New book on the history of the 2002

[Jackie Jouret]

Greetings, ’02 enthusiasts! I've just published an exhaustive history of the development of the 2002, including all its variants, told with an emphasis on the engineers, designers, and executives who made it happen. It also includes the back story of Max Hoffman's involvement with BMW from 1954 through 1974, and his role in the 2002's creation. Hint: It's not what you've been told for the last 50 years!

 

The BMW 2002: The real story behind the legend is available now from Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions. (The Kindle version is cheaper, but it doesn't have as many illustrations...) And if you bring a copy to Legends or Festorics, I'll be happy to sign it for you. Thanks! Jackie Jouret

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733387803/ref=sr_1_7?crid=65SL0NQ7BQMM&keywords=bmw+2002&qid=1565027946&s=books&sprefix=The+BMW+2002%2Caps%2C212&sr=1-7

[mac]

This should be an interesting "read". 

Exploding myths is a wonderful thing. 

 

I'm in.  

 

Mac. 

[NYTransplant]

Ordered mine this morning.

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, NYTransplant said:

Ordered mine this morning.

 

+1

 

Ordered mine 30 seconds after seeing Jackie’s original post. “Arriving today by 9:00 PM”

 

I’m excited to see what she discovered about Max Hoffman! I guess that makes me a nerd. Oh well! ?

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Conserv

[Jackie Jouret]

In case anyone is wondering why I wrote a book on the 2002, here's my explanation.

 

First, because I think the creation of the 2002 is interesting in itself. This car really changed everything for BMW when it arrived in 1968. It marked BMW’s return to making real high-performance sports cars for the first time since the 328 of the late 1930s, and it was the first BMW to find an audience in the crucial export market of the US. 

In 1968, the first year of the 2002’s availability, BMW’s US exports doubled from the year before, and they increased sevenfold over what they’d been in 1966. Especially here in America, enthusiasts really went nuts for the 2002, and they’re still crazy about the car even today.

 

Second, because so much misinformation continues to circulate about the car’s creation. Some of that misinformation was put forth by BMW itself twenty years ago, in The cult car, the official history of the model. (Out of print, by the way.) The rest of it stems from journalists relying on a 1972 article in Automobile Quarterly that its own author later corrected, at least to the extent that it was possible. 

Specifically, I wanted to address the falsehood that Max Hoffman, BMW’s importer at the time, was responsible for getting BMW to install the 2.0-liter engine in the Type 114 chassis, aka the 1600-2. Research within the BMW Archive in Munich refutes that notion, and it illuminates a very clear progression of events by which the car came to get the more powerful engine. 

I also wanted to correct some mistakes made by The cult car with respect to the design of the touring, the hatchback model. BMW said that Paul Bracq had been responsible for that body style, but Bracq himself and the drawings on file at BMW say otherwise. 

 

Most importantly, I wanted to tell the story of Max Hoffman’s relationship with BMW, from his role in the creation of the 507 roadster of the late 1950s through the termination of his contract with BMW in 1974. It’s a pretty salty tale, and I was genuinely shocked to read some of the documents in the BMW Archive that dealt with the Hoffman issue. Put simply, he’s no hero in any story about BMW! Or Mercedes, or any of the other marques he represented in the US, at least not after the initial introduction phase.

 

Finally, I wanted to answer a question that the 2002 geeks have been asking me to investigate for a while now, which concerns the model’s internal development code. Is it a Type 114, or is it an E10? I think 2002 obsessives will appreciate having a real answer to the question! 

[Conserv]

This is all good, Jackie!  When a smart, qualified author produces a book on ‘02’s, I don’t ask “Why?”, I just ask “How soon can I get a copy?” And my copy appears to be arriving today, it was delayed from yesterday. ?

 

I’m really looking forward to the read!

 

For forum members not yet familiar with Jackie’s work, Jackie authored the beautiful and informative exhibition catalogue for the The Icon exhibit presented by the BMW CCA Foundation in Greer, South Carolina.

 

Oh, wait. Is that a copy sitting on the coffee table? And how about that, I randomly opened it and there’s a Polaris ‘76 quite like mine — handsome car, handsome owner.... ??

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Conserv

[jgerock]

Ordered my copy from Amazon today after seeing your post on FB.

 

[NYTransplant]

6 hours ago, Conserv said:

This is all good, Jackie!  When a smart, qualified author produces a book on ‘02’s, I don’t ask “Why?”, I just ask “How soon can I get a copy?” And my copy appears to be arriving today, it was delayed from yesterday. ?

