My BMW Story. BMW AG new documentary films.

[Ayham]

Attention ALL MEMBERS :taser:


BMW AG is working in collaboration with the US-based production company DIGITALKITCHEN (www.d-kitchen.com) to produce a world's-first short documentary films which are sponsored by BMW, but they are NOT about the cars BMW make. No, they are about YOU, the Bimmer behind the steering wheel all over the world.

DIGITALKITCHEN is looking for people who are true BMW enthusiasts. The documentaries are emphasizing the character and the story of the owner, rather than the car. Their goal is to shine a light on the true human culture behind BMW. They've begun to consider candidates around the world who have interesting lives both involving and outside of their BMWs. The BMW Club UAE is on that list... :thanks:

If you are interested and feel that you, or that you know of a fellow Bimmer who might fit the profile of the ultimate BMW enthusiast, please answer the following questions with 3 to 5 sentences here. We will forward your answers to the production company afterward and keep an eye out for all of you on their selection process.


Here goes:


- Are you... a BMW enthusiast with a unique and interesting story to tell?

- Do you know...someone who truly stands out amongst BMW enthusiasts?

- Who is...the the most interesting, dedicated BMW enthusiast in the world? Tell us who you’ve read about, seen online, met, heard about in hushed whispers through BMW folklore!


I don't know if the candidate would be flown to the US or a crew would come down here for filming, but either way you can all make us proud. You are all the most hardcore BMW enthusiasts in my book :D

Fire away everybody, but keep it real! :)

[eoudeh]

Maybe my story it’s not that unique but at least for me it’s a best thing in my life happened to me and im trying hard to brief it :).
Story starts when I was really depressed while searching for a car at beginning of my work career (2001) coz my dad that time forcing me to drive the family car (Benz 300SE 1985). I was strongly refused coz I was a fancy reader of BMW performance mag. Since 1995 and need to taste the feelings of driving such a car, that time by chance when I’m totally confused regarding what should I do & how will go for work daily, found my 1st E36 1996 318is and strongly get approval from bank within 24 hours to finance it since other fellows was after her.. From that time till now BMW driving feelings moving inside my blood.

[Ayham]

Keep 'em coming :)

[RAFiK]

I remember myself being a bully in school bus, sitting in the back seat telling other kids what to do & when to do. The bus used to come under the everyday at around 5 AM. At around 5.45 AM somewhere in middle of Sharjah's Industrial Area I used to see a black E39 M5 with tinted windows driving along with us in the traffic jam. With our windows open, I could see the smoke coming out of its 4 mighty tail pipes, With every clutch slip out of a stop, I could almost literally drool over the bus's window. Day by day, I fell in love with what its called the BMW M5 !! My aim was to be 18, get my driving license and get an M5 no matter what. Being an extreme petrolhead, I started showing my dad several E39 M5s when I was 16 & 17, but the idea that it was a V8 to my dad was completely a disaster for me. Having done so many fights for that car, I ended buying an E39 528i, having in my dream that one day I'll be buying an M power car that has the spirit of a monster.

Today, I proudly drive an E46 M3 having its own mysterious personality. I drive it to satisfaction.

[ahmad.alkhalil]

My love for BMWs began when I first saw the e30 M3... Black with the red line going across! the sight of the bulging and flares wheel arches were a thing of beauty.

Walking into the BMW showroom in Jordan, I saw an e46 M3... Carbon black exterior with black interior, there and then I promised I would own this car. Now I drive a carbon black M3 with black interior... it was a match made in heaven! The car puts a smile on my face everytime I take a glance at it... everytime I pass by window shops I look and marvel at the beauty of the curves, the aggressive yet shapely bonnet, the grawling quad tailpipes... the rasp, now that is a different story!

My friends word ring true till today... "Once you drive a Bimmer you will never want to drive anything else... the ultimate driving machine!" What wise words those were, spot on.

A true enthusiast is one that walks with a crowd of japanese car fanatics and stands his ground that there is no machine like a BMW... Power, beauty, performance and above all PASSION!

[akanso]

I graduated from UNI from Manchester and came back to Abu Dhabi to start work, I took the X5 from my dad, it was 2001 with hamann exhaust, it was just amazing, I had to go to Qatar for work, I stayed there almost 2 years and I had the X5 there for the last 6 months, I came back and decided to get a sport car, I don’t want SUV anymore, but honestly till this moment I don’t remember how did it come to my mind M3. So that was it M3, some of my friends remember this, It took me more than 5 months to find one and luckly it was a moded phoenix yellow M3, my parents, my friends and everybody I knew told me you don’t want the ///M, it will give u headache. I didn’t listen to anybody I saw the car, I was :drool:, I checked it in the underground parking, didn’t drive it,didn't even check it, went to the cash machine, got 10k cash for a down payment, next day called the guy to the insurance, insured the car paid him the rest amount, registered the car and here I am driving it :D with all the pleasure

