by rick brown · 2017-11-15 · club website zündfolge staff editors-in-chief lucetta and david...
TRANSCRIPT
PresidentRoger [email protected]
Vice PresidentLance [email protected]
SecretaryEvie [email protected]
BMW Club Activities 3Stalls 4by Thomas B. Nast
Motorsports 6Bimmer Bio 9by Lance Richert
Annual Banquet 13by Rick Brown
BMW ACA/CCA Issue 14M Formation 17from the editors
Classified Marketplace 20
March 2000
Volume 30No. 3
TreasurerBill [email protected]
MembershipContact the Vice President
Roster ManagerGreg [email protected]
Zündfolge EditorsLucetta & David LightfootSee Info at Left Column
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Please limit phone calls to these volunteers to between the hours of 9am and 9pm.
Driving EventsJacqueline [email protected]
BanquetRick [email protected]
Concours d’EleganceChris [email protected]
Tour CoordinatorKarl [email protected]
Web Site CoordinatorDale [email protected]
Past PresidentStephen [email protected]
INHALT
KALENDER
Club Websitewww.bmwaca.org
Zündfolge Staff
Editors-In-ChiefLucetta and David Lightfoot2641 39th Ave. W.Seattle, WA 98199206 282-2641Fax 206 [email protected]
Production EditorWilliam Linder
Editor EmeritusDenny Organ
ColumnistsThomas B. NastGreg Mierz
How to JoinTo join the Puget Sound BMWClub please send a check for$25 payable to BMW ACA. Mailit to BMW ACA, P.O. Box 1259,Bellevue, WA. 98009. Includeyour name, address, phonenumber(s), e-mail address andBMWs owned. Please see the club’sweb site (http://www.BMWACA.org)for full benefits of membership.
Postal NoticeZündfolge is published monthlyby the BMW ACA Puget SoundRegion. Office of Publication:2641 39th Ave. West, Seattle,WA 98199. USPS publicationnumber 715250. Subscriptionsare $10 annually (available onlyas part of the $25 membershipfee). Periodicals postage paid atSeattle, WA Postmaster, sendaddress changes to:
ZündfolgePO Box 1259Bellevue, WA 98009
BoilerplateThis magazine is the monthlypublication of the BMW ACA,Puget Sound Region, and remainsits property. All infor-mationfurnished herein is provided by themembership for members only.Ideas, sugges-tions and opinions,technical or otherwise, are thoseof the authors, withoutauthentication by or liability tothe editors or the Club.
Zündfolge design and layout byPaulette Eickman 206.283.1423
March 2Board Meeting hosted by the Lightfoots. Call David or Lucetta at206-282-2641 for driving directions.
March 5Karting Enduro at Crazy Redhead in Redmond.
March 11General Meeting to discuss the merits of remaining independent orbecoming a chapter of the BMW CCA. Come join in the discussion aboutthe future of our Club.
March 17Deadline for the April Zündfolge.
March 18General Meeting at Vintage Racing Motors. Don’t miss this chance to seesome of the most exotic racing cars in the Northwest.
April 6Board Meeting hosted by Jim Millet. Jim’s address is 16732 Burke AvenueNorth in Shoreline. For driving directions, call Jim at 206-542-5237 or [email protected].
April 22General Meeting at Pre-Grid Motorsports. See article on page 3 for moreinformation.
May 13Ladies Only Tech Session hosted by Car Tender.
July 22Concours d’Elegance on Saturday at Robinswood Park in Bellevue.Start planning now. The featured cars will be the first generation M3.
COVER CAR:If you thought:“That’s no BMWon the cover!,”you’re right. Butit does have aBMW engine anda BMW roundelon the front.
Our cover car is a 1964 Elva BMWMk VII. The driver is Club memberByron Sanborn, who has the oppor-tunity to drive an extraordinaryvariety of cars. This Elva BMW anda bunch of other exotic cars canbe seen at our General meetingon March 18th at Vintage RacingMotors. Byron will be our host.The cover photo is reproduced withthe permission of Bob Dunsmoreof Grand Prix Graphics.
Name
City/State/Zip
Phone No. Home ( ) Work ( )
Team Name (if any)
Team Leader
Other Team Members (if you have a team):
Please mail your registration form and $40 per person to:BMW ACA, P.O. Box 1259, Bellevue, WA 98009. Make checks payable to BMW ACA.
Karting Enduro Registration FormMarch 5, 2000
The clock is ticking . . . for this year’skarting enduro! We will be holding thisevent at Crazy Redhead Raceway inRedmond 425-GOCRAZY. This is thelast call for this event!
We are fielding eight teams of fiveeach for the race. Rules covering maxi-mum run timeswill be in place sowe should be ableto run the wholetwo hours withouta refuel stop in themiddle. If youdon’t have a team,don’t worry, comeon out and we’llput you on one.
This event is setfor March 5th witha 10:30 check-inand the race from 11:00 to 1:00. There isa limit of 40 people and a cost of $40each. Get registered now so you don’tmiss out. If you have never done thisbefore don’t be afraid to try. The karts
Karting Enduroare a real kick to drive and I’ll put youon a faster team to even out the competi-tion (or increase my bribe). This is aFUN event and every team will comeaway with a “prize.” This event is beingheld on a Sunday so Saturday is open forpractice for those “hard core” types.
There well betrophies, displaysof skill anddisplays of…wellYOU know WHAT. . . ! And if youwant to just watch,this facility is greatfor spectators.Come on out; nexttime you’ll want todrive!
If you’reregistering at the
last minute, please give me a phone callor email.
Karl Seeger, BMW ACA Tour [email protected]
425-868-2027 (4-9 evenings)
Safety Seminarat Pre-GridMotorsportsSaturday, April 2210 a.m. to noon
“Safety first” they say, and safetygear (helmets, suits, gloves, etc) will beone of the topics discussed at Pre-GridMotorsports in Redmond. They will alsodiscuss set-up for cars wanting to goout on the track, and answer your track-related questions. Pre-Grid will open at9 AM and have refreshments availablefor those that would like to show upearly and check out some of the race carson display. We hope to have some localBMW race cars as part of the display.Pre-Grid will be offering discounts onsafety gear, including helmets, for thosein attendance. The club is requiring ratedhelmets now, so those of you still wear-ing an old helmet, come learn why newhelmets are more comfortable to wearand why they protect your head better inthe event of a crash. What’s the famousline; “$10 helmets are for $10 heads?”
A map and directions to Pre-GridMotorsports will be in the next Zündfolge.A link to their web site is on our website. For those with e-mail, an RSVP bye-mail would be appreciated but is notrequired. There is no cost to attend thisevent. See you there!
Lance Richert425-644-8009, [email protected]
Ladies Tech SessionSaturday, May 13
Come join fellow BMW Club women for a tech session hosted by Zündfolgeadvertiser, Car Tender. Car Tender is hosting a ladies’ tech session on Saturday, May13, 2000. The topics to be covered will be based on feedback from interested womenmembers. So let me know what you want to learn about your BMW. Mark yourcalendar now. We’ll have more information in the April and May issues of Zündfolge.
Lucetta Lightfoot206-282-2641, [email protected]
S T A L L SS T A L L SThere are products, and there is
marketing. There are looks, and there isperformance. And there is a BMW X5.BMW has devoted much energy to nichemarkets recently; witness the Z3 coupe,Z8 and R1200C. Rather than attempthead-on competition in a very crowdedSport Utility Vehicle market, BMW isattempting to create anew niche. In the Munichtradition, this niche hasbeen assigned a TLA:Sport Activity Vehicle(SAV). The retail end ofBMW has been taught toemphasize that this nicheis unlike any other and isnot to be confused withstation wagons, mini-vans, or SUVs (especiallyLand Rovers. After all,BMW doesn’t want tocannibalize sales from itsBritish division).
