Was the likable American Bob Lutz? That seems like a Lutz thing to say.

To be fair, the E39’s recirc ball steering box is a lot better in terms of feel compared to the E34/E28/E12/E9.

Not incredibly crazy nor on a long drive, but my heater valve decided to disintegrate and spurt coolant in the engine bay. I stopped at Home Depot and found an appropriate elbow to clamp in place. It did make the heat default to full in a warm autumn, but at least it got me home and to work for a few days until the…

The bright spot on the rocket is actually a flare on the rear - it’s specifically designed to be seen from the rear of the projectile in order to give the operator a visual cue to guide it.

I’m going to put on my editorial wizard hat and mention that the phrase should properly be “bald-faced lie.” As in one who openly and without concealment is lying to your face.

1981 BMW R65: I enjoy having an easy-to-work-on neutral bike that’s nimble enough for commuting but still has some fun left for weekends. And after fifteen years of ‘80s BMW (car) ownership, I feel like I’m finally in the mindset for why the goddamn Germans do some things the way they do.

A few years ago Illinois passed a law that made construction speed limits in effect 24/7. If it’s posted, it’s in effect and you can be ticketed as such. I remember the first week it went into force, my uncle was a contractor for IDOT and they set up a speed camera in the middle of a construction zone. He said the…

It’s only 55mph in Cook and the collar counties. It opens up once you’re out of the Chicago metro (although up until a few years ago it was 65 mph even on I-57 in the middle of the state).

Don’t forget about the Kubelwagen, basically Germany’s jeep, designed by Porsche mostly around the original Beetle chassis!

But at least dat red leather. Cardinal red under alpine white is one of those combos that really gets me.

Compared to a lot of the chassis-specific components on BMW E24s and E9s this is a pretty great deal. The instrument panel surround only for E24s was last listed at nearly $500 in the BMW catalog.

The crayon smell is the new-BMW (E46+) smell. Old German smell is different.

Dat smell. I had cloth seats in my old E30, and everytime the temperature would creep up enough to get a little moisture out I’d get a good whiff of it. I still remember that smell from the last time I drove it before selling.

Can rust? Can rust? No. They all rust. I read one horror story where the car passed a visual inspection and a few weeks later when braking hard the entire windshield popped out along with its gasket from rust perforation in the trim.

Illinois is pretty un-freedoming, but we have no helmet laws and no safety inspections! And emissions is only for post-OBD cars! My E24 is free to pollute as much as I want.

Reminds me of one of my favorite improbable duels:

It annoys me to no extent on the older BMWs with the diving-board bumpers. The bumpers

Nothing will ever be as catfish-like as the 4th gen transmarobirds.

This thread needs more Beemer love. I’d advocate an airhead or recent Rotax-engined BMW for a first. I’ll never give up my ‘81 R65.