Central Coast of California BMW Drivers

Saturday, April 4, 2009

MS Car Show Arroyo Grande 4 April 09

Friday, April 3, 2009

Six Hours of Hard Work

By my standards anyway. I used Turtle Wax's Black Box for black cars. I am impressed.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Update and Happenings

A change - the Sunday, September 20 event will be a trip down Jalama Road to the Jalama Beach Grill for brunch. (Note: there is a Jalama Beach Hamburger Shack on the beach. Great burgers, but the weather or crowds may not make it suitable for eats. In that case we will head to the Shack's parent in Lompoc.) It's gotten good reviews from several local members, and the menu can be viewed at: www.jalamabeachcafe.com/ The road consists of about 150 turns each way, so a good chance to work off some of those calories. For those not familiar with Jalama Road, it is located south of Lompoc off Hwy 1 and winds its way down to the coast. We also have the option of ordering breakfast since it is served until 1 P.M. on Sundays.

There is a car event this Saturday in Arroyo Grande for anyone with a fondness for British cars. It's a fundraiser for the MS Society, hosted by XK's unlimited, with tickets at $10. Location is 1771 Corbett Canyon Road, time from 9 to 5, and there is also BBQ available. I plan to go around 10:30 and check out the cars for an hour and have lunch there. There is a website that may lead to more info, haven't checked it out: www.nationalmssociety.org

We had a good turnout Saturday for the service seminar at Coast BMW with 17 attending. We covered a lot of ground, much of the talk about service intervals. Rob Rogers and his master tech are divided on the subject of oil changes, not uncommon from what I've heard. The main point Rob stressed is that it's not the mileage but the type of service that is the main factor, and that can determined by the computer readout. Personally I will be changing mine once a year (about 12 or 13K) since the car is not driven that hard, but l will likely change the filter every 6 months to get rid of the contaminants. There is good column on engine oil in the March Roundel (Calebresians, p. 109), and he may tackle transmission fluid next month. Both Rob and his assistant were agreed on the "lifetime" auto trans fluid concept, with which Roundel's Mike Miller does not agree.......stay tuned!

Cheers, Dennis

Why I drive a BMW

Their emphasis on technology is amazing!

"The "magnetic tow technology", which the car-maker claims was devised by its head of innovation, Herr Noitt All, means BMW drivers can lock on to the car in front, allowing them to take their foot off the accelerator and turn off the engine.

The vehicle in front will then "do the pulling", without causing any change in maneuverability.

The poster suggests that once the BMW driver turns off the magnetic tow technology, the
driver should provide a courteous flick of the headlights to thank the driver in front.

Consumers interested in the product should e-mail uve.vollenvorit@bmw.co.uk for more information."

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Check it out....

http://bmwlexusdealers.blogspot.com/

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Nice Blog

http://racingstreetcars.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 20, 2009

My Grandson Nathan

...and his first Bimmer....

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Jaguar, Buick dethrone Lexus in reliability study

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!

NEW YORK - British luxury carmaker Jaguar surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying Buick for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey.

Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand, took the next spot in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2009/03/19/ap/headlines/d9713b880.txt

Thursday, March 12, 2009

March follow-up

A good time was had by all who took part in the March 1 drive, marred only by some slowpokes we encountered and the unfortunate passing of at least one squirrel who picked a bad time to cross the road. Next time your Fearless Leader will be more observant on his route research runs, since the maps do not always match the road signs, as we learned.

For those who enjoyed lunch at McPhee's Grill in Templeton, the new location at Avila Beach Golf Course is now open Wed. thru Sunday for dinner at 5:00.

We have a good selection of questions for the March 28 service seminar at Coast BMW, starting with the usual discussion of BMW's long service intervals vs. those willing to do more to keep their cars in top form ...... and out of the repair shop! Other items are the oil temp. and boost control issues with the 335i and other turbo models, and a number of long term service issues on E46 models. We have 6 or 7 committed, so let me know if you're planning to attend. An impromptu drive is an option after the seminar, something simple like Prefumo/See Canyon over to the Avila Barn for an ice cream. Or........?

Speaking of E46's, my neighbor has a set of new E46 rear brakes available if anyone is interested. They are Brembo rotors and Pagid pads, price is $100 on Craigslist or you can contact me since he lives two houses away. They fit most non-M E46 models from '99 through '05 except the 4WD models.

Cheers, Dennis