Frankly, it doesn’tmatter what the Einsteins in marketingcall the niche defined by the BMW X5.It has four wheels, a unibody, a drive-train, and you can hang a license plateon it, so we’ll just call it a car. Theaccolades belong to the engineers whodesigned it and the American factorythat assembles it, and not to the advertis-ing flacks.
And no laurels, just a ceremonialsprig of hemlock, go to the stylists. Theentire SUV field thus far demonstratesthat vehicles of this size cannot be madeto look attractive, and unfortunately theX5 does not change this tradition. It isheavy and brutish looking, and the linesdo not harmonize. One could argue thatvehicles of this type simply have anaesthetic of their own, but it would takeanesthetic to be blinded to their grace-lessness. (How this niche has remainedso durable is baffling.)
Matters are not helped by the “pearlbeige” paint color, which is more ofa mildly-infected green, or the “pastel
X Filesgreen” interior, a genuine dishonor tothe cows that gave their lives. The X5 isavailable in some very attractive colors,and presumably the demonstrator’s hueswere selected to ensure its return to thedealer. Other eye-pokes are the woodtrim, which is beautifully finished but ofunpleasant grain, and the heating system,
which seemed hard-pressed to maintain astable comfort level. One more beef isthat rear heat ducted beneath the under-armrest radiates into the CD storageslots; I foresee a lot of damaged CDsin an X5 owner’s future.
The X5 is built on a 5-series platform,but you’d barely know it. Despite beinga massive and imposing machine, itsinternal acreage is no greater than a5-series’ (but it has a lot more head-room). You step up into it, and look downat Volvo XCs and Mercedes wagons.It tips the scales at almost 2.5 tons, andreturned about 14 mpg during a vigorousworkout. They’ll love it in Texas.And that’s almost all the bad news.
The good news starts with the 4.4LV-8. BMW’s decision to build an alloyV-8 struck me as an unnecessary depar-ture from tradition at the time, and theengine had some teething troubles. Inlight of the direction the marketplacehas gone, building the V-8 now looksbrilliant. An in-line six could provideadequate power for an X5-sized vehicle,
but not the sparkling performance of theV-8 (and a six with standard gearboxis scheduled for production). An M-powered version is also in the works,and somebody will stuff V-12s in aswell, though it won’t be easy.
You have your choice of a 5-speedautomatic. This is the first BMW
automatic I’ve driven in avery long time, and it isas Swiss chocolate todomestic Hershey’s. Theupshifts and downshiftsare timed right (it’ll evenkick down into 3rd at 85),and best of all, the torqueconverter remains lockedup when you lift off thego pedal, allowing enginebraking. Finally! The“stepmatic” feature, alsonew to me, was quitepleasing. With the shifterin “drive,” flick theshifter left. It now acts
as a switch; nudge it forward to go up agear, back to go down. Works great, like aclutchless manual racing box. This is thefirst automatic I’ve driven that I couldlive with.
The four wheel drive is full-time andis biased toward the rear, as it should be.The suspension is a bit different fromstandard fare (substituting steel foralloy), but what’s worth noting is theresult. On smooth road, the car, excuseme, the SAV, is almost flawless — stableand remarkably nimble, with just a bitmore tire-generated road noise than ispleasant. On the rougher pavement that’sbecoming all too common, there is muchpitching about. Perhaps this is due to thegreater moment caused by being fartherabove the road, perhaps because springand damper rates are high (and thiswithout the optional Sports package).Either way, this pitching needs to betuned out. On snow, gravel and ruttedroads, the ride is excellent and was freeof squeaks and rattles (though we
drive it after this stuff goes off). Second,a maintenance-cost-is-no-object mental-ity is present. The 2.1 KW water-cooledalternator, for example, is very inacces-sible and must be replaced as a unit.Should it leak or, heaven forfend, thebrushes wear down, the owner will bein for a very major expense. This is butone example. Want another? The frontright axle passes right through the oilpan. An old engineering trick (Cadillacused in on the Eldorado around 30 yearsago), but if/when the oil seals wear outor a CV joint needs changing, AlanGreenspan will personally notice. It ismy fervent (BMW would say fevered)
understand these have been warrantyproblems in some early examples).
Handling was brilliant, especiallyconsidering the inertia involved and bad-road capabilities. The X5 is quite fast offthe line, and is still lunging as tripledigits approach, with perfect stability allthe while. And it corners like a BMW,the 18" wheels (19" an option) undoubt-edly being a big factor. The rack-and-pinion steering was free both of deadcenter play and kick-back over ruts andpotholes, but had great road feel. Thisbehemoth handles better than mostsports cars, and could actually beflogged on the track (when you’re readyto change the tires).
The Lightfeet and I took an X5 up toSnoqualmie Pass, so we could do somedonuts without sharing them with thepolice. With DSC enabled, no oversteercould be provoked on snowpack. Eitherthe front end would plow, or a gentlesideways slide would entertain. WithDSC switched off (really down, becauseit never fully disengages) the back endcould be swung round, but only gently.The X5 could not be made to swap endsabruptly. Between AWD and DSC, driv-ing at speed on snowpack is uneventfulat speeds that would quickly deposit aconventional car in a bank of snow. Evenwith DSC set low, the X5 confidentlyscoots at snowmobile speeds.
The X5 we borrowed was blessedlyde-contented, lacking a number ofoptional airbags, GPS, CD changer,cell phone, ad nauseum. It neverthelesscarried a sticker of $54K. Only a fewproduction problems were present,notably coolant leaking from the over-flow bottle (shades of a ‘70s 530i!) anda tailgate that latched uncertainly (if itrattled at speed, try again). A few v1.0issues were also obvious. For example,you cannot keep your hand cleanopening the tailgate, because the handlearea is a schmutz collector. All minor,all correctable.
The irresistible lure of a soapboxeduces a few comments on engineeringphilosophy. First, this thing has anIndependence Day’s quantity of pyro-technics on board. Four or eight airbags,crash-tensioning belts, even the batterycable has a charge of the exploding type.A very minor impact can require manythousands of dollars of replacements,never mind the risks from airbags andan immobilized car (by design, you can’t
Shows driveshaft to front differentialand skid plate. If you know where tolook, you can see the axle passingthrough the oil sump.
wish that more consideration be given tothe financial consequences of all thiscutting-edge technology when thevehicle comes off warranty. As it stands,one would do well to trade or sell manyof these cars before the first major repaircycle, which no doubt explains why somany are leased.
Who should own an X5? If you livein the mountains, or have a ski cabin, orpursue winter sports, or you cross thepasses regularly, an X5 would make lifevery pleasant indeed. Rather than an“SAV,” we’d call it an All-Weather Car. Itdoes for SUVs what the Honda Odysseydoes for mini-vans; gives refined, car-like driving quality with the benefits ofthe niche. In the case of the X5, the car-like qualities are those of a BMW, whichis to say awesome performance, greatappointments, state-of-the-art safety,and a price to match. And the niche isthat you can go on any half-decent roadin pretty foul weather, or pull a trailerif you must. Let this model mature ayear, then take Lexus off your short list.Nobody does it better than an X5.
Our thanks to BMW Seattle forsupplying us with this remarkable carand helping us explore its technicaldetails, fully aware that our views wouldnot track those of the sales brochure.
MOTOR SPORTS 2000 Driving Events CalendarMarch18, 19 BMW CCA, Spokane Driving
School at Spokane Raceway— a fun track to drive!
April7 BMW ACA, Portland Lapping
Day, another great track in thePacific Northwest!
May5 BMW ACA High Performance
Drivers’ School at BremertonRaceway.
BMW ACA, PortlandLapping Day
7 BMW ACA Second Day ofHigh Performance Driver’sSchool at Seattle Interna-tional Raceway. Novicedrivers only.
30 BMW ACA Lapping Dayat Laguna Seca Raceway
June10 Portland’s Tri-Club Day
(BMW, Porsche, Alfa)
10 Alfa Romeo Lapping Dayat SIR.
July19 Alfa Romeo Lapping Day
at SIR.
