My car’s power steering started groaning the other day, which is the classic sign that the power steering fluid is low. So, I stopped by Napa and picked up a small container of Power Steering Fluid.
BMW, in their infinite wisdom, positioned the E36’s power steering fluid reservoir under the engine. This means that, to [...]
Step 1: park your 1993 BMW in a snow bank.
Step 2: allow snowfall to accumulate for approx. 1.5 weeks.
Step 3: when ambient temperature is 15°F, brush snow off car. Observe the quarter-inch coating of ice under the snow.
Step 4: observe how the quarter-inch coating of ice laughs at your ice scraper.
Step 5a: the best way [...]
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I stopped by the local BMW dealer to take a look at the new 1 Series yesterday. (Yes, I fit! I don’t think I can bring myself to pay $35k for one though.) I was also curious about any certified pre-owned E46s on the lot (since that’s about the only BMW I’d actually buy at [...]
After a while, you may find that your E36’s headlight covers have become cloudy and yellowed. This is because the headlight covers are plastic, and plastic simply doesn’t last forever in the sun. Naturally, the headlight covers cannot be replaced on their own — you have to replace the entire headlight unit, for $100 per [...]
Every year, BMW puts on The Ultimate Drive, a fundraiser for breast cancer research. Take a new BMW for a test drive, and BMW donates money. Cool!
On Saturday, June 11, The Ultimate Drive came to Coast BMW Nissan in San Luis Obispo, and I took the opportunity to test-drive three BMWs: the 2005 325Ci convertable, [...]
I’m not a Ford guy. In fact, I generally disdain American cars because, frankly, most of them suck. However, when I first saw the new 2005 Ford Mustang in Car and Driver, I was intrigued. “That’s a beautiful car,” I said. “Yeah, but how is Ford going to screw it up?” was my brother’s reply. [...]
If the power windows and sunroof on your BMW E36 suddenly stop working, there are a few things to check.
First, check the Child Protection Control–that’s the mysterious button behind the right side of the steering wheel. It’s actually a circuit breaker that is designed to trip when little Johnny tries to close the power [...]
“Redesign shows mercy on everybody’s favorite car”
That’s the cover headline on April’s Car & Driver featuring the new BMW 3 series. This is the most succinct and damning indictment of Chris Bangle’s “flame surface” styling (starting with the current 7 series) that I have seen.
While back-handing BMW’s recent design direction, C/D is also expressing [...]