It’s been a while since I’ve written a post on U.S. BMW sales. Bottom line up front – partly that’s because there is very little connection between enthusiast BMW owners driving older cars and those interested in purchasing new BMWs. (Certain M models like the new G87 M2 are the exceptions that prove the rule). […]
The holiday season seems to increase the number of restaurants doing wine dinners. These are enjoyable ways to learn about different wines, and usually a pretty good bargain as well. Recently we attended one featuring French and Italian wines at Cedar Knoll, a conveniently local place right on the George Washington Parkway. The first three […]
The last two DIY events have involved straightforward changes of BMW fluids, so I’m combining them into one post. In the first I changed the differential fluid and rear diffuser on my E39 M5, and during the second I changed the power steering fluid in my E46 M3. I had last done the differential fluid […]
Recently I attended the GAIN 2023 conference, an event dedicated to business-to-government (B2G) marketing. I’ve attended GAIN since it began in 2016, sponsored by Government Marketing University. In 2021 GovExec purchased GMarkU and produced this year’s event. Attendance seemed strong and fully recovered from depressed pandemic levels. Many of the speakers and presentations were excellent. […]
Earlier this month Gabriele and I spent a fun week in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. This area of North Carolina is a stretch of barrier islands and coastal towns also known as the Southern Outer Banks. While there we of course sampled some of the nicer restaurants in the area. Our first dinner out was […]
The Labor Day weekend is a great time to do some simple tweaks to your car. This past weekend I did some M5 Labor Day jobs that didn’t warrant waiting for a club DIY event. I replaced a leaking intensive windshield wash reservoir, added a euro trunk cubby and replaced a chipped plenum badge. When […]
Last weekend Gabriele and I got away to the Blue Ridge Mountain wine area of Virginia. We stayed in a nice VRBO, had a couple of great meals and hit four wineries on Saturday. Our first stop after driving down Friday was the Ivy Inn in Charlottesville. It was a bit of a drive from […]
Earlier this month I completed the washer fluid repair I talked about in a previous post. The windshield wiper system in my E39 M5 was leaking in multiple places. While planning for the DIY I also had the shameful (for an enthusiast) realization that it had been four years since I had changed the car’s […]
Last weekend I replaced the rear brake rotors and brake pads on my 2006 M3. For an amateur DIY enthusiast like myself that’s a pretty big job, and I’m happy to say it went smoothly. Craftsman Auto Care hosted our local chapter at their Chantilly location. Craftsman is a regular sponsor and a great partner […]
My 2002 M5 needed some relatively minor work recently. The car is old enough to be graduating from college this year, so it’s no surprise things are breaking. I tackled these at home rather than a club DIY event and I was partially successful. The first issue was the HVAC blower died. No air was […]
Usually on Work, Wine and Wheels I’m writing about red wine. But as summer arrives sometimes a white wine is the right choice. Recently Gabriele and I have enjoyed three quality summer Chardonnays that will enhance any event or meal. The first one is the Hartford Court 2021 Russian River Chardonnay. This wine is flat-out […]
It’s been a busy few weeks filled with E39 M5 projects. Last month I installed a new thermostat, and in the process discovered the lower oil pan gasket needed replacement. Then I purchased a truly impressive invention that advanced my car’s communications into the modern era. For the past few months my car had been […]