23 BMW ACA Lapping Dayat Seattle InternationalRaceway.
August19, 20 BMW CCA, Spokane
Lapping Days
25 BMW ACA, PortlandLapping Day
27 BMW ACA Lapping Dayat Seattle InternationalRaceway.
October22 BMW ACA High Performance
Drivers’ School at BremertonRaceway.
CONTACTS:
Alfa Romeo Club—Thomas Moll,Competition Director NWARC,http://welcome.to/nwarc,[email protected], 206-933-3021They have one lapping day a monthfrom April until September. Plus twodriving schools, one in early Marchand one in late October.
BMW ACA, Portland—GregMeythaler, [email protected]
BMW CCA, Spokane—Scott Adare,[email protected], 509-468-6502 (W),509-466-6731 (H)
Winter is just about over and it soundslike a great time to start thinking aboutspring and summer fun. We have a greatyear of track events planned to keep youbusy and smiling. We begin with ourfamous schools in May. Two days ofprograms designed to enable our mem-bers to become better drivers and providean avenue to learn about their car’sabilities in a controlled environment.Each year we have a whole new groupof folks who come out and catch the bugand May is just the beginning of theirfun! We look forward to seeing thosedrivers again this year, as well as seeingsome new faces and grins. See page 7for registration details. Then it’s on tolapping events.
Our summer wouldn’t be completewithout our “lapping days” at SeattleInternational Raceway (SIR). We haveevents scheduled in both July and August.Stay tuned for details in future issues.
We’ve also brought back the verypopular lapping event at Laguna Seca!Yes, the famous track with that greatcorkscrew! This year we were able toget the track for our club on Tuesday,
By Jacqueline Kahn
May 30th. This event is added to ourline up to provide our more experienceddrivers another avenue for learning.See this month’s article for details andregistration.
In addition to our club’s events, wealso encourage our drivers to attend theBMW ACA, Portland Region andSpokane’s BMW CCA Chapter for theirevents. It’s a great way to increase yourdriving skills by learning new tracks.Both these clubs, along with the Porscheclub (Portland) and the local Alfa Romeoclub offer great programs and additionalways for you to increase your seat timeand fun. Check our Motorsports Calen-dar throughout the year for these addi-tional events.
This year promises to be anotherterrific year at the track! We’ve seen somany new drivers over the last severalyears and many have asked how theycan get more involved. If you do havean interest in helping out with the trackevents, and there are many ways, pleasefeel free to give me a call, we’d love tohave you join the fun! You can reach meat 425-481-9571. See you at the track!
The Year 2000 at the Track!
International Race Driver Club’s(IRDC) Race Official School
IRDC is one of the affiliate race clubsunder the local Conference, ICSCC,road-racing league. IRDC is the localclub who hosts the Conference races atSIR. They are holding a general trainingschool for anyone who has an interest ingetting involved with any number of raceofficial functions, but doesn’t knowwhere to ask. It’s a no cost school and forattending you will receive a free IRDCmembership. It’s on Saturday, March 4th,starting at 8:00 AM. Class time is twohours, followed by working turns duringthe on track portion of the Driver School.
They’ll be covering various job func-tions including flagging, radio communi-cations and turn working. Lunch is pro-vided. You can call 1-800-272-IRDC forfurther information.
Many of our club’s race drivers racein the Conference League. Our associatestatus with the club provides our mem-bers an avenue for becoming licenseddrivers. If you are thinking about racingin the future or just want to get involvedwith local races, this is a great opportu-nity. You’ll also be out and a part of theraces with your fellow BMW club racers!
May High Performance Driving SchoolsFirst Schools of the Season! By Jacqueline Kahn
Our first High Performance DrivingSchool for the year is at BremertonRaceway, Friday, May 5th. We encourageall those folks who have wanted to comeand out and see what our events are allabout to join us. All you need is enthusi-asm and the desire to learn more aboutyou and your car’s abilities.
The day will begin with a series ofdrill stations. Each station is designedto focus on specific car control skills.Instructors will be available to ride withyou and coach you at each drill station.You will learn the limits of your car andhow to keep your car within those limits.During the afternoon you will use thoseskills you learned in the morning to runsome more advanced exercises.
The objective of the school is to makeyou a safer and more confident driver.You’ll have a blast and have a whole newappreciation for your BMW! If you’veever been curious why they call these‘The Ultimate Driving Machines’ —spend a day with us and find out whatGerman Engineering is all about!
We have also planned a follow upschool and lapping day on Sunday, May7th at SIR for those interested in pullingyour newly learned skills together in aroad course venue. This school will bespecifically designed with you in mind!Instructors will be working with you dur-ing the Sunday’s program as well. Signup for both schools! You won’t be sorry!
NOVICE DRIVING SCHOOL &LAPPING AT SIR
Back by popular demand, SundayMay 7th at SIR, we’ve planned a pro-gram devoted to showing the beginningand intermediate drivers the ‘why andhow’ to drive a road course like SIR.This program will not have drill stationsin the morning with cones, what we willhave is an early morning track walk andan intense breakdown of SIR corner bycorner. Following that we’ll be drivingcomplete laps at slow speeds one-on-onewith instructors. Finishing up the daywith full lapping in groups designatedto accommodate each type of driver.With this approach it would be an idealday for you to explore SIR in depth.Drivers with no previous experience willneed to attend the Friday’s program atBremerton first before attending
Sunday’s event. For those of you whocompleted our Bremerton school lastOctober you are eligible and encouragedto join us for this program. If you hadfun at Bremerton, you won’t believe thegrins you’ll get from SIR!
This summer we have two scheduledopen lapping days at SIR, if you’ve onlyattended our schools at Bremerton youwould be required to attend this event tobe signed off to join us.
TO REGISTEROur schools do fill up quickly so get
your registrations in early! Also, due to
our high volume of turn out for ourschools, first time students will havepriority. In addition, due to the overallpopularity of our track events in general,priority will also be given to currentmembers driving BMWs. To registerplease fill out the attached RegistrationForm and mail it to Jacqueline Kahn at18922 81st Ave. N.E., Kenmore, WA98028 by April 24th. After this datedrivers with other marques will be addedto the list in the order in which they arereceived, so everyone is encouraged tosend in your registrations in early. Call ifyou have any questions: 425-481-9571.
Name Mem #
Address
Year & Model Car
Phone No. Home ( ) Work ( )
Number & Type of Previous Track Events
Driving Level: ( Novice, I, II, III, Instructor) (Circle One)
Driving Goals
Cost of School: $75 — Two Drivers in One Car, Add $35 (Non-members, Add $25)
Total Amount Enclosed $
Please make checks payable to BMW ACA. Please include separate checks foreach event. Mail to: Jacqueline Kahn, 18922 81st Ave. N.E., Kenmore, WA 98028
Name Mem #
Address
Year & Model Car
Phone No. Home ( ) Work ( )
Number & Type of Previous Track Events
Driving Level: ( Novice, I, II, III, Instructor) (Circle One)
Driving Goals
Cost of School: $100 — Two Drivers in One Car, Add $35 (Non-members, Add $25)
Total Amount Enclosed $
Please make checks payable to BMW ACA. Please include separate checks foreach event. Mail to: Jacqueline Kahn, 18922 81st Ave. N.E., Kenmore, WA 98028
Vintage RacingMotors Open House
by Ken Hill
We are going back! Our first trip downto the Monterey Peninsula and the worldrenowned Laguna Seca Raceway wasnearly two years ago and was a big suc-cess. We have been able to secure a returntrip. We have the track all to ourselvesMay 30th, 2000. This is the Tuesday fol-lowing the Memorial Day Weekend, andwill be a great way to kick off the summervacation schedule. The format of the daywill be very similar to our open lappingsessions held here at SIR. And as before,we will be providing a secure truck tocarry tires/tools/equipment, etc., for thoseof you who are interested in going anddon’t want the Goodyears rolling aroundin the back seat as you head down thecoast. What else do you need to know?
