Articles from Bimmer Lite

  1. A BMW obsession turns into a Mini passion

    Welcome to the new Mini column. There’s hardly a niche for enthusiastic Mini owners in this BMW world. Never mind the fact that a Mini is a BMW; it doesn’t matter to many who judge themselves on the price tag they managed to run up on a fancy-shmancy new Bimmer. Never mind the fact that the Mini offers a driving experience akin to only the greatest of Bimmer lore. Never mind the fact that if there were a car in today’s BMW lineup that truly exudes “freude am fahren”, it’s obviously the Mini....
  2. A mourned E30 and a silver lining Cooper S

    My first automotive love was a 1986 325. Okay, that's a lie. My first automotive love was a pedal-powered KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) that talked to me as I propelled it around the poles in my basement. Our gravel driveway and the idea of me on the road with actual cars at the age of five meant that my race track was under my house, and on rare occasions, in the garage. So I suppose the E30 was my second car crush, but it was the first with an actual engine (the mighty ETA) and...
  3. Deciding Vini's future is as stressful as real responsibility

    Vini S. Cooper is about to turn five, or about seventeen in car years. He's racked up 70,000 miles and certainly seen his share of the country. His birthday is December 10th; I know this because his build date is engraved on his Whalen shift knob. Is that weird? Maybe, but I've always treated Vini more like family and less like heartless transportation. For example, when I told my mom that I couldn't come over for dinner one weekend because I had to pick up Vini from Connecticut, she...
  4. I want a Clubman. Chili Red with a silver roof, please.

    By the time you read this, the 2008 New York International Auto Show will be a distant memory, and its novelties will be mainstream. You have probably seen or test driven an M3 or the popular 1 series. The Nissan GT-R has probably severely whooped its competition in even more track tests. You've probably scratched your head as you ponder the decision Lexus made with the Star Wars-esque quad exhaust tips on the IS-F. Truth be told, the auto show is somewhat of a distant memory to me, too. I...
  5. I've done the unthinkable, but it's for the best

    The bumper sticker on my new daily driver reads “My Other Car is a Mini Cooper S,” but the truth is that the silver E46 323i is the “other” car. It's the means to an end; I'm merely using it for the miles. The car means nothing to me. But alas, I have been and continue to be unfaithful. It pains me to admit it, but the love I have for my Mini has forced me to do the unthinkable and maintain another relationship with an older, slower, automatic (I hate myself) sedan. After two years and...
  6. Instructor Appreciation Month

    Do you know that my family has not once recognized its favorite educator during teacher appreciation week? It's mildly offensive, I'd say, but I trudge on in a thankless profession, molding young minds while sacrificing the monetary demands necessary to be up on everything my Mini (Vini) needs. Every now and again, I get the itch to go work elsewhere and bring home a larger paycheck, but that fleeting moment is usually squashed by the intangible benefits of being an educator. And for what...
  7. It finally happened: Vini and I had an off-track adventure.

    It takes a lot to spin a Mini. Even on a skid pad, which is not much fun in a Mini, I had to use the e-brake just to get a decent slide, only to have it die in a lame whimper of piggish understeer. I could blame that on the handling characteristics of a front-wheel-drive car with most of its weight in the front, or I could admit that I'm no wizard of car control. As I pirouetted off of the track at Lime Rock, it was pretty clear to me that the problem was not the car at all – it was me....
  8. It's all about soul

    “What does 'juxtapose' mean, Mr. Biunno?” It's the first week of school and the eighth graders are settling into their student roles as they feel out their ten month cage that some would call a classroom. The class turns its attention to the wall-sized, black on white and white on black representation of the term. After a discussion about what it could mean, the students decide that it might make sense to place contrasting items next to each other in order to glean more from both. In the...
  9. My Mini is not cute. It's tough.

    Don't call my car cute. I promise you wouldn't like me when I'm angry – all 160 pounds of scrawny rage coming right at you; I'm wily and ready to fiercely defend Vini S. Cooper's honor. I've seen lots of Van Damme films, and I'm pretty sure I'd connect with some deft maneuvers. Plus, calling my car (and me, by proxy) cute is affront to my manhood. But the truth is the truth. As much as some of us (it's quite possibly just me) hate to admit it, the Mini is a cute car. Blame the designers,...
  10. The things I do to show my car I care make others wonder

    We, the automotively enthusiastic, are a funny species. We do things that make others scratch their heads, roll their eyes, and generally question our sanity. “Car people” have trouble communicating with the normal masses because we look at the world through a different lens. We are car people. We do things for our cars that show how much we care about them. We plan our weekend around washing our cars and organize social events for people with similar cars. They are not car people. They...
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