 10% Parts/Labor

BMW of Mountain View Mountain View 650 943-1000 10% Parts

BMW of San Francisco San Francisco 415 863-9000 10% Parts

East Bay BMW Pleasanton 925 463-2555 10% Parts

MY BMW Seaside 831 899-5555 10% Parts

Peter Pan BMW San Mateo 650 349-9077 10% Parts

Roseville BMW Roseville 916 782-9434 10% Parts

Sonnen BMW San Rafael 415 482-2000 10% Parts

Stevens Creek BMW Santa Clara 408 249-9070 Various/20% Parts/Labor

Weatherford BMW Berkeley 510 654-8280 Various


Marina Car-Control Clinic


Board MembersGGC BOARD [email protected]

PRESIDENT Mike Mills 510 537-8960 [email protected]

ViCE PREsidENT Jonathan Bensen [email protected]

SECRETARy Chris Webber [email protected]

TREASuRER Tamara Hull [email protected]

MEMBERShIP ChAIR Jeff Cowan 650 322-4938 x2 [email protected]

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE Mark Dadgar [email protected] Kelly Collins [email protected]

Event StaffChiEF dRiViNg iNsTRuCToRs Billy Maher 707 546-5572

BRuCE NESBIT 415 461-1811 [email protected]

ChiEF sTEWARd Peter Guagenti [email protected]

TRACk SChOOL PROjECT MANAGER Bruce Nesbit 415 461-1811 (9am-8pm) [email protected]

dRiViNg EVENTs CooRdiNAToR Mark Dadgar [email protected]

ChiEF sCRuTiNEER Ramon Le Francois 408 956-1662

CAR CONTROL CLINIC COORDINATOR Bob Goebel / Grant Low [email protected]

AuTOCROSS COORDINATOR Kris Linquist / Matt Visser [email protected]

AuToCRoss CAR ClAssiFiCATioNs Rodger Ball [email protected] 415 566-1239

TEChNICAL SESSION COORDINATOR Grant Low [email protected]

CLuB RACING Steve Walsh [email protected] www.bmwccaclubracing.com

BMW FEsToRiCs CooRdiNAToRs David Crum / Percy Chow [email protected]

soCiAl EVENTs diRECToR Open [email protected]

ChARiTY EVENTs CooRdiNAToR Joe Fant [email protected]


Golden Gate Chapter, BMW CCA, Inc. is a non-profit California corporation, it is a chapter of the BMW Car Club of America, and is not connected with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG or BMW of North America. Die Flüsternde Bombe is a publication of the Golden Gate Chapter, all ideas, opinions, and suggestions expressed in regard to technical or other matters are solely those of the authors, and no authentication, endorsement, or guarantee is expressed or implied. Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA, Inc. assumes no liability for any of the information contained herein. No fac-tory approval is implied unless so indicated. Modi-fication of your BMW within the warranty period may void the warranty, and some modifications may violate federal or state laws or regulations. All contents remain the property of the chapter, but BMW CCA and BMW ACA chapters may quote or copy from the publication, provided full credit is given to the author and the Golden Gate Chapter, unless otherwise noted or specifically prohibited.

Chapter Mailing Address: Golden Gate Chapter BMW CCA909 Marina Village Parkway, PMB #189Alameda, CA 94501

The BMW Car Club of America, lnc. is a not-for-profit national association of over 70,000 members, dedicated to the enjoyment of driving BMWs. Membership is not limited to BMW own-ers and aimes to provide access to driving and social events, maintenance and technical informa-tion, parts discounts, and more. Dues are $40 per year, with an associate member added for $5 more. Members receive the monthly Roundel magazine and a newsletter from their local chap-ter, or from a chapter of their choice. The Golden Gate Chapter is one of the largest chapters in the BMW CCA with over 4,500 members.

For a new membership or to renew an existing one, please call toll free 1800 878-9292 or visit www.bmwcca.org. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

BMW CCA mailing address:640 South Main St., Suite 201Greenville, SC 29601 Phone: 864 250-0022Fax: 864 250-0038www.bmwcca.org

BMW CCA

GGC, BMW CCA Chapter Contacts

Membership address corrections are only accepted at the BMW CCA na-tional office. Changes must be made at www.bmwcca.org or in writing via email, fax, or USPS.

Member Updates

By joining the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA), you provided personal information that allows us to contact you. BMW CCA provides this information to the Golden Gate Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America (GGC BMW CCA) for the following purposes:

To send the GGC magazine (• Die Flüsternde Bombe) by U.S. Mail.To help us create content and events most • relevant to you. To alert you to updated information and • other new services from ggcbmwcca.org using an email announcement list.

GGC BMW CCA does not distribute personal information to any third parties. The information you provide to BMW CCA to be used by the GGC will not be used for any other purpose—we promise.