To safely run a remote event like thiswe are limiting the number of registrants,so get your registration in early! Weexpect the roster to fill up quickly, andselection will be based on registrationpost-mark date. We are conducting this asa lapping day, not a beginning school -sorry, no first time students. If you havebeen out with us before but are notconfident whether your skills ‘qualify’,please call us and we can talk about it.Remember, we are looking for peoplewho are predictable and safe, not neces-sarily just the fastest around.
Because of the expense of the trackand amenities, we are requiring theregistration fee as a non-refundabledeposit. The fee for a single driver andvehicle will be $150, $50 for a seconddriver, and $30 additional if you wish usto carry anything down for you. If yourealize later that you will be unable toattend please notify us. Though we willwork hard to do so, the commitment
we’ve made for the facility requires thatwe will be able to return your moneyONLY if we are able to fill your spot.
Being a BMW club, we hope to makethis a marque event. If you don’t drive aBMW but would like to attend, go aheadand send in the registration form. Nameswill be selected based on post-mark datefor non-BMW makes to fill availablespots. We will gladly return your regis-tration fee if we run out of room. Youwill be notified as soon as possible ofavailable spaces, no later than close ofregistration Sunday, April 30th.
You will receive confirmation of yourregistration within 14 days. Attached willbe an information packet that includesmaps of the track and the Monterey area,information on hotels and scenic areasto visit, as well as a schedule for ourday at the track and any other additionalinformation we can come up with. Forthose that wish to caravan down as agroup, we will likely be including aschedule for a trip down the coast as well.
Please keep in mind that visiting a newtrack is one of the best ways to challengea driver’s ability to adapt quickly andlearn techniques to help ‘read’ the road.However, Laguna Seca is not ‘just downthe street’ from home. We want everyonethat is thinking about going to take isseriously and do some planning up front.This will help ensure the success of theevent, and at the same time ensure thatall those attending will have an enjoyableexperience — not just at the Raceway,but for their entire stay in the Montereyarea. If you have any questions pleasefeel free to contact me during the dayat 425-882-6725, or anytime at (pgr)206-989-9516.
Name Mem #
Address
Year & Model Car
Phone No. Home ( ) Work ( )
Have you driven Laguna Seca before? ❑ Yes ❑ No
When? Why?
Driver and Vehicle: $100 • Additional Driver: $50 • Equipment Transported: $30
Total Amount Enclosed $
Checks payable to BMW ACA. Mail to: Ken Hill, PO Box 3314, Bellevue, WA 98009.
Trip to Laguna Seca
Saturday, March 189 a.m. to noon
Hopefully you’ve read the BimmerBio on Byron Sanborn. Then I knowif you’re like me, the Vintage RacingMotors Open House can’t come fastenough. VRM is a local business thatbuys, sells and restores vintage racingand classic cars. They are one of thepremier vintage race car restorationand maintenance facilities in the area.There will be FIA cars, a Can-Am ortwo, the TIPO 63 Maserati Birdcage, andplenty of other incredible cars that willbe pulled out and put on display in theirlarge workshop. The middle color photospread will give you an idea of what isin store for us. Byron will spend timeexplaining what makes each of theseincredible machines unique and sharesome of their stories. As an unexpectedbonus, VRM has recently purchased arare BMW 507 that we will be able tosee! The event is free, and I promisenot to run out of name tags. We’ll seeyou there!
A quickie RSVP by e-mail wouldbe appreciated but is not required. Seeyou there!
Lance Richert425-644-8009, [email protected]
Byron Sanborn is a long time clubmember, joining the club in 1973 afterpurchasing, what else, a 1600. In thosedays, for anyone interested in learningabout 2002s, all roads led to the shop ofDan Patzer. Byron was no exception andhis baptism to a career in the automotivefield that now includes managing VintageRacing Motors (VRM) started under thetutelage of Mr. Patzer. Byron has beenracing in various forms for years, loggingthousands of miles at SIR and at othertracks around the country. His work atVRM has allowed him to drive anincredible range of race cars. Byron isalso an accomplished musician, playingthe euphonium and bass trombone invarious local symphonies and quartets.
Byron was born in Seattle, livinghere for all but seven years. He gradu-ated from Issaquah High School in ’73(making him 45 for those trying todo the math). Byron majored in Musicat Western Washington University inBellingam. He is single and presentlyresides in Issaquah.
Byron’s family allowed their kidsto buy a car after they graduated fromhigh school. So on June 1, Byron wentshopping for a car. He was going toorder a 340 Duster, but luckily for us all,he found a little BMW 1600 on a lot upon Aurora Avenue. He was not into carsin high school, but thought this car droveOK. But the best thing about this littleBMW was it had a huge trunk to carryhis large musical instruments.
Around ’73 his dad, a Boeing em-ployee, told him about some autocrossingthat a Boeing Car Club was doing. SoByron went out and learned how to flinghis car around orange cones. And ofcourse, he was hooked. Long-time clubmember David Heard saw him and toldhim about the local club. The rest ishistory. And the history goes like this…
Byron really enjoyed the autocrossing,so much so that he started to set up hiscar for this. His first 1600 was totaledso he bought another. This was 1974 andnobody was modifying their 2002s in thePuget Sound area. In fact, many thoughtByron crazy for messing with his car. Itwas considered “sacrilege” to most. Hedid notice after a while that whatever hedid, then five other 2002s would thenfollow suit. So there were a number ofclones of his car in the club. He still ownshis 2002. It has been re-painted and has
around 250,000 miles on it. It was hisdaily driver for years. He built the first(of several) 2-liter motor for it in summerof ’77, so it’s a 1600 in name only.
He got the beige 1600 in Decemberof ’74. The special grilles with the extraheadlights came back with him fromGermany after he drove the Nurburgring.Everyone wanted a pair of those grilles.
He thinks his BMW has logged 8,000miles at SIR at club lapping days. Thefirst time he broke 2 minutes at SIR wasin that car on 165/13 tires with a singlebarrel carb, no sway bars, totally stockshocks, etc. He really had to flog the car.He was so proud to break 2 minutes. Forcomparison, the fastest BMW at the timewas turning 1:56s. His car was the firstclub BMW with street tires to go under1:50 and the first under 1:40 as well. Itsbest time ever is in the 1:38s! There areplenty of E36 M3s going out now thatare not breaking 1:40!
His BMW has so many stories andhas been so much fun. One story inparticular was a “Cannonball Run”in Washington in February of ’76. Itwas called “Where the hell is MetalineFalls?” Metaline Falls is up in the farnortheast corner of the state. Cars leftat 3 AM from a tire store on Capitol Hillat five minute intervals with the lowesttime winning. People could pick anyroute to Metaline Falls they wanted.Byron drove it with Denny Organ asco-pilot. By the end of the run he hadconvinced Denny that he was a lunatic.It was snowing and Byron was applyingeverything he learned from the clubschools. Twenty-four years later andDenny still thinks Byron is a lunatic.
Byron spent a couple of summers inthe late ’70s working for Bruce Leven’sIMSA race team including traveling to
races. Bruce offered him a full-time jobbut he declined because he wanted tofinish earning his college degree. Hedid get a look at what serious racingwas all about. Peter Gregg and HurleyHaywood were the drivers back then.He remembers them taking a Porsche935 with Peter Gregg down to the PIR6-hour endurance race. The field was allconference production cars and enteringthe 935 was like killing flies with asledgehammer. The car was running 195MPH down the straights. In true tortoiseand hare fashion, it broke after fourhours of racing.
