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President's
Quarterly Review •
Oestpost • Carmudgeon
Chronicles • Feel
Free to Staple This to People’s Head • Thanks
to Former Instructors • Pleased
to Meet You •
My
BMW CCA Adventure •
What’s The Best Way to Clean My Engine?
•
Thanks to our sponsors
President's
Quarterly Review
by
Pete Heinz
It’s
that time.
I have been an active member of the club for over 9 years and an active
board member for over 7 years and enjoyed every bit of it. We have grown
from around 400 members to around 800 during that time frame. Our local
chapter keeps growing as well as our board members. We have a great
group of people keeping each other on track.
In past articles, you have read that I changed careers. That is going
great but it also takes a lot of steam out of me. I have decided to
pass the torch and take some time off and recharge my batteries a little.
Keith and I have worked together during these 7 years that I have been
a board member. He will make an excellent President as he has accepted
the roll come 2004. Chris Koehler has decided to run as V.P. to take
Keith’s spot. Jon Campbell has decided to run for secretary.
I
plan on staying on as an at-large board member to help those that may
have questions or need help with an event. I may become more active
again down the road but time will tell. Keep in mind that the board
members also need help from other members. I really encourage you to
stop by a board meeting to see what goes on behind the scenes and get
involved. This club is only as good as the people organizing it and
keeping it running. This can be you too…
See
you at the next event…
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Oestpost
(dispatches
from the eastern front) By Keith Avise
I encourage
you (even more than usual) to read Pete’s column this quarter.
That’s Pete (the Prez) Heinz. If you haven’t, read it now.
OK, done? That’s why we’re having an election! Pete has
decided to lay low and concentrate on the new career for a while. I’ve
agreed to run for President and Chris Koehler has agreed to run for
Vice President. Dick Nyberg has taken over the Membership chair and
would like to give up the Secretary position and Jon Campbell has agreed
to run for Secretary. Whew!
If you
would like to nominate someone else for any of these positions, please
do so. However, please make certain they are agreeable to run and serve
first. Simply contact any board member to nominate someone. As it stands,
the ballot that will be mailed to you in November will read:
• President – Keith Avise
• Vice President – Chris Koehler
• Secretary – Jon Campbell
Other nominations
will be accepted until November 1st. The ballot will be mailed out with
the Holiday Dinner invitation in the first half of November and the
deadline for votes will be December 15th.
Barb and
I are heading into a new phase of life. There was the pre-BMW phase
with tons of different cars. There was the long selfemployed phase,
where my company bought me things (many with four wheels!). And now
the next to last phase (at least as far as I can tell): the pre-retirement
phase. Barb’s going part time and we’re trying to figure
out what cars we want in retirement and when we buy them. As always,
we can make a good case for at least six different cars. Realistically,
I’d like some money left over for travel, entertainment, body
waxing, etc. So we’re trying to get down to two. We need to find
long lasting, inexpensive to operate, tri-purpose vehicles that are
fun to drive.
We look at our lifestyle now and try to predict a lifestyle after retirement
and think we will drive much less – but I wonder. With no time
constraints we can visit friends, check out a museum, and run into the
Cities to see people on BMW club business, etc. I wonder if we’ll
drive significantly less. The quick mid-week trip up to the North Shore
beckons. 300 miles. Friends in Cedar Rapids or Des Moines (or Dallas)
are having a party. 600 (or 2000) miles. Barb needs her “fix”
of mountains. (Me too!) 2400 miles. It’s a good thing we have
a few years to figure this out.
The U. S. Grand Prix at Indy will have happened by the time you read
this and, all things being equal, I’ll have seen it. I plan to
drive over with a good friend and his two grown sons; see practice Friday,
quali- fying Saturday and the race Sunday. We’ll stay about an
hour out of Indianapolis and use the Hoosier Chapter Corral for parking
and lots of eating. They’ve done Indy two years this way now so
they should have it down pat. I’m introducing them to the Hoosier
Corral though, from what I hear it’s a very good deal.
The Porsche
club has a one-day charter flight over and back that sounds like a good
way to go too. For around $600 you fly over Sunday morning, bus to the
track, see a couple of Formula races in the morning, the GP in the afternoon
and fly back in the evening.
