​    My obsession with cars began around age 14 when Detroit’s muscle cars were coming of age. Apart from a few Volkswagens and Mercedes, there were almost no european cars around my hometown in those days, but there were two that stand out in my memory: a red 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB owned by stockbroker turned professional driver Charlie Kemp and a white 1958 BMW 507 owned by a local architect that was rumored by the uninitiated to be some kind of Corvette knockoff made in England. 

    Most of my self-education on cars began with devouring copies of popular automobile enthusiast magazines. I began a 30+ year collection of Road & Track when I started subscribing in 1967. 

    In 1972 at age 20, I was on a mission to buy my first new car and I narrowed the search down to three: the Datsun 240Z; the Porsche 914; and the BMW 2002. The first two cars were impressive in specific areas. The 240Z looked cool, had torquey six-cylinder power and decent brakes, but was otherwise an unrefined car. The mid-engined 914 handled fabulously but suffered from a buzzy VW engine and a rubbery shifter. The 2002 was the hardest to find because Hoffman Motors had such a sparse dealer network. Serendipitously, a small dealer in my home town, who represented every esoteric brand possible, added BMW to the other cars he carried. The first BMW I test drove was a new Atlantik 2002 ($3670 sticker price) and the most complete car I had ever imagined; a totally new driving adventure and radically different from my 1966 Olds 442. It did everything well, feeling tight and agile with an air of quality in every part of the driving experience. It’s uncommon boxy appearance and no nonsense approach appealed to my interest in everything alternative. But, there was another 02 on the lot that had a different stance and character about it. It was a Malaga 2002tii ($4530 sticker price) and the salesman asked if I really wanted to consider something that cost so much more for what he thought was pretty much the same car. I said I’d like to try it and see if I could tell any difference. Well, yeah. It was very different. There was no going back and that tii (number 2760605) became my first BMW.