Back in the Fatherland

Full Service Available

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And to top it all of, right next to the two long tables of food and brews internet computers were available for the use of customers. This was one of the few places on the trip where I was able to access the internet. For some reason my Apple products never seem to be able to get online when I travel.

She Even Found Something for Breakfast

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Gail actually took the time to photograph her food. My plate looked the same about 5 minutes earlier.

In the Birth Canal

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After eating we went out on the balcony overlooking the peasants on the ground floor to watch a display of a BMW motorcycle racing up and down the long staircases. While watching that our new addition was riding up in this glass elevator to the display area.

Prepping for Pickup

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I suppose we could easily have asked right then and there for the keys to the car and the kind people at the Welt would've complied, but we wanted to milk this experience for all it was worth. Our poor mothers probably wished we hadn't.

A Better Look

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This car may never look so clean ever again. To make the delivery experience especially enjoyable they shine these cars to a gloss and then park them under special lights that show off the colors and lines of the car. At the same time they spin slowly on a turntable.

Stairway to Heaven

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That's BMW's name for those steps leading down to the delivery area. We still wanted to hit the giftshops and take the factory tour so we stayed put up in the lobby and enjoyed the hospitality a bit longer.

A View Toward the Giftshop

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We took one last look down from the balcony drinking in all the ambience of the Welt before deciding to get our free engraved keychain from the giftshop. Our factory tour would be starting in just a few minutes.

They Need to Bring These Back

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Back in the 1950's when BMW was struggling to survive in the aftermath of World War II they started building these Isetta Bubble Cars because of the scarcity of fuel. Entry is through the front - it's one big swinging door. Probably terrible in a crash.

Tyler and Gen's Car

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I hope we can talk Tyler and Gen into doing an European Delivery on their next BMW and bringing us along as expert advisors. However it could be a little tight fitting the four of us in this vehicle.

Not in the States Yet

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The 128i we leased is currently BMW's cheapest offering in the US, but rumors have this station wagon/hatchback thing coming someday. We saw a ton of them on our drive through Germany and Austria. Mehhhhhhhh.

Did You Really Expect Us Not to Use Our Free Gift Cards?

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Not only did they give us a card for a free engraved BMW keychain, but they also gave us a €10 certificate for merchandise in the BMW Welt store. They assumed we'd use that credit toward some big expensive purchase. Not us. We bought a fridge magnet and mousepad.

Our Beemer in Miniature

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I couldn't convince Gail that we needed this reproduction of our new car from the gift shop. There were a couple of overpriced shirts and jackets that looked interesting, but I can get much cheaper reproductions on our next trip to Turkey.

Time Jump in the Story

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After the giftshop it was time for the factory tour. We were told that it would involve 3 km (almost 2 miles) of walking and no photography allowed. Our mothers bowed out and went back to the lounge. The tour was awesome; far more interesting than I expected. They only make 3 Seies BMWs here but the process was the same for our car. Such a quiet plant and so clean. Hardly any humans because most of the work is done by big orange robots. It took almost 2 hours.

Ralf Korte - the Bimmerbest

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Almost as soon as the tour ended our Delivery Specialist, named "Ralf", not "Rolf", met us. He was very well polished, polite and spoke perfect English. As soon as he realized what really cool people we were, unlike most stuffy conceited Beemer buyers, he seemed to relax and have some fun with us. He took us on the Stairway to Heaven to get a good look at our car while he fiddled with his IPad turning on the special overhead lights and spinning the turntable. Then he led us into a special indocrination chamber. Here he told us of the finer points of our car and BMW in general.

Two Rubes from the USA

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As Ralf explained Efficient Dynamics to Gail and I upon our own personalized desk I'm afraid we came off like two hicks from the sticks when we "ooo'd" and "aaaah'd" over what we thought was some super high tech display surface. I thought he was demonstrating this info on some sort of giant touch screen sci-fi panel but he just laughed at us and said "Didn't you ever see an overhead projection before?" Smartass German.

At the Wheel of a Make Believe Automobile

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The final step in our little class with Ralf was using a driving simulator to see just how Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and Automatic Stability Control + Traction (ASC + T) effect your driving. It was a lot of fun especially when I was able to keep my car on the road even when Ralf shutdown all the electronic safeguards. Right away I could see our real car was gonna be something special.

Now It's Time to See Our Car

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After the propaganda session it was time to descend all the way down the Stairway to Heaven. Once again the turntable spun and the car radiated in the intensity of the mood lighting as we drew ever closer.

Hey, It's Bigger Than Expected

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Gail and I leased this car sight unseen. The dealerships didn't have any 128i convertibles on their lots. We based our deal on internet reviews and info, checking out the very similar 135i (just a fancier engine) and the brochure. We knew it wasn't really designed for hauling four adults and suitcases but when we finally inched up to the real deal I was surprised that it looked roomier than expected. Certainly more comfy than the big seat of a MINI Cooper.

Our Souvenir Plates

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I really hope the shipping company doesn't screw up and forget to keep these temporary Munich tags for us. One stays on the car and the other goes in my mancave.

That is One Big Engine

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At least compared to our MINIs it looks huge. I can't see how anyone can work under the hood without having to unscrew two million bolts and plastic pieces to get to the engine itself.

No, It's Not Turbo-charged

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But this sucker still has a lot of jump when you're in the passing lane. The engine takes up so much room that the battery is under the trunk. To jump-start the car they put in special poles under the hood.