Check out
the September Roundel for a book review of Speed Secrets 2, the latest
book by Ross Bentley. Bentley will be the speaker at our Holiday Dinner
on January 10, 2004 at The Wilds in Prior Lake. He is a wellknown coach
of race drivers, drove the PTG M3 for BMW and has written several books
on racing. It should be an entertaining talk after a wonderful dinner.
Plan on attending—your invitation will be in the mail in November.
There are
two articles in this issue that are great advertisements for our driving
schools. Wynne Smith, the Executive Director of BMW CCA, writes about
a drive along the East Coast and our own Craig Lovold describes one
of those “near misses” that get the adrenalin pumping. And
I included a preliminary posting of our driving schools for next year
(never too late to get them on your calendar!)
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Carmudgeon
Chronicles
By
Ken Kamstra
It’s
2010. You skillfully maneuver up to the gas pumps. Gone are the days
when it was either regular, mid grade or premium. Before you stretches
a formidable array of pumps: the familiar corn-based Ethanol, Flaxanol,
Wheatanol, Cottonanol, Peanut Premium and even Beetanol in the bright
burgundy pump. And more. But you’ve learned to adapt and today
you know just which pump you’ll choose. Wheatanol, the wheat-based
stuff.
You like their ads: “Wheat – it’s not just for breakfast
anymore.”
Who could have predicted – back in ’03 when there was only
Ethanol – that your gas tank would become the epicenter of a battle
for world energy dominance. Terrorists still threaten us but now they
bomb our renewable energy breweries and set our crops ablaze.
President
Clinton (Hillary) assures us that she will negotiate a peaceful solution
to the terrorist threat “without going to war”. First Gentleman
Bill, busies himself breaking in new interns and raking in millions
on the speaking circuit. Vice President Ralph Nader – whose Green
Party helped swing the Hillary presidency – wants nothing to do
with the energy wars. He just wants all cars outlawed. Period.
Government
edict has mandated several engine modifications allowing the combustion
of ever increasing levels of crop-based fuel. No matter what the horsepower,
your car feels sluggish. Actually, it is. Maintenance manuals now call
for regular crop residue clean outs. Sometimes, when your “collector
car” sits too long unused, you notice the odor of rotting vegetables.
Anyone
with land space for “fuel crops” is awash in cash. “Windmill
farms” are disappearing. The home “victory gardens”
of WWII are now flag-adorned “fuel gardens”. County governing
bodies have succeeded in closing some of the more remote backroads in
order to plant more fuel crops.
A
particularly devastating development for car nuts.
Critics
of the fuel crops craze to try to point out that even if the whole of
America were planted in energy crops it would only provide a few days’
supply. They also plead that the energy produced by fuel crop additives
is pretty much nullified by the energy consumed in brewing the stuff.
They complain about the higher gas costs to pay for the stuff.
These
critics are shouted down as unpatriotic. “Shills for Big Oil!”
Is
all this just the crazed rantings of a Carmudgeon? Just a bad dream?
Actually, it’s more like a nightmare; especially the part about
Hillary. But it could happen.
Once,
you could choose a separate pump if you wanted Ethanol in your tank.
Then it became law. Then – just this summer – our Senate
voted to double the Ethanol in each gallon.
Ethanol
is, after all, a dream issue for politicians. No backlash like abortion,
Medicare and the like. Ethanol is win/win. Who could be against growing
our own gas and sticking to the Arab oil producers. What kind of heartless
oaf would deny the jobs created in the Ethanol “breweries”.
Add cleaner exhaust and you have politicians fighting to outdo each
other embracing each new ounce of Ethanol. As this is written, one senator
(from Minnesota) is fighting to add Ethanol to our zillion-gallon underground
emergency
oil reserves. Only a cynic would think there’s vote-seeking involved.
How
long can it be, then, before “in fairness to all farmers”
our congress opens the funding floodgates to all fuel crops? It’s
your gas tank. Think about it.
