[mapezzul]

Originally Posted by SoonerJohnInDallas

Speaking of BMW employee cars... A couple days ago I saw an F30 test car on the road - not sure why at this point. I also saw an X-something in full camouflage near Augsburg yesterday - it was going the opposite direction and I didn't notice it until it was passing me, so I didn't get a chance to see what it was.

My plan for today is to look around Rothenburg this morning and then just hit the road back to Munich to make sure I'm there in plenty of time for my 4:00 drop off of the car. :-(

Test car is the hybrid or xDrive (hybrid is the most likely candidate). Cladded X is the X1 LCI, next gen X5 or the 3er GT. They are picking up development again now that the weather is improving (as I say that we are getting snow and my journey to Geneva is looking daunting!)

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Originally Posted by mapezzul

Test car is the hybrid or xDrive (hybrid is the most likely candidate). Cladded X is the X1 LCI, next gen X5 or the 3er GT. They are picking up development again now that the weather is improving (as I say that we are getting snow and my journey to Geneva is looking daunting!)

All makes sense. Speaking of snow - I got snowed on Rothenburg this morning, and then rain on the way back to Munich, and then once back in Munich, I ended up seeing rain, snow and sleet all within a 20 minute period - which was all right as I was trying to wash the car up for its' trip to the States!

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Well, the time had to come... I had to drop the car off about an hour ago :-( When I pulled up at the dropoff place, it was very empty - found out that the reason was because the truck had come earlier today and I just missed it. Dangit! She said the car should get picked up Wednesday or Thursday and be to the port at Bremerhaven the following day, so hopefully it'll still make it onto a ship out early next week. (I haven't checked ship schedules yet.)

I had a good last day with the car thought. Toured around Rothenburg (on foot) this morning - really neat place - and bought some souveniers. The drove a bit of the Castle Road before hopping on the big highways and heading to Dachau to see the concentration camp memorial and then on to the Munich airport for turn-in. Relaxing at the airport Sheraton now until I fly out tomorrow morning.

Washing the car before drop-off was interesting. It was a mix of rain and sleet and snow falling and I was washing my car. I definitely got a few odd looks!

Anyway... Here are a few photos from today...

First, a couple from Rothenburg on the Tauber:




And a couple at the car drop-off. If these pics aren't good quality it is because I was too sad to take a good photo :-)

All washed up again for the trip:


I ended up logging 932 miles plus the 6 at pickup, so 938 on the odometer at dropoff:


That's it for now. Likely won't do any more updates until after I get home to Dallas tomorrow afternoon.

[Fugly M3]

Are you having separation anxiety issues? I think I would be. The whole leaving my new car there by itself would be a real challenge.

[malc410326]

Originally Posted by SoonerJohnInDallas

And a couple at the car drop-off. If these pics aren't good quality it is because I was too sad to take a good photo :-)

All washed up again for the trip:


I ended up logging 932 miles plus the 6 at pickup, so 938 on the odometer at dropoff:


That's it for now. Likely won't do any more updates until after I get home to Dallas tomorrow afternoon.

@SoonerJohn

Awesome pics and thanks for your daily ED updates. From seeing the stats on your final pic, you really enjoyed Deutschland in your new Bimmer! Have a safe trip back and look forward to seeing more photos when you return Stateside! Boomer Sooner!

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Speaking of stats - I just realized I forgot to check the final fuel economy, but I know I was coming in something between 23-24 mpg for the while trip - and that's with lots of pretty hard acceleration whenever possible, windy roads, lots of small towns to pass thought, and of course driving 100+ on the autobahn for quite a few miles. I'm quite pleased with the gas mileage!

[DrivenByE30]

John... did you have to give back both keys or can you keep one at least?

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

John... did you have to give back both keys or can you keep one at least?

They let me keep one and they took the other. At least I'll have that to cling to for the next 6-8 weeks. :-)

[bananachipz]

A bit OT but: Do you have any pics of Dachau? Being Jewish, it's one of the reasons I wanted to do ED.

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Originally Posted by bananachipz

A bit OT but: Do you have any pics of Dachau? Being Jewish, it's one of the reasons I wanted to do ED.

I do, but haven't uploaded them yet. Will try to later tonight or may have to wait until I get home tomorrow evening. It was definitely an interesting place to visit - one of those bone chilling places that was interesting to see, but just kinda made me want to get out as quickly as possible too! (I had and remember the same exact reaction when I visited Nuremberg 12 years ago!)

