2024 Welcome Meeting – Mangiano Pizza

by Allison

To our new members, we will be hosting a Welcome Meeting to familiarize you with the different events, activities, and benefits of the BMW CCA. Our goal is to foster a community where members can share their enthusiasm and different interests while getting the most enjoyment and satisfaction from BMW ownership. Stop by to find out more about BMW CCA membership and meet some fellow members! More details to come soon.

DATE: Sunday, March 24, 2024

TIME: 12pm – 3pm

LOCATION:

Mangiano Pizza Restaurant
102 E Hanover Ave
Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927

Register here!

Please register by Thursday, March 21. Space is limited and intended for members and associate members. Each attendee may only register themselves.

Social Director’s Update – Fall 2023

by mhulbrock

Social Events

Social Director’s Update

While enduring a hot few months of record heat, we still had several events planned before the official end of summer with more to come!

At our August chapter meeting, we were treated to a firsthand look at race car driver Tyler Pappa’s E92 M3 which he currently races and recently competed in the Race to the Clouds at Pikes Peak, Colorado. Tyler is the owner of Bimmer Service by TySpeed, a big supporter and sponsor of our chapter. The Deutscher Club of Clark once again graciously hosted our meeting. 

We had a great turnout at the Cars and Coffee in Holmdel on August 27. The weather cooperated, and we saw many happy faces enjoying the reprieve from the recent high temperatures we’ve had all summer. With people coming and going, we had about 200 cars attend. The relaxed atmosphere made for a family friendly affair as we saw many youngsters accompanying their parents. We even had curious non-BMW owners stop by to take a peek and inquire about the event. There was a great mix of young and old car enthusiasts mingling with each other while sharing the passion for BMW. We are certainly looking forward to the next one!

On perhaps one of the rainiest days at summer’s end, we hosted Bimmer Day with Open Road BMW of Edison for a collaborative event which drew quite a crowd despite the weather. The forecast for September 10 did not even deter guests who drove from Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and even the furthest regions of New Jersey like Cape May and Mahwah! Everyone got a little wet, but attendees spent time under the protected facade of the newly built facility of Open Road BMW and mingled. DRIP Coffee Catering was present to serve complimentary coffee and breakfast pastries.

On October 14 and 15, our last track days will be at our Shenandoah Driver School weekend and will be our last HPDE event for the 2023 season, taking place in West Virginia at the Summit Point Raceway. Whether you are a novice or seasoned veteran of the track, sign up to see what the fun is all about!

Here is a listing of the chapter events from August through December 2023:

• August 24 Chapter Meeting with TySpeed at The Deutscher Club of Clark
• August 27 Cars & Coffee in Holmdel
• September 10 Bimmer Day at Open Road BMW in Edison
• September 14 Chapter Meeting at Circle BMW 
• September 16 BMW Vehicle Distribution Center tour in Jersey City
• September 17 Autocross at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater 
• September 24 Bimtoberfest at BMW of Bridgewater 
• October 7 Cars & Coffee in Paramus
• October 8 Autocross at TD Bank Ballpark
• October 14-15 Summit Point Shenandoah Driver School
• October 29 Fall Picnic
• December 5 Pinewood Derby

Social Director’s Update – Spring 2023

by NJ BMW CCA

Social Events

BMW CCA New Jersey Chapter Quarterly Newsletter

April 2023

Social Director’s Update

Following the great turnout at our events last year, we have plenty of exciting events to look forward to for 2023! Based on recent member feedback, our social programming will now include a greater mix of automotive and social-themed events, some occurring on weekends as requested by those of you with hectic weekday schedules.

Our calendar for this year includes events such as Cars & Coffee, track days and instruction school, autocross, rallies, charity drives, Show & Shine, and a slew of others currently in planning. Keep an eye out for our calendar for new events as the year unfolds. In the works are a movie night, go-karting, and casual dinners. For the enthusiasts curious about the journey a BMW takes from port of entry to dealership, we have been invited to tour the BMW Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC) in Jersey City during the fall. We are also excited to offer the opportunity to attend a one-day M School Day at the BMW Performance Driving School in Greer, SC for a special BMW CCA rate.

We kicked off the spring, our season opening social events at Thumbody coffee for our first Cars & Coffee of 2023! With over two hundred cars in attendance it was a great success. Our next C&C event is expected to be in the mid-summer. Stay tuned for the forthcoming date. Please note that non-members are always welcome to attend our Cars & Coffee, so invite your friends and family!

Our monthly meetings are regularly scheduled events which all members are welcome to attend. Our monthly meetings are typically on a Thursday evening with food and drink provided. So far this year, we have had the pleasure to be hosted by Shade Tree Garage in Morristown who presented on automotive care, and BMW of Bridgewater to see the all-new BMW XM hybrid SUV. 

As always, we appreciate our members! While our commonality is based upon our love of BMWs and individual takes on BMW lifestyles, our goal is to build a thriving community for our members, and that depends on your support. Some of you have reached out to volunteer your time, expertise, and knowledge whether for a committee, an event, or even just part of an event. For that, we are very grateful. The more volunteers we have means that we will be able to plan for larger scale events in the future!

If you’d like to share ideas, volunteer, or have questions, please reach out to us at:

jskwish@njbmwcca.org (Josephine) or whoward@njbmwcca.org (Wade).

