Aug 292019
 
Addressing Content Marketing Pain Points

Earlier this month Michael Brenner published a good article on his Marketing Insider Group site outlining some common content marketing pain points. Brenner is a former corporate CMO who became an early evangelist for the content marketing approach. I talked about his prediction for native advertising back in 2014. His list of seven problem areas […]

Jul 232019
 
Vanos Lockdown on my E46 M3

This weekend my E46 M3 got some important preventative maintenance. Working with a guy from M3Forum who specializes in this work, we locked down the Vanos system on my car. Vanos is an abbreviation of the German word for the variable camshaft timing system. The system on my S54 engine adjusts the timing of both […]

Jun 252019
 
E39 M5 Transmission Fluid and Fuel Filter Changes

This weekend I performed some basic maintenance on my 2002 E39 M5. This was at another productive DIY event put on by the National Capital Chapter of the BMWCCA. It was held at Proctor’s Foreign Auto Services in New Carrollton, MD. Owner Tim Proctor has hosted the DIY crew before and was very gracious, helping […]

May 212019
 
Tech Talk Event with Mike Miller

Mike Miller is a subject matter expert on BMW technical and maintenance information. Mike is the long-time staff member and technical editor for Roundel and formerly for Bimmer magazine (sadly killed by its publisher). He’s a former mechanic, and holds a Master’s of Environmental Law degree from Vermont Law School. Mike is essentially a mentor […]

Apr 292019
 
IT Marketing Trends According to IDG

Recently IDG put out a customer survey designed to show what B2B technology buyers are looking for when considering IT purchases. As one of the largest online media and marketing organizations focused on technology, IDG has a vested interest in staying on top of what IT decision-makers want. So does StoryTech, so I’ve reviewed their […]

Mar 312019
 
Red Wine Winners

Recently Gabriele and I have had three excellent wines while dining out. Two were Italian, and one was a Bordeaux. We had a nice Barolo while away for a week on vacation in West Virginia. We had dinner at the Press Room restaurant in Shepherdstown – nice place and recommended. (Bistro 112, a French place […]

Feb 132019
 
E39 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

This past weekend I assisted on a fairly common BMW procedure. I helped my friend Duane replace the valve cover gasket on his 2002 530i. I had never seen an E39 valve cover gasket replaced, and sometime down the road may need to replace on my M5. The National Capital Chapter DIY event was hosted […]

Jan 112019
 
2018 BMW Sales

Happy New Year! With 2018 in the rear view mirror, how did BMW do in the North American luxury car market? In a year when its closest competitors were down in the market, BMW managed a sales gain of 1.7 percent in 2018, selling 311,014 vehicles. Overall the NA luxury market was down .3 percent. […]

Dec 302018
 
2018 Retrospective

It’s hard to believe another year has gone by. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was writing about the tenth anniversary of this site at the end of last year. 2018 was a busy year, and running my content marketing firm again took time away from publishing stories on my personal site. Despite the […]

Nov 082018
 
Antiquum Farm Wine Tasting

Last Sunday Gabriele and I attended a tasting featuring Antiquum Farm wines, put on by Grape and Bean in Old Town, Alexandria. Owner and winemaker Stephen Hagen took us through his unique approaches to soil cultivation and winemaking. By chance we just had enjoyed an Antiquum wine a few weeks ago. We had the 2016 […]

Oct 162018
 
U.S. Wine Market Update

One of the most popular wine posts on this site was a story I did five years ago on the demographics of U.S. wine consumption. So it’s past time for me to return to the U.S. wine market and see what’s changed over the past five years. Silicon Valley Bank produces an annual report on […]

Sep 252018
 
Enthusiasts Debate Bring a Trailer

The online auction site Bring a Trailer is making waves in the BMW enthusiast community. The site has been around for a few years but has jumped in popularity in the past 12-18 months, becoming a go-to location for low volume, enthusiast oriented BMWs and other brands. Roundel, the magazine of the BMW Car Club […]