RE: 1971 BMW 1600 imported to U.S.?

[Phil Marx <BMW@xxxxxxx>]

>Bill McMahon wrote:
>> I have been offered a nice beater 1600, daily driver which is
>> registered and everything.  Seller says its a '71.  However, Ken Gross
>> suggests that '70 was the last year for 1600 in U.S.  Any clues?

Thi VanAusdal responded:
>I've heard someone (Michel?) say before that in some states cars were
>>designated by initial registration year instead of mfg year.
>
>In this case, this would have been one of the last 1600s made -  if it
>>languished on a dealer lot until Jan'71, maybe it was registered as a '71.

Yes, there were '71 1600s imported as US cars.  Specifically chassis
numbers from 1571876 to 1573162.  Those officially designated internally at
BMW AG as "71 Models" would be only those 1600 series produced after
February of '71 when items like the longer center console surrounding the
gear shift, the lower side moldings were introduced among other items.  For
the 1600, this would be those from chassis 1572931-on, or simply the 231 or
so built in 3/71 for the US, the last month of 1600 US production.  (For
the 2002 this changeover took place in April production.)

That being said, it is entirely possible that in some states a 1970 model
could have been sold in '71 and titled as a '71.

As for Ken Gross' statements, if he said them,(page down now if you don't
like long stories) his first edition of the BMW Buyers Guide contained so
many factual errors (sorry Michel) that, as editor of our local chapter
newsletter at the time, I ran a Ken Gross BMW trivia quiz in which the
wrong answer was the right answer, based on Gross' book.  Questions like
"what's the fastest sedan?" (answer: 545i) were the ammunition used.
Gross' insistance on facts such as the tii dash differing only from the
2002 in having a higher red-lined tach, pin-striping being standard on
late-model 320i's, the 2500/2800 having two sets of front calipers, Frank
Stella inspiring Lichtenstein's 320 art car, the '74 2002 and tii models
having diferent exhaust exits, and models such as 545i, M325i all made it
much easier to offer a satire.

In a subsequent letter, Ken stuck by his 545i reference and later said he'd
incorporate my corrections in the next edition, including an improper
identification of my own car pictured.  When the second edition was being
readied, Gross asked me to proof the updated copy, which I did offering
many corrections.  When the second edition came out, lo and behold, all the
errors of the first edition were still there with the new text simply
dropped in, including the reference to my assistance in the
Acknowledgements at the begining of the book.  But even that section looks
like different type just dropped in.

At any rate, Ken's a good guy, and recently obtained the cush job of
curator of the Peterson Automotive Museum.  His book as well as
contributions to the Automobile Quarterly BMW special volumes are
worthwhile, if a bit flawed.

- -Phil

------------------------------