Ken
Kamstra is a North Star Chapter member and author of “It’s
OK to Love Your Car” and “Golf is an Unnatural Act”
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Feel
Free to Staple This to People’s Heads
By
Wynne Smith
Last
month I drove north to visit with friends and family over the Memorial
Day weekend. It rained the entire trip north. It rained for most of
the trip south. It rained the entire time I was at my sister's in Ridgewood
NJ; and rained the entire time I was at my parents in East Greenwich,
RI; it poured while I was with my dad in Newport, RI. It rained until
I reached BMW of North America where the sun was shining beautifully,
and then began raining again about 100 miles along Route 80 after I
left. What I learned from this is that no hair product known to man
is going to prevent me from looking frightening in that type of weather
AND most people have no idea how to drive in the rain. It occurred to
me that in spite of my fear of flying I was MUCH safer on a jet between
Charlotte and Providence than I was competing with semis and individuals
who have forgotten what all those pesky mirrors on their cars are for.
I have made friends with the horror that less than 20% of people driving
on Route 95 can either spell or understand the word 'hydroplaning'.
The
National Motorists Association (NMA) has designated June as Lane Courtesy
Month and is urging motorists to "Do The RIGHT Thing!" by
yielding the left lane to faster moving traffic. Before lane courtesy
can become commonplace the driving public will have to adopt a few simple
rules of conduct. I have edited these commonplace rules of conduct to
reflect what I learned during the trip last month.
Standard
signals that foster communication between drivers are necessary to implement
the lane courtesy concept. The signal commonly known as "the bird"
is supposedly not one of them, but remains a popular form of communication.
The
driver of a faster vehicle in the left lane should signal their desire
to move past a slower vehicle in the left lane by turning on their left
directional light for a few seconds. Threatening to ram the front of
the faster vehicle into the rear of the slower vehicle generally results
in the slower vehicle traveling even slower and/or the driver of the
slower vehicle indicating displeasure with the hand signal mentioned
above.
The
operator of the slower vehicle should acknowledge a request to pass
by turning on their right directional light and seeking a space in the
right lane to pull into. The slower driver should maintain their speed,
or accelerate while seeking a space to merge into the right lane. They
should never slow down; assuming a space will appear. Slowing down will
disrupt and confuse surrounding traffic. Slowing down will only further
annoy the driver in the faster vehicle. Slowing down AND making a cell
phone call may trigger homicidal urges in the driver of the faster vehicle.
If
the slower driver fails to respond to the directional signal request,
the faster driver should briefly flash their headlights, just to catch
the attention of the slower driver. If the slower driver still fails
to respond to the "please yield and let me by" signal do not
engage in dangerous tailgating antics, just fall back and wait for another
opportunity to safely pass, or if you have reached New Jersey - brandish
a gun while bellowing maniacally. The slower driver cannot hear you
- but believe me, the driver will get the message. Although, this may
result in the slower driver making another cell phone call.
Collectively,
these are common sense gestures that smooth traffic flow, reduce congestion,
and largely eliminate many of the aggravations that can cause road rage.
They cost nothing to implement and benefit all road users.
Now,
I know that those of you actually reading this understand and have long
embraced the actual rules of common traffic courtesy...I am offering
it to you so that you should feel free to excerpt the info from the
NMA (www.motorists.org ) and share it POINTEDLY with anyone you think
may be salvageable.
If you live along the 95 corridor between NYC and Boston...don't bother...find
an alternate route.
Wynne
Smith, Executive Director, BMW CCA
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Thanks
to Former Instructors
By
Craig J. Lovold
I
just wanted to pass along an experience I had last week, and thank BMW
CCA and all my former drivers school instructors at BIR.
I
haven't been to BIR for about 5 years, but what I learned there has
not been lost in my daily driving. I was on my way to work last week,
coming down a hill on 18 in Prior Lake, heading for Hwy 169. This year
they added a stop light that has poor visibility due to a curve and
tall trees. This area has a 60 MPH speed limit and people move right
along during the morning hours. When this light starts to change it
is typical that 2-3 cars go through before it turns red and people expect
this behavior.
There
was a large newer pickup in front of me, and the light turned yellow.
He was pretty close to the light and usually at this distance the truck,
I, and the car behind me, probably would have gone through. I saw the
back end of the pickup reach for sky as he nailed the brakes. I followed
suit, and because I new the limits of my new MINI I also knew that I
could make the stop with ease. I was also very aware of a black Ford
pickup behind me that was closing before I hit the brakes. Always being
aware of vehicles around me may be a result of both motorcycle riding
and Drivers school training ;). As I checked the rear view mirror and
saw that Ford emblem getting larger I heard the unmistakable sound of
all of his tires locking up. From drivers school training I knew that
this guy was now a passenger piloting a brick, with no chance of altering
course to avoid me, and that grill was getting larger. I had also instinctively
scanned for escape routes (training again), not just fixing my gaze
of what was about to happen (you hit what your looking at, right?).
