[Mark's M]

May 10th Continued: Delivery Time!!!

So another quick drive in the X6 M to The Welt but on the way I was given a quick drive-by of all of the other BMW facilities in the city, located between Garching and Munich. Wow does BMW ever take up a lot of property. First went by their engineering centre where 8000 employees design our cars, BMW bikes, MINI's and Roll Royces. Then drove by the R&D where all those spy photos are taken with the grey steel gates in the background. Two X3's passed us but you've seen the photos already - they were camo'd of course. Then saw their wind tunnel facility (looks like a smaller version of the Welt), some more of their admin offices including those for MINI, and finally the M Engine facility where all of our motors are assembled and then shipped to Regensburg....holy shit, was I impressed.

We got to the Welt just before noon and we parked outside where some lucky devil was just finishing off their delivery of a SG M3 and getting ready to hit the road. (Pic 1). Then inside where Christine checked me in at the front counter (Pic 2) and then we were off to the Delivery Deck right away because 12:30 was supposed to be the magic moment. Wow, what an impressive place inside. The delivery area is split up into 2 areas....one for the business end (Pic 3) where you get all of your paperwork and the other is the "lounge" where you can sit, eat, drink....whatever (Pic 4). Very, very classy.

I also needed to do the factory tour and the BMW Museum today but found out I couldn't fit things in. Christine arranged for my delivery to be postponed till the afternoon and they whisked me off to the factory tour (3 Ser sedans and wagons). It's located just across the street from the Welt and it was well worth the 2+ hours. They do everything there. Very different from one of the Ford tours I took in Detroit. Example, alot of our domestic vehicle contents are outsourced - like seating and panel trim, etc. At the BMW plant, it's all put together in one place. Right from the stamping to final diagnostic testing before the cars head to their transporters, it's all "one stop shopping". Pretty neat....but no cameras allowed unfortunately.

Got back to the Welt at 2:20 PM and completed my paperwork where they give you your insurance package, licencing info, etc. Had time for a quick bite and a drink and then the clock on the wall said "1440", time to go (Pic 5).

Christine accompanied me and we met our delivery expert Matt who took us to the next lower level and lit up the car (Pic 6). And the rest.....was just a blur. It was really exciting to finally see and sit in the car you've wanted all your life. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. The car was perfect, just as ordered. And the color combination between the Monte Carlo outside and the rust brown inside was pretty bold....just the look I wanted.

Here's the spec's real quick (Pic's 6 through 10)

M/C Blue Outside - I'm so glad they allowed me to have it, it's perfect for the car.

Black Chrome grill, side gills, exhaust & hood vents (from the Edition models)

Rust Brown inside with extended leather + console, shift boot and brake handle in rust brown. Contrast stitching in anthracite blue which picks up some of the silver trim inside and the Monte Carlo outside.

Piano black interior trim with the "///M" logo lasered into the passenger side.

Short shift with ZHP knob and extra leather for the boot so that it can "sit up" and bundle around the bottom of the knob rather than form a bowl shape.....I hope you guys know what I mean, the pics should show the difference. The extra leather on the boot and the way it sits makes the 6mt look too cool. I love it.

All the other factory options are in the car and of course the Comp Package. My only disappointment was that my black comp. wheels weren't available yet. They go into production for the M3 GTS in June and M Div will be shipping a set to me, mounted with tires even, as soon as they're available. They should be here by the time I get the car back in Canada anyways so no big deal. And I'm ending up with two sets of wheels/tires which is just a bonus. Maybe winters will end up on the silver set 'cause this car is just screaming for the black ones.

Back to the story....probably spent about 2 hours going over the car and especially the Navi 'cause I was going to need it first thing next morning. The rest of the controls (radio, etc via IDrive) was pretty intuitive like all of you have described so no real issues. Christine had to get back to work by 4 PM and she presented me with a beautiful piano wood box with a carbon fibre lid containing two very beautiful and authentic carbon fibre/sterling key chains with "Individual BMW M3" and my name engraved on each. She told me their Rolls Royce people put these together for M Div. Wow, all of this was just too amazing.

So I finished up with Matt and it was time to go. Off to Italy the next morning but the Welt people were nice enough to give me underground parking for the night. The hotel parking lot (because it was originally part of the Olympic housing venue) looked like a battle ground quite frankly and there was no way this car was going there.

Now my anal side kicked in. The car was going OUTSIDE!!! Oh no. Was it waxed??? Yes said Matt. Was it waxed properly??? Yes said Matt. I didn't believe him. Were the wheels waxed??? No said Matt. Oh no, brake dust will probably eat them up and they'll be ruined!!! I spend hours on my new cars, would have spent days on this one probably. And I've already paid for the 3M protection and a teflon coat when it arrives back in Canada (you can't put anything onto a ED car while it's in Europe). Oh for fuck sake, the whole car's going to be ruined!!! And what if someone hits it, dings it or I get stone chips??? Why can't it just sit here at the Welt and BMW give me another car for my tour??? I should have brought my own wax and at least done it "my way" in the basement. I needed a stiff drink about now 'cause I was losing it.

So I jumped into the car, pressed the "start" button, listened to the wonderful motor for a minute and then off I went. Inside the Welt you drive once around the perimeter of the delivery deck and then down a ramp to an automatic door that lets you out to the road. Take a big breath Mark, the door's opening and there's the street. But look at all the cars and trucks that could hit me. Fuck. Another big breath and away I went. Once around the big Olympiapark complex and right back to the Welt garage where I parked her for the night and went back to the hotel. Man does this car have potential. Couldn't experience it on this date but I had 8 days on the road ahead of me so there was time to wait. Besides, I needed that drink.

Italy tomorrow, time for dinner, some more sightseeing and....oh yeah, that drink (OK, once again 5 of them). The museum closes at 6 PM so BMW gave me a pass for when I arrived back in Munich on the 18th.

A fantastic day!!! Another perk.