[Bruno]

you are all noobs just wait till you read mine. i'll give you a story better than the movie avatar! :rofl: it's very long lol

[mahmoud_bedewi]

i am sure bruno's story will b a hit, this guy owned alot of bimmers (at least since i knew him, which is not long ago :rofl:) plus his 007 performance knowing all BMW in UAE and nearly all the world :rofl:
show us what u got bruno

[Bruno]

read about so many BMW enthusiasts and admired how they collect these cars throughout a long period of time ranging from the late 80s. sorry i don't remember their names, but what i noticed is that most of them start collecting them in their thirties and by the time they get into the 60 year old range they have 3 or 4 bmws. oh well, it depends on how their future turns out.

not a big fan of show off personally but yeah i have a story to tell... the story is too long that if i start i won't finish probably but I'll try to summarize whatever i can.

in 1988 when i was 3 years old my dad took me in his newly acquired used e23 745i. having been a car freak from such a young age i remember that i took the wheels and steered the car in a dirt lot while the old man controlled the gas pedal and the brakes. anyways the car ended up stuck on a metal rod that was extended from the ground. he took it out after reversing and we successfully damaged the undertray shield. I got hooked up ever since.

we never saw a BMW for a very long time since my father sold that e23 in 1990 because he wanted the funds to grow his business.

The return to BMW, back in university days in 2003 my father shipped me a 2002 X5 4.4 Hartge. i had an internship in the Audi dealership in Lebanon and needed a car to commute from work to home and then back to university and at night for outings. well the X5 did it perfectly, it was a head turner back then. the beefy noise coming out of the exhaust and the power delivered was just what my heart fell for. i traveled in 3 months over 20,000 KMs. I've taken it to places that i never dreamed off, from north to south and to all sorts of areas that you can dream off. it just never disappointed in any possible way.

When i graduated and came back to Dubai in 2005 i wondered around to get myself a BMW. I knew that a BMW would be just what i wanted and wouldn't settle on something less. I wasn't sure what which car to get but heard of the 330ci and their achievements in Lebanon. they seem to be very popular over there for some reason. so i picked up a 2001 model and enjoyed her throughout 2005 and 2006. during that time i came across a 2002 mini cooper done only 18000Kms so i decided to add her to the collection. In June 2007 i sold both cars simply because they weren't powerful enough. i wanted to buy a real machine, that can be entertaining, that is powerful and decent at the same time. i knew that an E46 M3 would do the job perfectly.

So i went out to skim the market and couldn't find any clean one, this includes the part where i bugged Ayham and Nabil for 9 months till i came across the ONE. She was freshly imported from Houston, had a very nice combo carbon black with cinnamon interior. something that is hard to come across in the Gulf spec models. so i bought her in the last week of February 2008. later i added some cf csl upgrades and many aftermarket parts, to transform her into the on and only "Bruno-Spec M3"

In August 2008, i found a decent 07' M6. i thought it would be great car for my father, convinced him into buying it. But he never liked the SMG3 i thought he would keep her but then gave it to me. i drove it for a while, to be precise i only did 3000kms in the car. after a few more months, January 2009 i came across an E30 M3 which was Nabil's previous car. i bought her because i always wanted to own one of these legends. she wasn't in the best condition i had to work on it and still am, i'm picking up many parts for her to restore her back to factory condition. i shipped the e30 out to Lebanon in the hopes of finding a gearbox and an engine but wasn't successful. the car is still there as we speak. i'm looking into getting her back to dubai in January 2010. i worked on a few things while it was in Lebanon since the parts are easier to find there or atleast easier than Dubai.

In March 2009 i spoke with a CSL owner who was willing to sell his car to me, having wanted to own such a rare car was like a dream come true. i wanted to get rid of some of my cars to find a spot for this new eagle. so I put up the Bruno-Spec M3 for sale since it will be replaced by a CSL. On the day of our separation i called the CSL owner who suddenly changed his mind and told me "if i sell the CSL there won't be any other car that i can replace her with" at the moment i had the chance to cancel my car's sale, but decided to part with her since i already had too many cars anyways. 3 Mpowered coupes is just more than what a man wants thank God for that.

I later Sold the M6 in mid 2009 and picked up a E39 M5 instead, because it was relatively a cheaper option and the practicality of the e39 M5 is just unbelievable. you will never understand this car before buying one. But mainly i felt that the M6 is just not for me, yes it was a newer car but lacked a third pedal :P

Oh well this is the summary, i have omitted the 2 Ms that i owned or still own because not many people know about.

