Club Happenings – Spring 2018: New Jersey Chapter Tours the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center in Jersey City

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By Paul Ngai

On March 24th, 100 lucky Chapter members got to visit the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC). It was our 6th Annual VDC Tour/BMW CCA Foundation Charity Event and was sponsored by BMW of Bridgewater.

The BMW VDC is the point of entry for BMWs, MINIs, and Rolls- Royces into the United States. BMW currently has four VDCs in the United States. The New Jersey VDC processes approximately 85,000 cars per year and supports 8 states. The West Coast VDC in Port Hueneme, California receives cars for the West Coast; the Baltimore VDC receives cars destined to the Midwest, Virginia and Maryland, and the Brunswick, Georgia VDC receives cars destined for the southern United States. BMW recently expanded its vehicle distribution network to southeastern Texas to better serve the 45 BMW and MINI dealers within four states (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas) that make up a part of the Southern Region. The New Jersey VDC processes an average of 300 cars per day and includes new and European Delivery BMWs, MINIs, and Rolls-Royces, which arrive from Austria, Germany, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

Upon arrival, members provided their names to the security checkpoint and were greeted by our Chapter volunteers. The VDC provided coffee and bagels for breakfast in the waiting area where members got to see the raffle prizes. The event started promptly at 9am and the group was escorted into the main facility area for a presentation. Then the group was divided into smaller groups for the individual group tours led by VDC members.

Lunch was provided by BMW of Bridgewater. During lunch, our special guest, Scott Dishman, Executive Director of the BMW CCA Foundation, gave a very thorough presentation about the Foundation.

Here are some of the items which were raffled off at the event. The collectible edition of the Heroes of Bavaria book (leather bound, slipcase, only 300 produced), two exclusive Heroes of Bavaria posters, one driver-signed item, and One free HPDE experience for a NJ Chapter member (at any CCA HPDE event).

BMW of Bridgewater donated a BMW M bike which was auctioned off at the event. Overall, it was an informative and successful event. All the members had a great time and learned a lot about the vehicle preparation process. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we raised over $5000 for the BMW CCA Foundation.

Hope to see everyone again next year!

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