Monday, October 21, 2013

An Open Letter to Petrolicious (Regarding the BMW M Coupe)


Petrolicious, your YouTube channel has trumped Top Gear UK as my favorite motoring show.  The depth of story and imagery you provide is unmatched.  The majority of episodes focusing on European marques absolutely appeal to my finely honed tastes.  Please, take 5 minutes to read my proposition.

If you ever decide to do an episode on the quirky BMW (Z3) M Coupe, I'm your man.  I daily drive a high mileage BMW E30, but the pride of my automotive quiver is one of only 690 S54-powered M Coupes.  I have become a local M Coupe whisperer, learning the craft of maintaining and repairing a majority of the few M Coupes in Colorado.  I also have an S52 powered (Z3) M Roadster track car, wearing the same Imola Red paint its stablemate.  A Z3M car special could utilize both of these cars, on the track and in the plentiful canyon roads along Colorado's Front Range.


I realize the M Coupe is probably a bit too new to qualify amongst the much older cars you feature, but I think there is a storyline there.  The M Coupe is a unique intersection of technology that encompasses 3 generations of BMW engineering.  Designed as a pet project by engineers at M GmbH, it was never originally meant to go into production.  It has the original E30 M3 rear-end and accompanying trailing-arm suspension tendencies, coupled to robust yet reliable E36 internals.  The few that got the E46 M3's S54 engine shoe-horned under their bonnet benefit from the last of BMW Motorsport's normally aspirated, high revving, inline six cylinder engines, while embodying the visceral and involved driving experience of original E30 M3.  The polarizing design and absolute absurdity behind its development make the fact that the M Coupe was ever offered for sale a stark contrast in a car company that has since catered to different values.  If you ever decide to do a story on the M Coupe, I'd be happy to assist you.  If Colorado is too far, I know ton's of eccentric people in the M Coupe community.


Great work.  I look forward to every new episode!


Tuesday, October 01, 2013

The Midget through a Macro Lens

The legend of Dick McCulloch lives on through the MG Midget I inherited from him.  I've decided to keep the car as close as possible to how my Dad left it until the drivers seat literally falls through the slowly widening hole in the floor.  I put my new camera and macro lens to work capturing a few of the rich details from 32 years of my Dad's "modifications."