By the time they come to a conclusion on who that person is i would've bought atleast two other BMWs lol

Cheers,

[mahmoud_bedewi]

impressive story as expected but u need to mention your spy missions against any roundel on the planet :D

[Ayham]

Well, I guess I'll have a go here as well :D

Well, it started in one summer in Jordan when I was 14 years old. My friend's eldest brother has acquired what I consider the sexiest BMW I've seen to date; a 1991 E30, 325i convertible, interlagos blue, dove interior, BBS mesh style 16 inchers, "proper" lowering, and ofcourse it was a manual....There and then, I was the enthusiast most of you have come to know. Only it's gotten worse as the years have passed. And I've become friends with every BMW mechanic in Jordan ever since for the coming years. The things you can learn when you get greasy are just alarming!:doh!:

When I was 16 years old, I joined my first BMW online community; www.dtmpower.net where I'm still a member today. Spent my early years reading for about 8 hours a day on everything that's BMW, be it repair manuals, DIYs, motorsport setups, engine builds, comparos, and troubleshooting; I was there! It continued till I purchased my first BMW in 2003, a 1993 E36 325i manual. That thing was "proper" fast, embarrassing S2Ks, Type-Rs, Eclipse Turbos, and whatever was hot back in the days.

At this stage I should give you a bit of feedback of how I have come to own this car. I was offered a car by my father before I got into college, and I was given the liberty to name whatever marque I wanted. Naturally, it was a BMW. However, and most will agree that manual BMWs were unheard of in the UAE back in 2001, and I wanted none other but a manual E36. My father went bonkers and refused even looking if I happened to find one. I haven't! For two years, it was the bus, the occasional mom's car just for today, and the many friends dropping me off. And my father has brought in numerous cars for me to choose from; Racing Dynamics/ACS E36s/E34s, W124 Mercedes 300CEs, GTis, etc. None of them was the manual I-6 E36 I've always wanted. Until the day I found it, and to make it short, and bought it. I must tell you though that I got a ticket in the first hour I owned the car. At the Barsha Tasjeel parking lot!! That's messed up :D

Now actually owning the car I was preaching about to online drivers with problems, the process just accelerated. Facing these issues and others myself then troubleshooting them was a life experience. And quickly friends, then strangers started approaching me for their own set of problems and tuning desires. Patience ALWAYS pays off...

I graduated top of my class in 2005, H.H Sheikh Sultan Al Qassimi awarded me with a cheque of AED7,000!! All mine, with a car that was possessing me to make even better, I spent them all in 30 minutes to acquire my Cup Kit, Sway Bars, and shorter shifter. As you can tell, I prepare my cars from the ground up before touching the engine. Offcourse, my father said nothing at that stage as he knew where the money was going to go before I even cashed it. He's been my biggest critique and then my biggest enthusiast when it comes to my passion to sports cars, especially BMWs.

And it was August 15th when I met Nabil for the first time over at dtmpower.net. We've agreed to meet that evening to discuss establishing the UAE's own BMW Club. It was very evident that we had no perception as to how much work and connections that thing needed to be established! But besides the point, my car ended up totalled that evening and Nabil and I were rushed to the hospital for traumas and some big-a$$ stitches! Thank God, we're still here today among the rest of like-minded nuttheads

December 2005 saw "Wifey" entering our household as a cherished family member and a literal wife of my own (no dirty thoughts here please!!). Now that I was in a very lucrative job of my own, I was finally able to afford building the car with the best the world had to offer me, no expenses spared. The car has gained me access to the local UAE petrolheads and motorsports community in no time and I was very fortunate to meet all of them. Given its inherited defficiency as a heavy convertible in racing, I raced her nonetheless. With this and my previous background in BMWs, new-found friends established me as a BMW encyclopedia and consultant, which gained me even more experience. That car will never leave our household.

2007 rolled in and we had that second meeting; The Club will become a reality in 2007. So we did what we had to do, got in touch with the powers-to-be we needed to, and we were twisting people's minds ever since! I've always felt the gap and lack of technical support and community presence when I acquired the 325i, and having found like-minded BMW drivers with the same sentiment it was inevitable, and more of a duty, that we fill this gap. And so we did, and each and every member of you is filling that gap more and more till it's become the highest car club mountain in the Middle East. We are much obliged to all of you :thanks:

2008, I got my senior-level promotion and now I could afford what has become my dream car ever since I laid eyes on in 2001; the E46 M3. And there are no words to describe the way it feels to measure every ounce of improvement stemming from research and real track time with track junkies! And my next car?? Defo another BMW.

These were not meant to be just cars! They are a life style in its own merit. I tried to be brief for the story has many other details that in themselves affected the course of my life. But, hope you all got the idea and the history behind this Club and the people behind it :)

[Ayham]

Guys, the reward is pretty impressive here!! Share your stories... ;)

[Bruno]

its not clear what is reuired from DIGITALKITCHEN.... do they want us to nominate someone or give them a story of our own ???

the title says "my bmw story" and the questions are on who do you know is an enthusiast!

[Ayham]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8520/4.6.1.272 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/212)

It's about you or if you don't think you can't cut it then talk about somebody else..

[SHkater]

I Enjoyed reading these! Keep em comming :D