After college Byron was workingnight shifts at BMW Bellevue (one ofthree stints at BMW Bellevue) and alsostarted working on vintage cars forBruce McCaw during the days. Thisarrangement got to be two full time jobs.Add to this a stable of 2002s that he wasracing with club member Terry Flanaganand something had to give. So Brucesaid quit your job and let’s start acompany. That’s when Vintage RacingMotors (VRM) was started. VRMoperated in the basement of Byron’shouse for two years. They moved tothe location that now houses Speedwarefor three years before relocating to theirpresent location in Redmond. VRM doesboth full repair restorations for clients aswell as work on individual components.Some clients bring in cars that are alreadyrestored but need to be maintained tokeep them running, with the client takingthe car to the track themselves. Themajority of clients leave their cars withVRM. VRM maintains them, transportsthem to the track, and services them atthe track. The owner only has to showup and drive his car. VRM also buysand sells vintage cars. These cars mightrange from ready-to-go cars to “basketcases” needing major repairs.
Recently, VRM has been performingmore maintenance and track service work,and doing smaller projects on customercars. Lately, big restorations are noteconomically feasible unless the car willbe worth over $100,000 when completed.
Over the years Byron has had theprivilege to drive numerous historicallysignificant vintage race cars. He is ableto jump from one vintage race car to thenext and within a couple of laps have thecar within a couple of tenths of it’s
Continued on Page 12
Bimmer Bio: Byron Sanborn, Renaissance Man
Byron at the Nurburgring ’74.
By Lance Richert
potential. All of these skills were honedstarting at BMW club events. He can gofrom driving an old Allard to piloting aground effects F1 car. He’s also had todrive back-to-back an Alfa Romeo F1racer and then a little Bugeye Sprite inthe same afternoon. He finds it everybit as enjoyable to take a Bugeye Spriteout for 1:50s at SIR as it is to drive aCan-Am car and do low 1:20’s. Hethinks it is not how fast you go, but moreimportantly it is the lap time in thatparticular car. He enjoys being able todrive any type of car as well as theowner can drive it. The only thing speedchanges is how far to look down thetrack. The correct line in a corner is justgeometry and it does not change. Thedifference he found is with some carsyou pay more of a penalty for deviatingfrom that line.
Byron recollects on a sampling ofsome of the vintage cars he has piloted:“The 1970 B19 Chevron was the best allaround package I have driven. It makesabout 280 HP out of a 2-liter motor,while weighing only 1,050 lbs. It is easyto get into the 1:20s at SIR on slicks.”
“With the Allards there were no bigbucket seats back then. The steeringwheel was something to grab on to tonot fall out of the car. You insinuatedwhere you wanted to go with thesteering wheel and controlled it withthe gas pedal. They are so much fun.They had no brakes and huge motors.”
“The Coopers are also of the erawhere you have to slide the car around.They are works of art. They work better10 degrees hung out than driven straight.Driving a Cooper at Watkins Glen wasone of the most fun things I have done.It is a perfect balance of engine, tires,brakes and chassis while not big onhorsepower. In two laps a Cooper fitslike an old glove.”
“The F1 cars are incredible. Theyare about as much a video game as youcan find. I grew up racing things withfenders, only driving a Formula Fordbefore driving the F1 cars. In F1 you areso fast that you feel like you are at thepointy end of an arrow. Especially theFittipaldi car. At 190 MPH you thinkyour chin is on the front spoiler. I reallyenjoy the flat bottomed cars which werepre-’78; cars like the Marches and 201BRM. They really drive like a car. The
engine is not the most impressive thing.It is the lateral stick and the brakes.”
“The big McLarens are great for theirbrutish behavior. They are an absolutebear to drive. Tiny cockpits. They areas wide as they are because they hadto carry 75 gallons of fuel. (A 400 lbweight change during the race!). Theysteer heavy, they brake heavy, the thingthey do best is go incredibly fast. Firstand second gears are a cannon shot. Infourth gear you can spin the tires. Hesays you race to the corner, you raceout of the corner, and you survive thecorner. There is no subtlety in that mid-corner. You hang on for dear life.”
“The best stuff, for ease and comfortto drive are the old FIA cars. Thingslike the Porsche 917s, Mirages and
Washington Wind Symphony so he audi-tioned and got a seat in that band in ’91.This gave him a reason to play reallywell again. He also is involved with theSammamish Symphony and NorthwestSymphony as well as a Tuba quartet.
What are the similarities betweendriving and playing? “Both of them aretotal individual efforts as much as if youare driving for a professional crew, onceyou are in the car it is just you. Samething, even playing in a big group, toplay your instrument well is really justyou. You can’t rely on anyone else toprop you up. Another similarity is thatboth of them require so much concentra-tion to do well that it completely blanksout the rest of the world. There isabsolutely nothing else going on whenyou are doing either driving or playing.When you’re driving a race car, you can’tbe thinking about anything else, it’s atotal focus. Same thing when you’replaying, it’s total focus on what you’redoing right then and there. The fact thatthe world is crumbling all around you istotally blanked out.”
“Another similarity is the competitivepart of me wants to have something thatyou can excel at. Find something andexcel at it because it does wonders foryour ego. And with driving and playingthere is never a perfect lap or perfectpassage. You can strive to get there andit comes down to how much energy youcan expend at it. You can become a greatrace driver if you just keep driving anddriving and driving but it takes a lot oftime and a lot of money. Same thing withmusic, it takes a lot of time. If you wantto be really good at it you have to bereally focused and you need to thinkabout the whole thing. It is not like math.It’s not ‘this way or no way.’ For every-body, playing an instrument or drivinga lap is a totally unique experience.”
These ideas sum up Byron and whathe has strove to accomplish so far. Theword “excelling” comes up again andagain. Due to space limitations I’veonly been able to scratch the surface ofByron’s racing and restoration activities.Come visit him at the Vintage RacingMotor open house. He will share morestories about the cars on display. VRMwill also be out at the Vintage races atSIR during the July 4th weekend.
Continued from Page 9Byron Sanborn, Renaissance Man
T-70 Lolas. These are the endurance carsthat raced at LeMans, Daytona and theTarga Florio. Cars that are raced forshort distances are compromised forthe driver. But for an endurance race acouple of tenths per lap of car speed isnot as important as driver comfort soafter a two, three or four-hour stint thedriver is still running the same lap timesat the end of the stint. In a Porsche 917everything is where it should be. Thepedals are right, switches are where theyshould be, like a BMW street car he notes.
“The little BMW-powered Elvas arefun to drive.” This car is featured on thecover of this Zündfolge.
Byron is also getting back intoAutocrossing. Last year he came withinone run of winning a national SCCAautocrossing title in a Mustang.
In ’90 Byron decided he wanted toplay his horn again. He started with agroup that needed a bass trombone. Heplayed with them mostly to get his chopsback. Then a euphonium player left the
Byron’s first BMW, a ’68 1600.
By Rick Brown
On Saturday, January 29th, we hadalmost 90 people turn out to participatein the annual banquet and auction. Theevening began in the Cascade Room ofBellevue’s Harbor Club with the SilentAuction. There was a feverish pace asthe clock was counting down; peoplewere jockeying for position trying tobe the last one on the bid sheet. Somepeople went home with a good valuesand others gave just a little more, but itwas all for a good cause.
After the Silent Auction, the HarborClub served us a wonderful meal, whichset the taste buds on fire. Guests hadthe choice of an Alder Smoked Salmon,Roast Strip Loin or a Red Wine SpicedChicken. Each was presented with adisplay of fresh vegetables and garlicmashed potatoes. Dinner was followedwith a Lemon Meringue Tartlet whichcertainly got your attention.
After the dinner was finished wekicked off the Live Auction. There weremany great items being offered off thatnight, from a leather coat to a hand-madequilt which went for $300. Ed Laggartwas the auctioneer for the evening anddid a great job handling the volley ofbids coming from one side of the roomor another.