[iwannabimmer]

Originally Posted by SoonerJohnInDallas

I know what you mean about keeping darker color cars clean. I really like black cars, but they're just way to hard to keep clean, so I went with mineral grey to make it a little easier. It doesn't actually show the layer of grime on it too badly, but the spots show bad. And of course it doesn't shimmer at you so much with dirt on it.

Regarding suspension, I DO have the adaptive suspension. It rides very well. Takes bumps in the road and cobblestone streets quite nicely and still handles great as well.

Well in all honesty, with you living in Dallas it shouldn't be such a problem to keep this car clean I guess. But for me in Chicago, with 5 months of winter and ever-changing weather, a dark-colored car is a bitch to keep clean. I know from experience. My current car is Silver and I love it. Therefore, if and when I'm buying a F30 or any other new car, it will be in Silver for sure.

And thanks for the info on your car's ride. Keep the pictures coming.

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Originally Posted by iwannabimmer

Well in all honesty, with you living in Dallas it shouldn't be such a problem to keep this car clean I guess. But for me in Chicago, with 5 months of winter and ever-changing weather, a dark-colored car is a bitch to keep clean. I know from experience. My current car is Silver and I love it. Therefore, if and when I'm buying a F30 or any other new car, it will be in Silver for sure.

And thanks for the info on your car's ride. Keep the pictures coming.

I agree. In Dallas we have trouble with dust and pollen on them, but very limited trouble with all the normal winter grim you folks have to deal with up north. And btw - my last 3 vehicles (not counting the gold 'filler' truck earlier in this thread) have all been silver, so it was time for a change! :-)

[ede92]

I washed my car before I dropped it off in Munich. Ha!

Now you will be monitoring where the boat is in the Atlantic!

[SoonerJohnInDallas]

Too funny! I managed one last glimpse of the car from a couple hundred yards away out the window of the British Airways lounge! I tried to crop it down, but the upload software I'm using on the iPad is somehow going back to the original. You can just see the back end of it right in the center of the photo - beneath the man. (it's been turned around since I left it. I assume they moved it to make more parking space since I just pulled in randomly b/c the lot was empty at the time)

[svache]

Rental car return? Hmm hmmm lol

Great looking pics again, John!

[PrinceBarin]

Originally Posted by SoonerJohnInDallas

They let me keep one and they took the other. At least I'll have that to cling to for the next 6-8 weeks. :-)

Ouch, 6-8 weeks. That's gotta hurt!

Thanks for all the updates & pics, I will miss this mini-blog now it's finished! Safe journey home.

[bimmerlover]

John,
Thanks for all the photos and information..
Have a safe journey back to Big D!
My wife and I will be taking ED on an M sport when it becomes available later this summer.
If you don't mind I'll PM you on advice/how to get around to good drives there..
we will likely be flying out of Dallas, also!
Enjoy your new ride.

[sonicbimmer19]

great stuff John, thanks for pictures and all.
I wonder if I can request to not have the front license plate on my future European Delivery car. I'm guessing those are requirements in Europe or something since all the cars come with front license plates.

[matt_435xi]

Originally Posted by sonicbimmer19

great stuff John, thanks for pictures and all.
I wonder if I can request to not have the front license plate on my future European Delivery car. I'm guessing those are requirements in Europe or something since all the cars come with front license plates.

all cars in Germany must have a front plate, so you cannot request NOT to have one. you can either fill the holes when you get home and have your bumper painted, or buy bumper plugs.

[pawarrant]

Originally Posted by matt_335Ci

all cars in Germany must have a front plate, so you cannot request NOT to have one. you can either fill the holes when you get home and have your bumper painted, or buy bumper plugs.

I thought they use two sided tape for the front ED plate as to not leave holes for those of us taking re-delivery in a state that does not require front plates.

[matt_435xi]

Originally Posted by pawarrant

I thought they use two sided tape for the front ED plate as to not leave holes for those of us taking re-delivery in a state that does not require front plates.

I have never heard that, can anyone confirm or deny?

[pcbrew]

I believe this is true. Will confirm tonight by checking my plates from 9.5 years ago. Pretty sure they still have the sticky tape on the back.