"CALLING ALL DEVOUT BMW ENTHUSIASTS"
Devout \De*vout"\, a. [OE. devot, devout, F. d['e]vot, from L.
devotus devoted, p. p. of devovere. See Devote, v. t.]
1. Devoted to religion or to religious feelings and duties;
absorbed in religious exercises; given to devotion; pious;
reverent; religious.
[1913 Webster]
A devout man, and one that feared God. --Acts x. 2.
[1913 Webster]
http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/devout
What the above really means folks is that religious ministers seeking the Devoted and documenting their cultural history (here as it relates to BMW of North America) might best listen to a few words from this member, perhaps a sermon itself and hopefully before us all embarking on a river in a sailing craft best meant for swimming pool use...?
Perhaps simply a poor choice of words Mr. Klerk but since our words and stories are the substance of your mission here, I for one would like to speak a few words of my own, hopefully taken by all Devotees here as protective of our group's very integrity and more importantly future good standing in the community we have to live and drive our cars in... However, do 'know' that I am a nobody as far as officialdom is concerned and do not profess to speak for anyone but myself ...and certainly do not profess to speak for Murray Fowler...as he has no trouble speaking for himself as far a I can tell...it's simply as a contributing member here that I believe I do have that right.. just so there's no confusion or misunderstanding at a later date...
...And not that I doubt your intentions Mr. Klerk (and I will also spare you the bold text of your own posting style) but I assume you have checked in here with the management? Hopefully prior to posting this request for 'brand' loyal stories that might end up published just precisely where? I strongly feel that the end product of our mutual efforts here might be best identified first...and if you agree...would you please state just where and how this information you seek is to be used? (e.g.: Are there disclaimer forms to be signed by those of us your PM directly)
I also trust that the powers that be here will confirm your bona fides (or have already) in some fashion (as some amount of danger might lurk, you see) by others like yourself culling stories of BMW ownership from unsuspecting, generally forthright members and owners here ... perhaps the deposition taken under the guise of some of us becoming a part of a club we may ultimately not wish to join (Woody Allen) at least give us that choice? ala: the 'preaching' or "gospel or basic advertising scenarios used by BMW" which are targeted at new potential BMW customers, That structured advertising emanating directly from your office in New Jersey Mr. Klerk indeed may not the most useful, beneficial or wise use of our time (if you can understand my concern) regarding your phrased request above...perhaps cloaked in benign clothing but could be misconstrued and ultimately have repercussions not in the best interest of the group here as a whole.
By using our (hard-earned) tales of BMW 'dedication', you might first realize that our group basically in grounded (and our vehicles also come from) a period of time in BMW's history that has been mostly been forgotten (apparently by yourself too as we shall see) at the very least incorrectly identified by your associates at BMW NA's marketing department as fertile ground and substance for advertising strategy and development...specifically and more to the point: Do our stories that you may seek and may collect relate in any way to the BMW Company of today, as it now exists..my point is that I think not ...and here's why (the sermon starts here?) bear with my crude explanation please as I am not as learned as some and would never be mistaken for the Dalai Lama for instance, who is well known for expression without blame or fault being cast and might certainly have something to say, given the religious undertones proffered .... it he were here to do so but as it as I myself am mortal, make many mistakes and nonetheless will keep trying to make BMW NA a better company despite itself!
Basically tossing us in with the later BMW cars post 1975 is where I see the request for our stories has no real relevance in fact as this group restores and cultivates facts regarding cars that were conceived, constructed, sold and eventually crushed before BMW NA was even a factor on this continent....The apparently erroneous assumption that BMW NA had anything to do (at all) with the marketing or servicing of the e3's and e9's models back then or now is ludicrous and in fact at the time was but a gleam in the eyes the entrepreneur you may recognize by the name of Max Hoffman.
To make it easy and interesting...and in lieu of generating any silly paperwork to prove yourself Mr. Klerk, how about you just post up a photo of your company issued BMW vehicle they provide, and we will accept that as fact enough and perhaps more easily facilitate your mission here...if we are able...fair enough? (or shall we phone Jim O'Donnell's Girl Friday... for more specific fact regarding this mission of yours here and it's true intent and purpose perhaps?
I only wish I had all of them for a collection,or at least the sales tax money!