Annual Banquet
Many thanksto Mark Greeneand Griot’sGarage for aninformativepresentationon cleaning,prepping andwaxing a car’s
various finishes. An astounding 91people attended the morning session.My apologies to those not getting one ofJill Skeels’ very cool BMW Art Carname tags. We really thought that 60tags would be more than enough!
Everyone left with a better under-standing of how the various productsoffered by Griot’s Garage work. Manyfolks tried their hand with an orbitalpolisher and are now much moreconfidant in using this time-saving tool.I suspect we are going to see some veryclean cars at the concours this summer.
Next up, Vintage Racing Motors, seeyou there!
Lance Richert, Vice President
Griot’s GarageCar CleaningTech Session
A big crowd of Club members listens toGriot’s Mark Greene.
Of course we followed the LiveAuction with our guest speaker, PhilSmart Sr. Phil spoke for about 45minutes. The most interesting part ofhis talk was on the history of Mercedes-Benz and some of the chief officers.A lot of the people who were high up inMercedes-Benz were also high rankingofficers in Hitler’s Army. Who wouldhave thought that after the war, anAmerican would be doing businesswith someone who fought on “theother side?”
Phil also touched on something whichis his first passion, helping others. Philis involved with Children’s Hospitalvolunteer program. He donates a littleof his time every week for this causeand has been doing so for a good portionof his life. Phil calls this his third eight.What he means is: eight hours we sleep,eight hours we work and what do wedo with the remaining eight hours isour choice. He has made the differencein many people’s lives and encouragesus all to donate just a little of our thirdeight. In Phil’s honor and in the name ofthe Club we will be making a donationto Children’s Hospital.
Thank You again for coming andwe look forward to seeing you all againnext year!
BUSINESS DONORS
Albert LTD • Auburn Foreign Car • BMW of Bellevue • BMWNorthwest • BMW Seattle • Blowsion • Bradley’s • Carbure-tor & F.I. Connections Inc. • Car Tender • ColormastersNorthwest • Crazy Redhead Raceway • Dent Wizard ofBellevue • Dinan • Exeter Garage • Exotic Motors CollisionCenter • Griot’s Garage • KISS 106.1 • K2 • Levine andSons • Meguiar’s • Party Lite • R&K Photo • SeattleThunderbirds • Stongard • Strictly BMW • Tacoma Sabercats• Water to Go
INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Chuck Christensen • David Fujiki • Hugh Golden • Davidand Lucetta Lightfoot • Evelyn Mercer • Lance Richert •Nancy Spornitz • Cathy White
TIMELINE: For Consideration of the BMW ACA/CCA IssueNov/Dec Zündfolge Presentation of BMW ACA/CCA History and Background
Presentation of Timeline
December Complete Membership Study
January Zündfolge Publish Initial Impacts Analysis from SubcommitteePublish Initial Letters from Members
February Zündfolge Publish Further Impacts Analysis from SubcommitteePublish Additional Letters from MembersPublish Voting Procedures
March 11 General Membership Meeting — BMW CCA Regional VP to Attend
March Zündfolge Publish Additional Letters from Members
March BMW ACA to Provide Status to BMW CCA National Board
April Zündfolge Publish Board Recommendations
April 5 Mail Ballots to Members
April 26 Ballot Deadline
May 5 Announce Results of Vote
There have been a few questionsraised by members in letters pub-lished in Zündfolge and elsewhere.This short article is intended toanswer those questions.
AFFILIATION WITH CONFERENCECurrently our Club is an affiliate
of the International Council of SportsCar Clubs (ICSCC or “Council”). Thisallows our members to participate in theracing activities of Council in the PacificNorthwest. In the February issue, TedRodgers asked whether joining BMWCCA would preclude our Club fromcontinuing this affiliation. We haveasked the BMW CCA representativesand this affiliation could continue.
BMW ACA and BMW CCA Issue: Misc. Questions & AnswersACA NOT INCLUDED IN THEINTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
In this issue, Mark Crispin asks “whywas ACA ejected from the InternationalCouncil of BMW Clubs?” To answerthis properly, one must follow thehistory. When the ACA was formed inLos Angeles, it was affiliated with theimporter, Max Hoffman, and BMWClub Europa. CCA was not affiliatedwith either. Over time, the CCA wasrecognized by the International Council(or its predecessor, the Verban). Becauseof this history, ACA remained on theInternational Council despite its smallsize compared to the CCA. ACA wasseen as the Los Angeles chapter. TheSeattle and Portland chapters were“under the wing” of LA but just barelyacknowledged.
The International Council of BMWClubs is greatly influenced by theAmerican BMW clubs because theAmerican clubs are so large. Many ofthe national clubs around the world aresmaller than our local club. When theLos Angeles ACA chapter became aCCA chapter, they attempted to assigntheir seat on the International Councilto the Puget Sound Chapter. The SouthAfrican club, tired of the Americaninfluence on the Council, did somepolitical maneuvering which resulted inthe seat not being assigned to us. TheACA’s position on the Council was lost.
ONE UMBRELLA ORGANIZATIONA number of members, and Mark
Crispin in this issue, have asked aboutBMW AG’s desire to have one umbrellaorganization in each country. This hasbeen a goal of BMW AG for a numberof years. But they have moved slowlyto accomplish this goal due to variousproblems around the world. In manycountries there are two clubs of nearlyequal size. BMW has tried to brokermergers in these cases. In Germany therewere over 140 independent clubs withno national organization. There they haveformed a national organization and are“urging” the independent clubs to join it.
BMW AG desires one umbrellaorganization for a number of reasons.They want to have one point of contactfor dissemination of information. Thecompany wants to be able to control theuse of the name BMW and the corporatelogo. And this is a German company: oneclub in each country suits their Germanicsense of order.
In the United States there are fourBMW clubs (not counting the specialinterest groups). These are the BMWCCA, the BMW MOA (MotorcycleOwners’ Association), the BMW RA(Riders’ Association), and the BMWACA. Unfortunately for us, the otherthree are huge. So, while AG wants oneumbrella organization, there seems to bea U.S. exception. The big three are eachbeing accommodated so far. However,this exception doesn’t apply to us. AGwants one car club in the U.S. They’ll thenlikely work on a merger of the bike clubs.
This whole push to create an umbrellaorganization in each country has not goneentirely smoothly. But it is a goal thatwill continue to be pushed by BMW AG.
Mark CrispinAs a CCA member of 17 years, and ACA member of 10
years, I’m quite unhappy to see CCA (and, it seems, BMW AG)strong-arming ACA like this. I never fully understood howthere came to be two clubs. Nevertheless, this is the wrongway to resolve it. There are several unanswered questions;chief of which is “Why was ACA ejected from the InternationalCouncil of BMW Clubs?” The fact that LA switched toCCA doesn’t seem to me to be a valid reason. Would CCAget ejected if Golden Gate switched to ACA? Also, what is thisnonsense about “BMW AG says `one umbrella organizationper country’?” Does this mean that MOA and RA (the two USmotorcycle clubs) are going to have to duke it out for survival?
Unfortunately, it seems that the decision has been made forus. We in ACA face a grim choice: accept the merger (orhostile takeover) with as good terms as we can get, or standwith principle and be utterly crushed. Few people will remem-ber us; nobody will care. There’s too much of value in our club.I will hold my nose, and vote to accept the terms of surrender.But, after two cars and three motorcycles, I won’t be buyingany more BMWs.Mark Crispin, ACA #3807, CCA #35137
Brian McCarthyI’ve been in both clubs since the ‘80s. Here’s how I see it;
TRACKHELMET: CCA: Five years old or less. ACA: less than tenyears old. At about $250/helmet, less than ten years oldmakes sense.INSPECTIONS: ACA inspections are professional, typicallyby local BMW professionals.NO RIDERS: Huh? What does this solve? Many ACA membersstarted as a rider and felt the excitement. And got over the fearand apprehension. Then became members! I like the currentsystem. If you want a professional inspection, new helmet, orno riders — that’s your choice. If I take my spouse for a lap,use an eight year old helmet, or use the ACA inspection —that’s my choice. Do I need some CCA guy mandating otherwise?
