BMW 02 and popular culture essay

[mike472]

I was introduced to the 02 in 1969 when a mechanic from Lubeck, Germany Uwe Draeger came to work for my father in our chocolate factory. He brought his 02 over from Germany because he was going to be with us for over 2 years training us on the new machinery we had just purchased. At the time I was 16 and just about to get my license and had a used VW I had been working on. After taking one ride in his car and I was convinced this little car was definitely something special. My quest soon began. After driving the VW for a couple of years I found a 1965 1800 which was $700 and had a bit of smoke coming from the exhaust. After working on this car for 2 years I finally thought I had it done then the dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse. A brand new 1976 Malaga 2002 for $6300. Sticker was something like 6800. I was tired of spending a fortune on parts and succumbed to the siren song of that car. It also helped that the dealer was my parents neighbor and he had finally taken pity on me because of all the work I had done to make my car roadworthy. I still remember the day he called me up and told me that my new car was in his driveway. I didn't know what he meant at that moment but after he made me the offer I understood. I still own the car today and it is in my Avatar.

Fast forward to 2004. I had to go down to my parents place in Florida to help them after they had been in a car accident. I spent about a week cooling my heels in the town of Englewood, Florida. I had remembered that the dealer(Al) had moved down around this area and I had lost touch with him after he moved his family down in 1978. He sold his dealership on Staten Island and bought another car franchise down there. I picked up the phone book and looked for him. Low and behold he was listed in the book and only a few miles away. A phone call ensued and after keeping him guessing for a minute gave him a couple of clues that jarred his memory. He was thrilled to hear from me after all the years gone by and invited me to come over immediately. I went over to his house and what did I find parked in the driveway? You guessed it! A rather sunbaked 74 Polaris Tii which was his daily driver. We had a great time reminiscing and talking about cars and what we had been doing over the years but he was still young at heart with this car and a Royal Enfield bike he was riding. He is now about 79 years old. He was amazed that I still had his car after 37 years. We parted company both thrilled that we still shared the same passion for the same car after 37 years! These cars are the fountain of youth for me. They take me back to a happier, more carefree time in my life and I think that's something worth recapturing.

Another important thing was the BMWCCA where I created friends I have known and still keep in touch with since 1975 when I joined. Those people were all special to me and still are. That's the other benefit of owing these cars. Those people were by-and-large "out of the box" thinkers before the term became fashionable. Being able to meet all those interesting people was part of the BMW mystique to me. Like belonging to some secret society with a special handshake!

Mike Katsoris

[pkchopp]

In 1972 I was in 11th grade. Saved my money, went to the used car lot and sat in a little red Fiat. Asked the salesman what that other little red car was on the lot. He said it was a BMW. I asked what's the difference, He said one has a timing belt and one has a timing chain... 40 years and 5 02's later, it's a love affair that wont end till I die!

[BrentF]

My first BMW was a 1967 1600, which was the first year that BMW exported to North America. No one had a clue what a BMW was at the time, especially at the parts counter of a Canadian Tire store (if you found yourself so stranded).

I liked it better back then before BMW's became a status symbol for the yuppie generation, at least until Bangle bungled BMW's design, creating market openings for others like Audi to exploit.

Driving a BMW at the time ('74 '02 Inka with sunroof, pictured below) became a bit of a career limiting move when I went to work for General Motors, but that proved a short lived career (2.5 years) when I realize GM was headed down hill fast and abandoned ship, and returned to driving European cars.

[BrentF]

(nt)

[adawil2002]

Seeing the Alexandrer Calder LeMans CSL at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh in 1978 captured my imagination and started a love affair with BMW.

My first car was a 1973 2002, Malaga/Tan with a sunroof I bought in the spring of 1989 while in college in Pittsburgh, PA, his name was Harry Smith. He was the reason I joined the BMW CCA in June of 1989. I used 'Harry', to deliver pizza's during the summers, so that paid for gas and repairs. Sadly Harry and I parted company, in June of 1995. Year round driving in the salt belt had taken its toll, despite my greatest efforts.

I was '02 less for 15 years.

June 9, 2010 my wife and I flew out to Telluride, CO to pick up 'Vern', a 1973 2002tii Verona/Tan with a sunroof I'd purchased on ebay. We spent 10 days driving 3,100 trouble free miles via Canada to our home in Maine.

The 2002 has a real connection with so many people. Almost every time Vern and I are out, we hear stories of 'I had one, friend had one, parents had one, always wanted one stories', as we drive along we get thumbs up from young and old alike. It's a car that makes people smile. Fun to drive, easy to fix/modify and relatively inexpensive to own makes for a great formula. The car is great, it's the people who love it that make it incredible. A majority of my friends are involved with BMWs and I wouldn't have met them if it weren't for the '02. Of all my cars, my '02 is the hands down favorite.