I knew that there was a car coming to my left and the shoulder was open.
Since the guy behind me wasn't able to steer, I got off the brakes and
moved to the right with the control and smoothness that only comes with
knowledge of how to control a car at (or at least near) it's limits.
I ended up stopping next to the big pickup and the black Ford ended
up inches from his bumper. That guy would have made my MINI quite a
bit shorter than it already is!
All
this happened very quickly, and there wasn't time to consciously process
everything that was happening. I'm just so grateful to the BMW CCA and
my former instructors for giving me the ability to save myself from
this accident. Too many people spend $$ on the vehicles and advanced
systems (ABS, air bags, etc) to passively save them from harm. Not enough
people spend the money to upgrade the driver. The ABS and stability
control systems on my car were never activated, I stayed within the
limits without them. I was a little shaky from adrenaline after this
incident, but it felt GREAT to know that I was able to control the situation
and my car.
Thanks
again to BMW CCA instructors, you're not just providing a fun day at
the track, but lessons that stay with your students for a lifetime!
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Pleased
to Meet You
By
Eric Christenson
My
name is Eric Christenson and I would like to take a moment and introduce
myself as the new Treasurer. I am succeeding Duane Thompson. Thank you,
Duane, for your years of service and for assisting me in getting acquainted
with the Treasurer position. I will work hard to keep the club on stable
financial ground.
Additionally,
I thought that I would give a little background on myself. I graduated
with a major in accounting and minors in business administration, management
information systems, and Spanish from Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
During college I began an internship with the public accounting firm
of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and I am still with them today, beginning
my third year as an associate. My specialty is state tax accounting,
specifically state sales and use taxes.
Now
on to the cool stuff: I became a BMW CCA member in July of 2000. I originally
decided to join the club primarily to get the rebate on the BMW that
I had planned on purchasing and dreamt about during many long classes
at Augsburg. My first North Star event was the new members’ reception
held May of 2001. Ever since, I have enjoyed participating in club events.
If you are a new member to the club, or one of the quiet, lurking members,
I highly encourage you to come to some events (and perhaps volunteer?)
and see for yourself how fun and rewarding they can be. I hope to meet
many of you.
The
BMW that I ended up purchasing is a 2001 330xi. It is Topaz Blue with
black leather and a 5-speed manual. I picked the car up in August of
2001 as a BMW American Delivery in South Carolina, where the X5 SAV
and Z4 are now made. What a blast! It was such a great experience that
my family and I picked up another 330xi the same way this summer. If
any of you are considering picking up your BMW via this option and have
questions, I’m your man. I plan to attend my first Advanced Driving
School at Brainerd next May.
I look forward to serving the club as your Treasurer. Have a wonderful
fall!
Eric
Christenson
treasurer@northstarbmw.org
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My
BMW CCA Adventure
By
Chris Koehler
2003
REVIEW
I
hope everyone had as much fun at our driving events this year as I did!
From all of the feedback, the year was full of successes and we have
some ideas to improve on them in 2004. Many thanks to Keith Avise, Sheldon
Nelson, all board members, classroom & in-car instructors, and the
volunteers whom the events couldn’t have run without. And of course,
thank you to the students!
This
year the Winter School & Teen Winter School were REAL winter schools
with snow in the corners and ice on the skidpad! While this was my year
to instruct in the Merc land-barge (which handled surprisingly well
for its size), the highlight for most was where a certain red E46 M3
parked beyond the snow bank. And my GMC got to be a real truck!
The
Spring Car Control Clinic (CCC) continues to be a great event for novices,
intermediates, and those that coordinate getting their car out of storage
for it each year. Highly recommend everyone you know with a license
attend this event! We experimented with a boxed slalom that was a welcome,
added challenge. And like the other exercises, it was great to see everyone’s
improvement throughout the day.
The
Advanced Driving School, the pinnacle of our program, began with an
Instructor Development Friday with Dave Rodziewicz – Pro Racer
and excellent instructor instructor. One of our exercises was instructing
a blindfolded student around a go-kart track (my excuse for the picture
in the last Newsletter of my car “2 wheels off”).