 

I’m really looking forward to the read!

 

For forum members not yet familiar with Jackie’s work, Jackie authored the beautiful and informative exhibition catalogue for the The Icon exhibit presented by the BMW CCA Foundation in Greer, South Carolina.

 

Oh, wait. Is that a copy sitting on the coffee table? And how about that, I randomly opened it and there’s a Polaris ‘76 quite like mine — handsome car, handsome owner.... ??

 

Thanks and best regards,

 

Steve

 

 

Steve, there must be different versions, because your car is not in my book.  I wonder if they revised it as new cars rotated into the display?  Was your car there from the start?  

 

[Jackie Jouret]

There are two versions of that book. We did an expanded version after adding more cars for a sort of Phase II. The first version has, I think, 24 cars, and the expanded version has 30. Only the expanded version is available from Amazon or the Foundation at this point. And BTW, we're never doing that again! One version of each book from now on. It got really expensive to make the expanded one, although the result is beautiful and really cool. 

 

[Jackie Jouret]

And if you're wondering why you need my new book if you already have The ICON?

Some of the material overlaps, certainly—that’s impossible to avoid in any two books on the 2002. The real differences are in the amount of detail devoted to the 2002’s back story, and in the point of view. The new book focuses on the people who created the car: the engineers who made it perform so compellingly, the designers who drafted its classic bodywork, and the executives whose decisions shaped the outcome of the entire project.

By contrast, The ICON focused on the user experience, telling the story of the enthusiasts who bought 1600-2s and 2002s, and whose lives changed as a result of owning and driving those cars. The ICON had 30 cars on display at the Foundation in South Carolina, and each car and its owner is profiled in-depth in the book. The ICON is a visual feast, as well, since it’s a large-format book full of fantastic color photos, whereas The BMW 2002 is smaller and printed in black and white. 

Naturally, I’d suggest that readers would enjoy both, but I’d also point out that sales of The ICON help to raise money for future Foundation exhibits, and to promote BMW history through the work of the Foundation archive. It’s a real privilege to be part of that organization.

[tomphot]

18 minutes ago, Jackie Jouret said:

There are two versions of that book. We did an expanded version after adding more cars for a sort of Phase II. The first version has, I think, 24 cars, and the expanded version has 30. Only the expanded version is available from Amazon or the Foundation at this point. And BTW, we're never doing that again! One version of each book from now on. It got really expensive to make the expanded one, although the result is beautiful and really cool. 

 

 

Hmm, kinda bummed.  I bought mine in person towards the end of the exhibition and it doesn’t have my hero Steve in it ?

[NYTransplant]

18 minutes ago, tomphot said:

 

Hmm, kinda bummed.  I bought mine in person towards the end of the exhibition and it doesn’t have my hero Steve in it ?

 

I feel your pain ?.  I remember early on looking for Steve & his car and not finding them.

[NYTransplant]

41 minutes ago, Jackie Jouret said:

There are two versions of that book. We did an expanded version after adding more cars for a sort of Phase II. The first version has, I think, 24 cars, and the expanded version has 30. Only the expanded version is available from Amazon or the Foundation at this point. And BTW, we're never doing that again! One version of each book from now on. It got really expensive to make the expanded one, although the result is beautiful and really cool. 

 

 

Thanks for the explanation Jackie.  Makes sense.  Like @tomphot , I bought mine in person at the end of the exhibition.  I guess there were some leftover earlier versions.

 

I do have a signed copy of Passion from the opening ? 

[Jackie Jouret]

Sorry you guys didn't get the version that you wanted. It's one of those "not my department" things, unfortunately -- I only do the writing, and the rest of the process tends to elude me -- but I didn't know they were still selling the originals after we published the expanded version. Sorry they didn't make it clear!

 

[tomphot]

3 minutes ago, Jackie Jouret said:

Sorry you guys didn't get the version that you wanted. It's one of those "not my department" things, unfortunately -- I only do the writing, and the rest of the process tends to elude me -- but I didn't know they were still selling the originals after we published the expanded version. Sorry they didn't make it clear!

 

 

No worries!  When I see Steve next, I’m bringing my copy of the issue he’s not in so he can autograph it - should be a rare collectible down the road!

Amazon tells me your book will arrive tomorrow!