To the fathers, daughters and sons,

[BillWilliams]

Happy Fathers Day to you that are. If you are not and your father is still living, I wish all of you the best honoring him today. If your dad is a fond memory, we have those to be thankful for.

I can't say this about all of us because I do not know all of you, but for several of us, we have some type of connection between our dads and 2002s or least some type of automobile. Our stories vary, some directly attach us and our dads to BMW 2002s, some to dads that could just fix anything or dads now working on BMWs or other cars with their daughters and sons.

Whatever your story is, have a meaningful and reflective day.

[02fanatic]

Very well said Bill!

My father lives on in "Hugo" (named for him), and he rode in both of my other roadworthy '02's..."Malaga" & "Atlantik". Dad was with me the day I bought "Malaga" in Allentown in '99. He wasn't a car guy but knew I was since a child..and he always supported and was most enthusiastic for my passion. He took me to the Daytona 500 in the 60's & we used to go to the local speedway in Bradenton, FL on Friday nights in the summers...those memories will be with me forever.

Happy Father's Day Everyone!

John

[Biscuit3]

Yep. The day my dad bought Karl for me was the first day of the rest of my life. 2 years on and still strong. And believe me, my dad has also gotten me out of more situations that I'd like to admit with a dodgy mechanic in the very beginning. He sure seems to know everything when it comes to fixing stuff.

Even though Father's Day is in September in Australia, I still like to thank him on the American version's day as well. He was used to it being this date for 20 years until we moved here!

[TMK-001]

Happy fathers day fellas! Not in Australia like Ash says... I had a wonderful dinner with my mum & dad tonight at our family home with friends, so ti was almost as good.

My dad loves and supports my 2002 project, (e sponsors it when it gets out of hand as well ) although he is not really a German car fan... more of an American car man himself... think hot rods and Shelbys.

I am slowly turning him around teaching him concepts like S14's into 2002s... although he actually used to have a BMW 323i JPS - a rare Australian special edition - black with gold BBS rims and Recaro interior and gold pinstriping and JPS badging - very nice car when I was a kid, but he had no emotional attachment to it except it went fast... wasnt really practical with 4 children though :-P

My dad is my best mate though.

Todd

[Jack]

My Dad and I have no Automotive connection, other than discussing all the things I did with and to his cars when I was pretty green. Having said that, my Dad is 84. He still works full time at a golf course in upstate NY. He is sharp and in excellent health...for 84. I got US Open tickets for yesterday and his eldest grandson went with him. He was some fired up last night, just before he fell asleep in mid sentence.

The thing about my old man is that, at this point in my life, I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of people. Some rich, some famous and a lot of regular old folks. As I look at them all I can easily say that the one I most want to be like is my old man. He's led by example. He's led from the front. He's my old man and I am so happy for it!

[Biscuit3]

Sure can learn alot from our fathers. Car men or not. The most important thing my dad ever told me was that nobody should be left out. You're either equal or better than the next person. I know that sounds harsh thinking you could be better than someone, but it's better to keep this frame of mind than to think that someone is better than you! And in saying that, is it obvious enough yet that I was brought up on the American way? Aussies, you just don't get me yet.

[2761876]

My Dad has inspired me in many ways, one of which was in the garage. He was an Air Force mechanic in Korea and I am still using his military issue Snap-On ratchet.

He was one of the first people in the country to own an MG TD, and was mentioned in Car and Driver as being part of the early days of sports cars in the usa.

At 76, he still manages to make me squirm as a passenger in his trick 71 2002, playing "double or nothing" a test in which you double the speed on the yellow sign before each curve.

I wish I could thank him enough for all he has taught me, but that would take a lifetime.

Happy Fathers Day!

Nate

[Jim_75Sahara]

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads. My dad got me interested in cars with his enthusiasm for noticing just about anything half-way interesting that was on the road. When he bought a '64 TR4 when I was 5, well, that was amazing to me. THen when he followed that up with a Porsche 356B and later on, the Golf 2002 roundie, I was reading the Car & Driver and Road & Track right along with him!! He has an Audi A8 now which is not as cool, but it saved his life in a serious crash, so it's a great car too, right?? When I was 14, I put up a poster on the wall (next to the Farrah one!) of BMW's racing at Nurburgring -- 2002's and 3.0CSI's going flat out.... Had to go get one fer meself one day. All thanks to dad.

[HarryPR]

My father died when I was very young, so I did not get the chance to share my automotive hobby with him. However, I have been lucky enough all my life to have people close to me (uncles, neighbors, friends) that I can go to and get advice from.

Hope everyone has a great Father's Day. I already started it out in a great way : working on my '02!

[punchesdfw]

My Dad has always been my hero. He left home to work in the oil fields of Oklahoma & New Mexico when he was 12 years old. His family had 13-kids and they simply couldn't feed them all. He is a self made man with no formal education past 6th grade; However, he is the most brilliant engineer and mechanic that I have ever met. He instilled my love for all things mechanical. We always had the coolest cars and motorcycles as far back as I can remember. Growing up we built Dune Buggies, a '40 Ford, '35 Chevy, 55 Chevy, Several El Camino's and hundred's of motorcycles. His shop to this day looks like a Snap-on catalog and every tool is in pristine condition. Although my Dad is growing old and his health is failing, he still has his Corvette stored in the shop behind the house, "just in case." I've been able to pass this love of mechanical things on to my boys. Nick has his 2002 M20 and is a Mechanical Engineering student at Texas A&M and Charlie drives a 318ic and is planning to be a Pilot. I hope I can be half the man my father is. Happy Fathers Day Dad!

[jgerry2002]

My dad and I are restoring the '74 tii together. He bought me the '76 02 back in March of '89.

Total car guys here. I was brought home from the hospital in a '76 02 (but not mine). Still wonder what happened to that car after the paint fell off, BMW bought it back, and gave us a deal on new 320i.

Anyway, he has always supported my BMW obsession.

[andrewro]

My dad wasn't really into cars, and has sometimes been skeptical of my on-again, off-again enthusiasm. However, he seems to have come around to the fact that I can take things apart and put them back together without any leftover parts, and without endangering my life. Plus, he did spend a lot of time applying some common-sense farm-boy turned engineer skills to repairing things around the house and saving money by investing a little time and elbow grease whenever possible.

When I was little, my father would sit me down beside him while he did routine maintenance on the family vehicles, and I would hand him tools. I especially recall changing out the brake shoes on his 1972 Toyota HiLux pickup truck - a rare bird these days and I wish he had kept it. I am confident that this experience at such an early age helped me to not be afraid of taking things apart, especially cars, and performing services that are pretty easy once you get down to it. Things that most people would pay good money to a little-known mechanic to do. In most cases I would rather trust my handiwork that a stranger's any day.

Happy Father's Day!

Andrew

[robspeed]

Even tho im late (was busy yesterday!) i just want to say HAPPY FATHERS DAY also... my dad got me into cars and he was there when i picked up my 02 in san louis obispo (chase vehicle driver as i acheived 105mph with falling-apart stock solex under hood)...

Cooper is the greatest gift anyone could have given me, and it is *SO* true that you dont know what its like to have your own until you have one. *AND* you cant really appreciate your own parents unless you are a parent, in my opinion and/or experience... Hope everyone had a great day yesterday!! ( i was under hood of mom's dodge intrepid replacing the steering rack and inner tie rod bushings.... whole new car now )