MONEYI’ll pay for Puget Sound control. Yes, merging would save
me $25 but it isn’t worth it.
OFFICERS, ELECTIONS VS APPOINTMENTSWhat’s the problem? Any volunteer organization has more
work than volunteers. We had elections, candidates ran unop-posed, the “election” charade wasted money. If “appointments”thwarts volunteers, let’s hold elections. Merging is overkill tosolve this non-problem.
TRACK EVENTSThe lifeblood of the club!!! BMW owners come tentatively,
to test their Ultimate Driving Machine or their abilities. Theytake a ride, using a loaner helmet. Then they join, buy a helmet,and get involved. But the CCA would present a $ hurdle; no ridesto non-members/wife/kids and borrowing a helmet gets harder.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. For me, merging presentsmostly downsides, especially for track events.Brian McCarthy, ACA #3815
ACA/CCA: Letters from MembersEditorial Guidelines
We ask that all letters address the issues. We will not publishanything which defames any individual. In order to confine thediscussion to the pages of the Zündfolge, and to be sure every-one has access to the same information, we will not publishreferences to web sites. Everything published about this issuewill be posted on the Club’s web site (www.bmwaca.org) afterit has appeared in Zündfolge. Please keep your submissions toless than 250 words. Letters over the word limit will be returnedto the writer for editing. We intend to publish all submissions.
All responses must be signed and include the member’sACA membership number and a phone number. (We may callyou to verify your statement.) Finally, to help the volunteerZündfolge staff, we would prefer letters that are emailed. Sendthem to [email protected]. You may also provide yourresponse on disk or typewritten on paper. Mail your letter toDavid or Lucetta Lightfoot, Zündfolge Editors , 2641 39thAvenue West, Seattle, WA 98199.
The purpose of this article is to describe the procedure andrelated issues for the vote to determine whether the Clubremains independent as BMW ACA, Puget Sound Region,or becomes a BMW CCA chapter. Before going into theprocedure and issues, it is important to be aware of exactly
what would happen if the vote were in favor of joining CCA. Should themembership vote determine that we “join” or “merge” with CCA then allwe need to do is change the name of the Club. This would provide for asmooth transition both financially and organizationally. There wouldneed to be some amendments made to our Articles of Incorporation andto our bylaws (see “What Happens Then?” section below).
VOTING TIME LINE
On or about April 1st, we will mail the April issue of the Zündfolge. Thisissue will contain either a single recommendation made by the Board orMajority and Minority Board opinions.
On or about April 5th (but at least two days after the April Zündfolge ismailed out), the ballots will be mailed out. Besides the ballot, the mailing willinclude a cover letter based on this article. The ballot will be a Postage PaidPost Card addressed to the independent ballot audit organization selected tocount votes. The voting choice will be simply between remaining an indepen-dent BMW ACA Chapter or becoming a BMW CCA Chapter. Ballots will bemailed to all members in good standing (dues paid) as of March 31st, exclud-ing Advertising members.
On or about April 7th, the “Get Out The Vote” campaign will begin. TheBoard and Special Committee members will call all members not having ane-mail address as a reminder to return their ballot. An e-mail reminder will besent to those members for whom we have a current address. There will not beany attempt to influence any vote. The purpose of this campaign is simply toincrease participation in the voting process.
The deadline for returning ballots will be April 26th. The audit organizationwill count all ballots received by the close of business that day.
By May 5th or sooner the vote will be “announced.” The results will bepublished in the June issue of the Zündfolge mailed on or about June 1st. Theresult will also be posted on the Club Web Site at www.bmwaca.org.We will also e-mail everyone on the distribution list. Those who do not havee-mail may call any Board Member beginning May 5th.
BALLOTING RESULTSThe vote will be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast. If there is a tie vote,we will remain BMW ACA. There will be no minimum number of votes required.
WHAT HAPPENS THEN?If we vote to become a CCA Chapter, we have tentatively identified sometimeduring the summer of 2000 as the effective changeover date. We have been advisedthat the only major requirement by CCA is prior approval of our bylaws. We havebeen working on revising them and will have new bylaws regardless of how the votecomes out. We expect CCA approval of our proposed bylaws.
Special Committee on the BMW ACA/CCA Issue: Roger Wales, Stephen Niver,David Lightfoot, Lucetta Lightfoot, Greg Mierz, Tom Cox, and Jim Millet.
BMW ACA andBMW CCA Issue:General Meeting
Plans for the March 11th GeneralMeeting announced in last month’sZündfolge have been finalized. Themeeting will be held in Room A-9 of theCommunity Center at Mercer View onMercer Island. The meeting will start at1 PM and end by 4 PM. It is verydifficult to estimate how much interestthere will be in this meeting. The roomholds 125 people and we assuming thatthis will be sufficient. This is notintended to be a social event and becauseof the logistics involved, we do not planon serving refreshments.
There will not be a formal presenta-tion the issues involved in becoming aCCA chapter. We feel that those havealready been addressed in the Zündfolge.The purpose of the meeting is to providea forum for members to express theirviews and ask questions in, of course, anorderly fashion. Present at the meetingwill be most if not all of your ACABoard Members and Keith Wollenberg,BMW CCA Regional Vice President.Scott Adare, President of the CCAInland Empire Chapter, will alsobe there.
The Community Center at MercerView is located at the north end ofMercer Island at 8236 SE 24th Street.Driving Directions are as follows:
FROM SEATTLE, I-90 (EASTBOUND)
1. Take Exit #7A (77th Ave. SE).
2. Turn left across the freeway.
3. At Stop Sign, turn right onto NorthMercer Way.
4. Go one long block to the stop light.
5. Go straight through the stop light.
6. Turn left onto 81st Ave. SE.
7. Turn right onto SE 24th Street.
8. The Community Center is twoblocks on your left.
FROM BELLEVUE, I-90 (WESTBOUND)
1. Take Exit #7 (Island Crest Way).
2. Continue straight ahead.
3. Turn right onto 81st Ave. SE.
4. Turn right onto SE 24th Street.
5. The Community Center is twoblocks on your left.
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BMW ACA and BMW CCA Issue:Voting Procedure
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Z8 IntroBMW held the worldwide pressintroduction for the Z8 in SouthernCalifornia in early February. Expect tosee the reports in the enthusiast pressin the next couple of months. WhileSouthern Cal may be the top marketfor this car, usually press intros areheld in exotic locations. BMW putthe writers up at the Ritz-Huntingtonin Pasadena, which was a good start.But then the scribes were sent outto Whiteman Air Park in Sylmar tothrash the cars. The Germans told thewriters to park the Z8s “carefully” inthe Sylmar area because there werepeople who would steal or car-jackthe cars! The scribblers then wereoff to BMW Designworks USA inNewbury Park. While the designerof the Z8, Henrik Fisker, is the headof Designworks USA, this isn’t exactlya posh environment. Is this any wayto introduce the most expensiveBMW ever?The Z8 will be available starting in
April. The price is $128,000. There are400 allocated for the U.S. market outof 1500 to be built. One dealer is said tohave turned down an offer of $200,000for a Z8.
NEW X5 MODELSThe first X5 model available was theV8-engined X5 4.4i. At Detroit, BMWannounced the six cylinder X5 3.0i. Thiswill be the first BMW model to use thenew 3.0-liter inline six. These are theonly two X5 models officially announcedso far. However, we know that an X53.0d with a diesel engine is likely tobe introduced soon. How do we know?Because U.S. dealers already havescale models of the X5 3.0d in theirboutiques!
