by Bob Morin

Our club year has officially begun with the successful Annual Dinner now under our belts.   jerri Willy did a great job with the arrangements for the dinner. Under Roger Chartier’s coordination, we had a great selection of door prizes again this year and no one went home empty handed.   Nancie Giacalone did a great job pushing raffle tickets for our $500 Tire Gift Certificate and we were able to raise $700 for the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation plus, Tony Nestora, the winner of the raffle was so pleased that he immediately wrote out a check to Fidelco for another $100, making the total donation we sent to Fidelco $800.   Thanks also to Ann Catino and Sheila Morin who both joined me in speaking about the different aspects of the European Delivery process ranging from the process at the BMWA Center itself, to planning your trip, to an actual personal experience.   Many in attendance had completed at least one European Delivery and added their own experiences.   We’re grateful to everyone for kicking off our calendar with a bang.

Of course, the business end of the Annual Dinner is the election and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome (back) two new members of the board, Marsh Wilson and Sheila Morin.   We also had an unusually high number of write-in votes for two members of the 2004 board who had decided not to run again this year.   However, at this writing, neither Jim Hurczyn nor Steve Wasley has changed their minds, although both pledge to remain active in Chapter activities.  

Some upcoming events include the April 2^nd Wine & Cheese Party in Bristol, CT at the home of Jim & Maria Hurczyn.   This low-key get-together is always a pleasant evening where socializing is the main agenda.   April 15^th is our first Driver’s School of the year.  Our second school comes up quickly on May 20^th, so be sure you have all the registration dates straight so you won’t be disappointed.   In between the two schools we have a Bike Trip planned on May 15^th in the Farmington Valley area.  

The racing season got off to a shaky start for the home team as the PTG entries in the Daytona 24 Hour did not exactly have a stellar performance.   At least the Grand Am Cup teams faired a little better at Daytona when BMW M3s finished 3^rd and 4^th in the Grand Sport Class and one of the T. C. Kline Z4s won the Sport Touring Class.   By the time you read this, the F1 season will be underway, but it is going to be pretty difficult to muster up much hope for the BMW Williams team this year.   An unimpressive driver line-up in a mediocre chassis with a pretty strong engine does not exactly sound like something that has Michael Schumacher lying awake at night.

It should be an exciting year for BMW with all the new models coming to market in the US .   The first to hit should be the new E90 3 series 4-door cars.   Both models will now have a 3-liter engine (despite the 325i and 330i designations remaining).   Horsepower jumps to 214 for the 325i and 255 for the 330i.   Around the same time we will see the same engines make their way into the 5 series and the AWD 525xi and 530xi will also arrive accompanied by the 530xi Sport Wagon.   Also, this Spring, we should see the 750i and 750Li with a new 4.8 liter, bumping horsepower to 360 and the mid-model facelift that many have been hoping will tone down the Chris Bangle design to a less controversial appearance.    Then, this Fall, we’ll get the 325xi and 330xi and by year’s end we may also see the new M5 packing 500+ HP.  

In News From National, membership continues to be stagnant.   This month’s total of 75,311 is only .54% ahead of last year.   National Election results are in, and in the only contested position we could vote for, Bruce Hazard defeated Rafael Garces for the office of National Secretary.   Special thanks have to go out to Barbara Adams who held that position for more than a decade (I think) and spends so much of her life trying to make the club better for all of us.    

We’re likely to get at least one more bad driving day before we get the good roads back, so be careful you don’t let Winter get you.   Until next month…