The
school went great with record attendance (again had a waiting list).
Unlike last year, there were a couple vintage cars that acted like vintage
cars, but otherwise things went smoothly and they hosted an extensive
feast Saturday sponsored by GT Cars.
With
the late Summer Teen CCC, it was clear that we’ve polished it
into a very professional event. With the pre-flight inspections instructors
did with the teens, I was truly proud to be a part of the event before
we ever even went on course.
The
first annual Advanced CCC was a combination of everything we knew about
CCC’s and Advanced Driving Schools. The goal was to offer a CCC
“at the next level” within the constraints of the facility
and – as always the primary focus – without compromising
safety.
My
CCA Adventure
With
Jay Hayes “heading wagons west” (he actually does have a
5-series Touring), Chief Instructor was added to my responsibilities
this year. But long before, my adventure began as an alpine ski racer
looking for a summer sport…
I
got my start at our fall 1998 Car Control Clinic and was immediately
hooked. I came back the next day for an autocross and did another before
the end of the year. The frosting on the cake that got me so excited
about performance driving was the Advanced Driving School at Brainerd
International Raceway (BIR), the finale of my year. My instructor was
“Billy G” Groschen of Frozen Rotors fame; I learned a lot
and had a blast.
In
the off-season, I upgraded to Koni shocks, a pair of Simpson 5-point
harnesses, Carbotech pads, and cryo-treated rotors. But like every instructor
will tell you, the best investment in "going faster" starts
with the driver, so I searched the area for every school I could find:
Car Control Clinics, Autocross Schools, and Advanced Driving Schools.
In the spring of 1999, I went as far as St. Louis attending schools!
I then upgraded to R-compound tires in the widest size that would fit.
All of the seat time and instructors paid off as I went on to win a
few autocross season championships that year and SCCA’s Rookie
of the Year. I added Blackhawk Farms, GingerMan, and legendary Road
America to my track experience.
In
2000, I was recommended by my instructor to become an instructor. Once
I did, it was hard to go back to autocrossing. The best description
I’ve ever read on why we love to instruct can be found in our
April Newsletter (copy on our website), “So! You Want to be an
Instructor?” by Billy G. Yes, we’re nuts for getting strapped
into the passenger seat with a novice or even crazier: an advanced with
“extra” confidence. But it’s so gratifying to pass
on our love for advanced driving; especially when you hear stories like
Craig Lovold’s (story in this Newsletter).
In
2001, I began indoor go-kart racing in a league, which is the best bang
for buck wheel-to-wheel experience going, which led to me organizing
2 leagues per week. I also joined the club’s board of directors
as Tech Sessions Coordinator and then became Social Events Coordinator.
Being active on the board and organizing events is very rewarding –
seeing all of the smiling faces at the events make all the efforts worthwhile.
And speaking of rewarding, it would be hard to top being involved with
the launch of our Teen CCC program that is a truly worthy cause and
has been a benchmark for the BMW CCA Foundation’s Street Survival
program.
And
in 2002, I became Driving Events Coordinator “with training wheels,”
as fortunately Keith & Barb Avise have stayed as involved as ever.
In trying a lot of new ideas that included sharing expenses with [and
entertainment of] Vintage Sports Car Racing (VSCR) to make our 3-day
BIR events financially viable, the board has been a great sounding board.
I owe a lot to their feedback. And while I’ve enjoyed my experiences
with other clubs (PCA, Midwest Council, Shelby, etc.), it’s hard
to top the camaraderie and organization of BMW CCA. This was also the
year that Sheldon Nelson began leading the Winter, Spring, & Teen
CCC program that keeps getting better. Back to present day…
2004
New
for 2004 will be a Driving Events Meeting open to everyone interested
in participating, instructing, organizing, and volunteering to help
in our events for the year. Slated for April 1st, it will be an informational
meeting on our entire program: Teen CCC => Spring CCC => Winter
CCC => Advanced CCC => Advanced Driving School. I’m hoping
for a lot of Q&A, advice, and feedback sharing. We’ll also
be working in the coming months to add a Fall Advanced Driving School
to the 2004 schedule. While Keith still plans to be on hand to keep
our events running smoothly; Dave Miller is taking over as BIR Cocoordinator,
Eric Christenson will be an added resource as Registrar, and Duane Thompson
will be … well …as long-time instructor, treasurer, and
board member, I’m hoping he will be preparing to be our next Driving
Events Coordinator.