[scoTTlarock]

when i was a kid there was an old man two blocks away that had a rust brown 1600 parked in front of his house forever, and i would always walk by and wonder what it was. i loved the style from that day onward.

being in NJ you don't see many as most are rusted out, so the idea of owning one was always too far out there for me. i have always loved old euro cars and i have owned many including a 1967 mercedes 250s, 85 volvo wagon, 85 BMW 325e, 92 318is, etc.

for a while i forgot about classics and delved into the audi world for a while, tuning and working on my TT, then the A4, and now currently an A3. i decided last year it was time to get another classic as a toy, so i started searching craigslist. i was going to get another super old merc since those are somewhat plentiful around here, and i was actually thinking pre-1960 american as an alternative. a VW bus was in my mind too but again, not many around here.

anyway, surprisingly while browsing one day i finally saw a rust brown 2002 for a cheap price, and i jumped at it. went and saw it, and 15 minutes later it was mine!! my friend had dealer plates and we picked it up the next day.

the first week i was actually in a state of shock that i was actually able to get one after almost 20 years of wanting one. i still grin every time i look in the driveway and see her out there.

so i have come full circle from lusting after a rust brown 1600 20 years ago to actually owning a rust brown 2002 in 2012. life is good =)

i also have to say that now that i have the 2002 i have finally curbed my desire to have an old classic, and i have stopped searching for anything else. i feel like my dream was accomplished and i am having a ton of fun driving and rebuilding her little by little. she needs work, and every day driving is an adventure, but i love every minute of it!! the only other car i want is.... another 02 =)

[Gordon]

At 21, I was in the Air Force in the early 80's and stationed in Germany. I was a car guy and always had this fascination for BMW's. A fellow airman in my squadron had a Colorado roundie 2002 that I borrowed and I was hooked. I ended up buying a 75 Sahara 1802 that I drove all over Europe. Before I came back to the states, I ended up buying a US spec fjord 74 2002 in Germany from another airman who had shipped it over to Germany from the states. The PO killed the original motor after he arrived in Germany, Wogatzke BMW in Kaiserslautern put in a factory rebuilt M10 2.0L Euro motor before I bought it. I drove that fjord 02 for years until a red light runner killed it a block from my house in So Cal in 94. Of course I ended up buying another 02 with the insurance money. For what ever reason, I just liked old BMW's, new ones (Bangle cars) do nothing for me. It was probably that in the 80's, BMW became status symbols here in the states and most owners bought automatic BMW's and knew nothing about the car except it was cool to own a BMW. To me, the 02 was a car that you drove instead of point it and I was passionate about driving. I do like E30's, and anything else from BMW that's pre-90's, especially Euro spec BMWs. I've had three Euro spec BMW's, a E28, E12 and a E3 2800 which I still have. I always liked the look of the first BMW I owned, the Sahara 1802 so when I had my 74 Sahara tii repainted, I wanted it to look like 1802. Diving board bumpers were converted to Euro bumpers and the side marker lights were removed. I've never owned a roundie, I like square tail light 02's. In fact I'll take a square tail light 02 with Euro bumper conversion any day over a roundie. I driven many a roundie but I just think that square tail light 02's are better built cars. I've now owned numerous 02's/tii's for over 30 years straight.

It's contagious, I've gotten my daughters hooked, they both want to drive my tii or my 2800 any chance they can get. All their friends think they are weird when they excitingly point out 2002's they see while they are riding around.

G-Man

[Mike Self]

I'll send you some of the columns I've done for the Roundel over the years about why people buy, cherish and love their 2002s...

mike

[Conserv]

Another important thing was the BMWCCA where I created friends I have known and still keep in touch with since 1975 when I joined. Those people were all special to me and still are. That's the other benefit of owing these cars. Those people were by-and-large "out of the box" thinkers before the term became fashionable. Being able to meet all those interesting people was part of the BMW mystique to me. Like belonging to some secret society with a special handshake!

Mike Katsoris

Well said! And remember when every single BMW driver flashed their headlights at you?

Steve

[flyingjolly]

The first time i drove in a 02 was home from the hospital after my birth. I think that's when it struck me

I can remember my parents buying a white VW Golf II after that 02. They said they sold that car half a year later. The reason was: i never wanted to drive in that car, i was always crying and never wanted to get in that car. They bought a E28 then and from that time on (my parents told me) i was the perfect serene kid sleeping in the back of the car.

I have always been in love with the 02's but never dared buying one. Until nearly 25years later i bought my touring.

On another note - here's a video about BMW 02's and the Baad Meinhof Gang:

[treys76bmw02]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my post.

[mike472]

Another important thing was the BMWCCA where I created friends I have known and still keep in touch with since 1975 when I joined. Those people were all special to me and still are. That's the other benefit of owing these cars. Those people were by-and-large "out of the box" thinkers before the term became fashionable. Being able to meet all those interesting people was part of the BMW mystique to me. Like belonging to some secret society with a special handshake!

Mike Katsoris

Well said! And remember when every single BMW driver flashed their headlights at you?

Steve

I do remember that well. I lamented the fact that when the 320i came out folks stopped doing it. I don't think I know of any other car marque whose owners flashed their lights upon seeing a member of their tribe. That was our secret handshake! Nobody else on the road knew what it meant but us.