Privacy Statement

Chapter Magazine TeamEdiToR-iN-ChiEF Kelly Kirkland 650 400-9300 [email protected]

ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR Robert Pavel 415 752-7720 [email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITOR/COPy EDITOR Patrick R. Demorais [email protected]

BIMMERPhILE EDITOR Bob Vitkus [email protected]

AdVERTisiNg MANAgER Percy Chow 925 323-4844 Cell 925 215-3547 Office [email protected]

AD BILLING MANAGER Tamara Hull [email protected]

REGuLAR CONTRIBuTORS Jonathan Bush, Jeff Cowan, Mark Dadgar, Kris Linquist, and Donovan R. Unks

PRINTING Commerce Printing (Please don’t call with membership questions.)

REquEsTs FoR REPlACEMENT oR ExTRA COPIES of the GGC newsletter should be directed to the Membership Chair.

Communications TeamCOMMuNICATIONS MANAGER Kelly Collins [email protected]

WEBMASTER Brian Ghidinelli [email protected]

GRAPhIC DESIGN Percy Chow www.percydesign.com

Area RepresentativesNORTh BAy Donna Seeley 707 938-3525 [email protected]

sAN FRANCisCo Ken Glidewell 415 345-3128 [email protected]

EAST BAy Percy Chow 925 323-4844 [email protected]

PENINSuLA Kyle Breton 650 380-7116 [email protected]

SOuTh BAy Kris Linquist 408 392-0890 [email protected]

MONTEREy BAy AREA Ken Whitson 831 625-5133 [email protected]

SAN LuIS OBISPO AREA Rob Torres Jr. 805 541-2002 [email protected]

BMW CCA Pacific Region V.P.sTEVE johNsoN 858 451-8906 [email protected]


Thunderhill GGC Driving School August 25 & 26, 2007

Important Event Details:

• A and B groups feature new advanced passing rules!

• $399 for BMW CCA members, $439 for non-members (includes a 1-year BMW CCA membership)

• Optional $25 dinner ticket for the Saturday night BBQ banquet

• Online application and payment due by 8/19/07

• Cancellations assessed a $50 fee before 8/6/07

• No refunds issued after 8/6/07

Track Location

Thunderhill Raceway is located 7 miles west of I-5 on Highway 162 in lovely Willows, CA.

More Information and How To Register

Information about this school, including complete event documentation and registration information, is available on the Golden Gate Chapter web site at:

! ! http://www.ggcbmwcca.org

We look forward to seeing you at Thunderhill!

WWW.GGCBMWCCA.ORG

Ready To Drive?Join the Golden Gate Chapter

of the BMW Car Club of

America for its summer driv-

ing school at Thunderhill

Raceway in Willows, CA.

Thunderhill is a beautiful and

challenging race track in Cali-

forniaÕ s Central Valley, mak-

ing it a great place to learn

the art of high performance

driving from the dedicated

team of experienced GGC

instructors.

If you are an ad-

vanced (A or B

group) student,

youÕ ll enjoy our

new, more lib-

eral passing

rules at this event!

Please visit the GGC web site

for all of the information youÕ ll

need to apply and prepare for

this school.

We look forward to seeing you

at Thunderhill!

! Bruce Nesbit & Bi"y Maher

forniaÕ s Central Valley, mak-

ing it a great place to learn

the art of high performance

driving from the dedicated

team of experienced GGC

Thunderhill High Performance Driving School

Golden Gate ChapterBMW Car Club of America909 Marina Village Parkway, #189Alameda, CA 94501www.ggcbmwcca.org

Presort Standard US Postage

PAID Sacramento, CA

Permit 185

HAVE YOU MOVED? Please send address changes directly to the BMW CCA National Office at:BMW CCA, Inc., 640 South Main St. , Ste. 201, Greenville, SC 29601, or to: [email protected],

or go to: www.bmwcca.org to sign in to your account and update your membership record.

Want to join the club? Call 800 878-9292 or go to www.bmwcca.org and sign up for only $40.

POSTMASTER PLEASE NOTE: MATERIAL IS DATED, Thanks.

w w w . s c b m w . c o m

4 3 4 3 S t e v e n s C r e e k B l v d . , S a n t a C l a r a 408-984-0794

The Ultimate Dealership,

The Ultimate Driving Machine!New

State of theArt facility

ServingSanta Clara

County

60 ServiceBays

SILICON VALLEY’S BMW CENTER

SILICON VALLEY’S BMW CENTER

Come Visit And See OurCommitment For The Future Today!

BMW Club Members Receive 20% Discount OnParts & Labor. Just Ask For Scott Fuller,

Service Manager, And Show Your Club Membership Card.

Stevens Creek BMW is anauthorized DINAN BMW

Performance Center

Die Flusternde Bombe for July 2007 · Yes, the Portola Valley Garage is now a Dinan Authorized BMW-Mini Performance Center—but knowledgeable clients are probably more impressed

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