Thank
you to all that have participated in our driving events, plan to participate
in future events, and to all of those whose efforts continue to strengthen
our growing program!
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What’s
The Best Way to Clean My Engine?
By
Mike Miller
Cleaning
your car's engine compartment is really not that difficult, all it
takes is some elbow grease and common sense. Realizing that modern
BMW engine compartments contain electronics approaching spacecraft
proportions, one must be careful. With that said, you should use the
least invasive method possible to clean the engine, according to how
dirty it is.
One
way is to use a regular garden hose, because it has less pressure
and is less likely to open a seal on something electrical. A high-pressure
stream of water or steam is more damaging and should be reserved for
the dirtiest of dirt for that reason alone. Either way, it is critical
that electrical components be hand-cleaned and covered with cellophane.
Secure the cellophane with duct tape, and remove it after cleaning.
If you're wondering what qualifies as an electrical component, you
probably shouldn't be near your car's engine. But just in case, an
electrical component is anything with an electrical cable going into
it, like the lights, fuel pump, etc.
Engine
cleaners such as Gunk, Simple Green, and Purple Stuff may be used
with the same caveat: Keep the stuff away from electrical components.
And after cleaning with water, it is best to blow-dry the engine compartment
with compressed air. If you don't have an air compressor, you
can buy one cheap at Home Depot.
The
least invasive, and therefore best way to clean a modern BMW engine
compartment is by hand, using rags and cleaners - either Simple Green,
Purple Stuff, or some type of solvent such as carburetor cleaner.
Generally speaking, the harsher the product, the better it will clean.
Gunk is not for hand cleaning, though. For rags, old garments work
best. Save your old socks, skivvies, and especially bathrobes. Cut
the latter into 12 by 12 inch sections.
Many
have expressed concern that modern engine compartments are so tight,
they can't be cleaned without water. This isn't so. They can be cleaned
without water, but you'll have to remove a component or two so you
can get your hands in there. (Please, don't write in asking what to
remove. First, what to remove should be obvious from looking at the
engine. Different cars are different. I don't know what to remove
- I'm not looking at the engine! Second, this is another of those
questions; if you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be messing around
under the hood without direct supervision.)
If
your bimmer was born before the E34, E36, E32, E31 era, clean your
engine any way you want. You should still cover electrical components,
though. Bear in mind that the M10, M20, and M30 engine families have
spark plug recesses on the right side of the cylinder head, which
can fill up with water. If this happens, the engine probably won't
start. If it does start, it will have an ignition miss. This is no
problem. Fire up your air compressor, fit the blowgun to the hose,
remove the spark plug boots, and blow the water out of the spark plug
recesses. It is always best to blow-dry an engine compartment after
cleaning with water. Or at least drive the car for a few miles.
Some
dealerships are telling owners that BMW engines must be protected
from water. If this were true, we wouldn't be able to drive the cars
in rain. Again, cleaning your engine compartment is all about common
sense.
Mike
Miller edits the TechTalk section in Roundel & is with the Boston
Chapter
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Thanks
To Our Sponsors!
Dave
Nielsen, who says he can sell refrigerators to Eskimos, slung an empty
gunnysack over his shoulder and went out looking for gifts to give away
at our Summer Picnic. Boy did he bring ‘em home!
Thanks
to all who donated gifts! We appreciate your support of the club. And
thanks to Dave for rounding them up.
Bavarian
Autosport—2 $25 gift certificates
Complete Garage—Tool Box BBQ Grill
Diversified Cryogenics—2 $100 gift certificates
Motorwerks—X5 Polo shirt
Digital tire pressure guage
M valve cap set
3 Roundel keychains
M3 team PTG cap
Roundel ballcap
3 Travel mugs
Orr Autoservice—2 2003 Team F1 caps
Sears Imports—2 Sears coats
BMW golf bag
M Power book
M3 die-cast model
2 Wheel cleaner sets
2 Valve stem caps
2 Klasse wax
3 BMW T-shirt
3 BMW hats
Sterling Enterprises—$50 gift certificate for Detailing Service
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