BMW to Run ALMSBMW is scheduled to run the fullAmerican Le Mans Series for 2000.However, there are no plans to run atLe Mans. Joachim Winkelhock has leftBMW after a ten year career. Thisleaves one seat open. The three con-firmed drivers are J.J. Lehto, Jorg Mullerand Bill Auberlen. Steve Soper may getthe fourth seat, but BMW Motorsportboss, Gerhard Berger, is said to favorsomeone younger than the 47 year oldSoper. (AutoWeek)
Mini for the U.S.BMW has confirmed that thenew Mini will debut in 2001with sales in the U.S. set tostart in fall 2001. The Miniwas previously sold in theU.S. from 1960 to 1967.(BMW NA Press Release)
Z3 Pedal CarBMW has introduced a new model: the Z3 Pedal Car. Thisminiature version of the Z3 is the perfect first BMW. The bodyis red plastic. Wheels are chrome and there is a roll hoop behindthe driver. Power comes from your kid (or grandkid) pushing ontwo pedals. Maintenance is low and the car boasts zero emis-sions. (Neither is probably true of your kid.) The taillights areL-shaped, just like the current Z3. The dealers have these instock now. The suggested price is $159.
Formula 1BMW WilliamsF1 announced in late January that the team’sprimary sponsor will be Compaq Computers. Compaq willnot only contribute money but will also be involved with thecomputer support for the team.
On January 24th, the second driver was announced: 20year old phenom Jenson Button. Button beat out BrazilianBruno Junqueira in a shootout. Button will be the fifthyoungest driver in F1 history. He replaces Alex Zanardi on theWilliams Team. Ralf Schumacher remains with the team.
The entire team got down to business immediately afterthe announcements. The new BMW engine has had reliabilityproblems. Testing has been hampered by inclement weatherin both Europe and South Africa. And the team needs testing.Besides the new, inexperienced driver, they are dealing withthe new engine, a new seven-speed gearbox and a newchassis. Maybe this will be a building year. The first race isMarch 12th in Australia. The next stop will be March 26th inBrazil. To keep up-to-date with the latest information, checkthe team’s web site: http://www.bmw.williamsf1.com.
M5 WagonBMW has confirmed thatit has built prototype M5sport wagons. No surprisehere, as the last genera-tion M5 was available inEurope in both sedan andwagon form. The wagonwas never sold in the U.S.The prototype looksproduction ready. Theonly hold up is a limitedsupply of the 400 horse-power V8 engines.(AutoWeek)
No More BMWs for Bond?There are rumors that James Bond will go back to AstonMartin in his next movie. After three movies featuring BMWs,this would be a return to Bond’s roots. What we’ve heard is thatFord, owners of Aston, have given the Broccoli family, ownersof the Bond franchise, about $160,000 for the rights to supplyfuture Bond vehicles. Tightfisted BMW supplied cars andcooperative advertising for the three films, but wouldn’t partwith any cash.
Monterey WeekendThe Monterey Weekend 2000 may be something you want toplan on. Concorso Italiano, on August 18th, will feature Ferrariand Pininfarina. The Monterey Historic Races will featureMaserati. Pebble Beach on August 20th, will commemorate its50th anniversary. To celebrate, Pebble will bring back some ofthe groups of great cars. This is to include all six Bugatti Royalesand the Alfa Romeo BATs. (Sports Car International)
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NEW MODELS FROM BMWBMW is currently on a roll,with the biggest problembeing lack of capacity tomeet demand. Sales are atrecord levels but many salesare being lost to peopleunwilling or unable to waitfor delivery. To keep salesflowing, BMW has big plansfor our future:
3 Series: The E46 3 Seriessedan has been here for ayear and a half and thecoupe has been with us sincelast summer. The sportwagon will be here verysoon and the convertible willbe available in a couple ofmonths. Both the wagon andconvertible are very hand-some cars and should sellextremely well. The 328models will be replaced with330 models beginning withJune production. This goesfor the sedan, coupe andconvertible models.The new M3 makes its
debut in production form atabout the time you read this.
The production version issupposed to look much likethe “concept” shown last fallin Frankfurt. The M3 coupestarts production in April2000. U.S. dealers have anextraordinary number ofdeposits for the M3 despiteit not be officially announcedyet. The M3 cabriolet startsproduction in November2000. There will be a sedanversion of the new M3,despite what you’ve heard. Itwill be only for the U.S.market and will beginproduction in September2001. BMW has also con-firmed an M3 sport wagonwill be available.The 323 models get a new
engine starting with Septem-ber 2000 production. Thedisplacement won’t changemuch and the 323 label willstay. The Compact or tiversion of the new 3 Serieswill start production in June2001 as the 323ti model. Noword on the rumored X3although it is likely to happen
and be the last of the E46cars to be introduced.
7 Series: The next all-newBMW model will be thefourth generation 7 Series.The current E38 car wasintroduced in 1995, so thenew one should be aroundin 2002. Those who haveseen the new 7 say it is a bitboring. The styling seemsevolutionary, again.
5 SeriesThe new 5 Series will followthe 7 and it will not beboring. This will be the fifthgeneration of the 5 and itwill set the tone for future
BMW styling and engineer-ing. The use of materials willbe more sophisticated tosave weight.
Z3: Z3 production atSpartanburg has beentrimmed back to make roomfor more X5s. Also, the Z3is nearing the end of itsproduction run. The secondgeneration Z3 is said to bestunning. Look for it in abouttwo years. The subcontrac-tor for the Z3’s roof system,ASC, spilled the beans aboutthe new Z3, even stating theplanned seven year produc-tion volume of 300,000.
The new E46 3 Series convertible.
Deadline for the April Issue is March 17, 2000.
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CARS FOR SALE1991 850i: Burgundy with tan leatherinterior, 6-speed, chrome wheels, integratedphone and cd changer, 50,000 miles.Meticulously maintained and in perfectcondition — $31,000. Contact Tommy at509-972-8545.
1988 M3: Red with tan interior, new tires,new brakes, looks and runs great, 155,000miles, $8,950. Be ready for the trackseason! Call Denny at 425-228-2539.
1986 635CSi: Cosmo blau, dark blue interior,very clean, well maintained, garaged,166,000 miles, automatic, service records.$8,300. Contact Corey at 425-881-7825(evenings) or [email protected].
1974 2002: Red, German dash, third owner.Interior in good shape, straight body. Asking$1,500. Have paperwork for all that’s beendone to the car. Alison 206-860-0635.
1972 2002tii: Atlantik blue, Alpina 20-spokealloys, good daily driver. Interior good, grayvelour with black vinyl. Exterior fair, somerust in the usual places. Spirited transportas is or restore to perfection. $3,500. KenOlsen w 425-951-4800, h 425-898-8544(Redmond).
PARTS FOR SALETwo Yokohama AVS Sport 235/40ZR17tires: In very good condition. Asking $75each. Contact Miki Haraguchi 425-882-2963or [email protected].
Beverly Hills Automotive “Ultra Guard”M3 car cover: Custom fit for E36 w/ospoiler. Ultra Guard is the high end versionfor total sun, rain, dust protection as well asbreathability, softness. Never used outside,car stolen, does not fit current RSAmerica or incoming E46 M3. Paid $280,asking $175 or best offer takes it. Tracy206-285-3559.
1997 BMW Z3 rear exhaust: Stock22,000 miles. $250 OBO. Jenny Goto206-325-2985.
Wheels and Tires: Four wheels, fit ’88 535,also two snow tires, used twice. $250 OBO.Eric at 360-733-0388.
W A N T E DCrew for KAHN Team Racing’s Team!: Ifyou’d like to support a local race team intheir Northwest racing program (at SIR, PIR,Spokane, & Mission in Canada) callJacqueline Kahn, Team Owner, for thevarious positions available 425-481-9571.Mechanical aptitude a plus but not neces-sary for all openings. Free food, team gear,and loads of fun!