Club Happenings – Summer 2020: Scenic Drive Through Delaware Water Gap hosted by eMpower Automotive, Convenience Collision & Auto Repair, and TriState5ers

by Rich Altman

Do you like BMWs, locally-brewed craft beer, and windy country roads? On June 14th, NJ chapter members participated in a scenic drive through the Delaware Water Gap with stops at three local breweries co-hosted by eMpower Automotive, Convenience Collision & Auto Repair, and the TriState5ers group to support local businesses and raise funds for Good Will Fire Company No. 1 in Belvidere.

Restrictions on indoor activities and social gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in place at the time of the event required some flexibility, but all of the attendees were happy to make those minor accomodations in order to enjoy the beautiful weather and explore the picturesque country roads of the Delaware Water Gap in their BMWs. The approximately 100-mile long scenic drive began at eMpower Automotive in Belvidere, where approximately 40 BMWs including 2002’s, 750iLs, and a strong showing of 5-Series models from the E28, E34, and E39 generations in both bone stock and heavily modified forms queued up for the drive.

From eMpower’s location in Belvidere, the convoy of BMWs (and a handful of BMW owners and enthusiasts who dusted off their classic American iron for the drive) headed west past Good Will Fire Company No. 1, and over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania for the first stop of the scenic drive at Bangor Trust Brewing in Bangor. At Bangor Trust Brewing, the group was welcomed with a selection of their tasty craft beers brewed using organic grist, homegrown hops, and locally-sourced ingredients, including their signature PigEarth ESB and Weizenhiemer Weissebier brews. Beverages had to be served ‘to go’ in glass growlers, but that didn’t prevent us from enjoying the historic downtown architecture along Broadway which provided a terrific background for photos of our cars.

After enjoying the refreshments and scenery, the group headed back across the Delaware River to New Jersey and picked up scenic NJ Route 94 to our second stop at Buck Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Blairstown. The second stop offered all of the participants a chance to grab a farm-to-table lunch and sample Buck Hill’s unique locally-inspired beers made from locally-produced ingredients served ‘to go’ in the restaurant’s parking lot, as well as more socializing with other BMW owners and enthusiasts outdoors while enjoying the sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s.

After lunch, the group continued north on NJ Route 94 and US Route 206 to Angry Erik Brewing in Hampton Township to sample their variety of craft beers and another opportunity to display their vehicles in the brewery’s parking lot. The brewers at Angry Erik Brewing have been prolific while the tasting room has had to remain closed due to restrictions on indoor activities and social gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic and have more than 15 varieties of tasty traditional American and Belgian style ales available ‘to go’ in cans and growlers, including their own variety of “All Together” IPA derived from a recipe from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn. Proceeds from the sale of “All Together” — a tasty juice bomb IPA filled with lots of hop aroma and haze — benefit the New Jersey-based ‘Brewery Strong’ charity to support people in the brewing, bar, and restaurant industries that have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaving Angry Erik Brewing, the convoy continued north towards the northwest corner of New Jersey on US Route 206 and split up into two groups. One group turned south just before crossing the Delaware River and headed south to eMpower through the national park; one group took the scenic route (.. in other words, we missed the left turn ..) and headed over the Delaware River on the historic Dingman’s Ferry Bridge before turning south on US Route 209.

Club Happenings – Summer 2016: Monthly Meeting at the Biergarten

by NJ BMW CCA

By Marc Goeller

For the second year in a row, our Biergarten social event held jointly with our friends from the Deutscher Club started under the rain. A lot of rain! As a result, I hit some heavy traffic on my way to Clark and arrived later than I had planned. I was nevertheless extremely happy to see that all the cars that had entered our People’s choice concours were neatly parked on the grounds! My thank you and gratitude go to our friend, Heinz Ricken, who took the lead to organize the flow of collector cars as well as the two beautiful rides that BMW of Springfield decided to bring to the party: a new 650i xDrive along with a M235i Convertible (or Cabrio as they say in München….).

Fortunately for all of us, the DC is equipped with an amazing hall that is covered and that protected everybody until the rain eventually tamed. All were able to enjoy the amazing German food and beer that was on tap (not mentioning the delicious and gigantic salty pretzels!!) while listening to some traditional Bavarian music. I used this opportunity to distribute the ballots to the participants so that they could vote for their favorite BMW. As usual, three categories were listed: Vintage class (cars 25 years and older), Motorsport class (including all M models) and Modern class (the rest…). In the end, more than 100 votes were cast and quite predictably, the car that gathered the most votes was Bill Dahn’s Pumpkin: a lovely 1973 2002 tii model in a stunning Inca Orange livery!!

Another iconic model, one of the pristine first-generation M3 (also known by its E30 code) that was entered by Bob Krieger, won the Motorsport class. For the little back story, our very own Ross Karlin, club racing chair on our board of directors tied Bob in this class with yet another beautiful E30 M3, but was gracious enough to forego the laurels. Thanks Ross!

Biergarten participants confirmed that they are true connoisseurs of the marque, as they lastly selected the car of William (Bill) Dahn in the Modern Class.

All three class winners received a prize donated by our long-time friends from BMW of Springfield. All of us were really the ultimate winners as we enjoyed yet another wonderful night in the great company of fellow BMW enthusiasts. Looking forward to next year’s Biergarten already…