Long ago for other simpler reasons, i decided to buy a small farm in Oregon a State where 2 interesting anomalies continue to be held dear, interestingly one of these is also shared by the residents of New Jersey..Aside from having no sales tax at all in Oregon's the other auto-related law that binds the two States (presented in this sermon here now since we are speaking of 'Devotion') and is shared with the State of New Jersey...(Klerk here evidently having an office in Woodcliff Lake, N.J, might verify this?) The fact is that pumping your own gas at a service station is not allowed in either State, indeed many "court appearance mandatory" tickets have been written and adjudicated promptly collecting fees and handing our punishment to one that would be so bold as to pump one's own gasoline....there is good reason and I will explain but just to be clear in those two states, evidently "Self Serve" is a term best reserved for a Woolworth's ice cream counter signage or some such related business activity...
The reasoning behind Oregon's support of this law is simple...creating and reserving more jobs for the young lads (like myself many years ago) that in these States will be pumping your gasoline for you...and washing windshield and checking your tire pressure...possibly Oregon (and NJ) were/are in fear of the inherent danger of having it's youth continue to run amok as a reaction to boredom and these jobs created that these youth can not only perform well but also learn a thing or two from the experience...were and are still elsewhere monopolized by individuals appearing as turban wearing ex 7-11 Pakistani suspected terrorists (hiding in plain sight?) moving freely about in other less savvy States, across the nation...
IMHO there's not many things more American than making room for our youth to do well in life by keeping the few traditional jobs available safe and sound and ready for them...jobs that they actually might enjoy and learn about interesting automobiles such as ours ...and of course keep them off drugs, alcohol and perhaps becoming addicted to boring hand-held video games as Hasbro would encourage... and that seem so prevalent within the American Youth culture of today...
Anyway, if possible, please by all means use my BMW devotee tale below (without reservation or further permission required from me if you have the gumption to sell it to your editors )Perhaps use it for contrasting 'color' commentary, and at the very least perhaps use these words to help contrast the other stories to be told here...making them more effective if that's possible to elicit from those you profess uncompensated material under religious guise...
And most importantly so that the educated folk that actually cull and preserve the e3 and e9 facts for our Registry, a task performed for our own purpose and benefit...certainly don't by your hand end up making us sound like idiots when the resulting press piece generated by you all in Marketing finally is released and appears in public, i.e. Please just don't print the "in-love with my beemer and my clutch pedal is jealous" episode, at least without fully thinking your strategy through Mr. Klerk...because as a Brand Manager or technical writer, this caution surely must make sense to you..please hear them in the spirit offered...and anyway, it's also your line of work so this should be a piece of cake for one of your experience, right?
(I now am looking at your resume, and that helps me greatly)
As much as many BMW drivers in the US would defend to the death their opinion (and not necessarily fact) about their personal BMW ownership experience.... I contend that the excessive cost of Marketing and other self-justifying efforts within BMW is top of the pile among other facts that make these cars less and less interesting and more and more expensive (in the US especially, which btw adds expense that far exceeds the same proportional cost for same advert or VIN produced in Munich) which hopefully as a result has certainly given rise to BMW's having to re-think the company's basic premiss of striving to maintain the 'ultimate' driving machine and the status that that position dictates...Yet seeking clever ways to cut back on cost and basic BMW elements long included in the sales price....back in the day when our coupes were new and BMW Gmbh's future was uncertain and as your parent company hung in that very delicate balance where were you at the time sir" It was only years after this that your division became a reality if I am not mistaken...or am i to be corrected on this Mr. Klerk?
Backgrounder: The initial basis and reason I now only own BMW's that are more than 25 years old actually is simple but difficult to explain...words escapes me at the moment but actually since it's been 40 years of basically very good memories and experience that might be perceived as a good thing...
Of course I am aware of the adage that states: "If one has to ask how much something costs then likely that person can't afford it anyway" but suffice it to say that my loss of confidence in the US division of BMW was engendered by having to step over (and not confront directly) one too many overly-rude and obnoxious ex Audi/VW workers who now wore a tie and who gloated at the opportunity to work for the best auto maker in history... BMW NA and it's network of participating dealerships have given rise to their own demise by taking this path...all with their own executive mandates and conflicting agendas and thereby forcing us to endure the $140.00 hourly service fee for the pleasure of hearing that they
just don't work on cars that are older than the technicians themselves..pity that Mr. Klerk as it's preposterous...yet we as a group endure and do it essentially on our own...perhaps now that upper management sees the beauty and substance of these fine cars we struggle with, don't think for a minute that handing that to you as offerings to the Gods is on anyone's mind here....all-right?
