2007 Los Angeles Auto Show

On Sunday, 25 November, I headed down to the L.A. Convention Center to see the Maserati Granturismo in the flesh for the first time. I wasn't disappointed... except for the colors of the showcars. The Granturismo is even larger than I expected but my infatuation with the exotic Italian continues.

I also took a look a the MINI Clubman and the new V8 powered BMW M3 and the 1 Series Coupe. I liked the cars and all three should do well in the Southern California auto market.

My car "of the moment" the Maserati Granturismo next to one of my favorite vehicle brands

The MINI Clubman... soon at a dealership near you

M3 V8: Probably will see a lot of these in SoCal

The 1 Series Coupe: "Entry" Level BMW

Munich, Germany

Yesterday we made our way down part of the Romantische Strasse to the Neuschwanstein castle and then on into Munich. I failed to mention earlier that the "service engine soon" light has been off since we left Salzburg. I think that the extreme heat (40 degrees C!) of southern Europe caused the light to go on even though the diagnostic check showed no issues. Cooler temps appears to have resolved the problem.

Today, the sun was shining so we took advantage of the good weather to get out before the rain came down again. Our first stop: MINI Muenchen located right next to BMW Worldwide headquarters.

Parked in front of MINI Munich

I chatted with Maria, the attractive and knowledgeable MINI representative...

looked around the showroom...

and then drove to the famous 4 cylinder BMW headquarters for a picture.

BMW and Beer

Later in the day we took a guided tour around central Munich to catch a glimpse of sights we would otherwise miss and then Jennifer and I left the keys to the MINI at the hotel and had a fun evening out at the Hofbraeu. See the video to get a flavor of the good times there.

Savoring the Hofbraeu specialty...

MINI and M Roadster Part 2

My JCW and M Roadster

Here's a picture of my JCW back in 2004. I took delivery of the car as pictured with the original 200HP JCW kit. It sits face-to-face with my 1998 M Roadster. Yes... I like blue cars...