These seemingly 'possessed' persons (to phrase it kindly) at your dealer network have been supervised only by roving BMW field reps.... stopping by any given dealership perhaps once or twice a month, there to solve mundane issues that the service departments struggle with and more often than not do not resolve themselves...Rather what comes out of their mouths is pure bull...technical carspeak that might fool those on the new Coupe boards but we here operate with somewhat of a higher standard, this brought upon by us novices with respect to Marketing and sales but operating nonetheless on a budget of less than five hundred a year...and doing just fine tyvm.
So finally we are again at my specific issue...My former (and last new BMW) was a fully equipped (sans NAV) e46 Touring, presented in pseudo Euro Sport trim with special ordered euro wheels and elements found elsewhere...for purposes of individually mostly as they all now look alike......Sticker cost was very nearly $40,000 US dollars (No sales tax of course...recall the Oregon thing above)...as an aside note that Oregon's incredible $104.00 collected (for 2 year DMV fees and plates..without other fees) and how that amount contrasts the fact that CA wanted over $3780.00 for just the first year alone...yikes!
Finally, because I bought the car in CA...and being a specialist in knowing when I am being suckered think I might have gone too far in pressing other tax issues a bit too firmly when I balked during signing the due bill and sales contract at paying the California Tire Tax fee...Specifically, my new Pirelli's that were added on (far superior to those silly Continentals, BMW thrusts upon the masses, btw) to a car that I was about to spend $800.00 trucking up to Portland OR without a tire hitting CA soil after being advised that because I wasn't allowed to drive it on California soil...this meant that what... I was obligated to pay a State road tax for that somewhat obscure privilege of using the roads to get back to Oregon?
Anyway, (stick with me here and i will be brief) one day about a year later, when I pulled into my driveway, I heard a sudden strange thump/click seemingly emanating from within both front doors... (in stereo, no less?) Switching off the ignition to better listen and hear.. I soon realized (when attempting to use the door handle to exit) that the doors would not open and indeed were locked tight, The center console lockout switch had no effect whatsoever...hmmm...aha I an idea I will...nope, that doesn't work either...the windows/sunroof were inoperative as well. double yikes!
(The fact that I really needed to visit the boys room (with some urgency...) began to complicate matters as well...befuddle my thoughts until thinking it through carefully I recalled BMW's DVD touted.."commitment to safety F.I.R.S.T." system added to 'every ' BMW...(which btw,was not an option on an e9 ...likely a good thing too, but I regress....
Suffice it to say the Fire Department had to be called, driver's window broken so they could drag me out (Embarased as I was) taking it to the dealer fifty miles distant only to be told that the problem was water in the central locking switch and because that water came from my need for using the cup holder adjacent to the switch meant that the warranty would not cover the cost and I was presented with a bill for a bit under $1,500.00...
Someday I will recount the rest of the tale of the two-headed monster that BMW NA has become...eventually the true
cause was determined to be the activation of the FIRST system meant to protect me from side attack...and specifically
the lack of waterproofing on critical switches and components thought unnecessary by BMW as eating and drinking while
driving in Germany is also an expensive ticket that's also "court appearance mandatory" etc etc....lol!
Suffice it to say Mr. Klerk that a phone call there on the spot to Mr. O'Donnell's predecessor cleared that up in half an hour...my point is then as it is now...if you are going to reduce the quality of your product, don't come here and attempt to attach the quality we labor over and hope to inspire in others (on a very small budget) by using our experiences as your own...and seemingly as mere advertising fodder free for the taking...that just won't work with me and certainly does not on previous customers you have long abandoned they never intending to be subjected to the BMW experience again soon if they as I could possibly help it...funny how that works eh Klerk?...
Capitalism at it's very best, by protecting the market you seek to further exploit, for no better reason that to ultimately send our US dollars abroad to pay those clever engineers now to skillfully eliminate anything that BMW ever stood for...without even a thought of the consequences or what those ill-conceieved efforts might bring...
Thank you for listening...
Ran
