Late '90s BMW Crossover Concepts...

 A couple of interesting concepts here from the 1990s that you might not expect from BMW, but showing once again that they were well abreast of current trends and design cues that would become prevalent towards the end of that decade. 

The first, below, is this strange high-roofline runabout / city-car that seems to be a mix of Fiat's controversial Multipla and the bubble Nissan Micra that both came along soon after. This concept also pre-dates the BMW MINI (and the 1-Series) that arrived at the turn of the millennium and was perhaps the fore-concept of BMW's small car range after becoming aware of buyers desires for high-end hatch-backs following Audi's A3. Either way, it shows BMW were having a go at that small-car big-interior vibe that has now become the basic staple of small car design.

The next, below, is a compact, convertible, sports-car, SUV. Yes, BMW are covering a lot of bases with their concepts around this time and maybe, with this beast, trying to wrap too many trendy cars into one package. The high-clearance quasi-off-road look makes sense with the success of the then recently released X5, but in my opinion giving a taste of what would come along many years later, with a plethora of smaller, sportier SUVs like the X1, X3 and of course the X4 and X6 grand lifted coupes. Interestingly, this concept has integrated 'wrap-around' wheel-arches like the odd Chrysler PT Prowler retro sports-car from the late 90s, though without the open-wheel stance. Was this to pass certain road-laws but still give the high-clearance look of a 4x4? Perhaps these were removable if you were throwing knobbly-tyres on and going off-road?? I guess we will never know.

My F10 530d: Removing the Police roof antenna...

After 3 years driving around with the Police aerial base on the roof of my F10, I decided to finally get rid of it.

I was able to access it by removing the third brake-light and bending the roof-lining down at the back.  This revealed the underside of the aerial base, which was held in place by a 15mm nut. I had thought the entire roof-lining would need to come down, but got away without doinh that so it is worth noting that this is an easy way to access the underneath of the 'shark-fin' roof antenna.

I had expected the base to be a 'stick-on' type, with a layer of adhesive underneath like a badge, but found this baby had been stuck down with a liberal amount of strong silicone-based sealant. A bit overkill considering the size and weight of the aerial-base, but I guess unmarked Police cars must still get a bit of vandalism... Sadly, the plastic top broke off so I was left with a snapped base and a hole in the roof of my car, meaning my chances of turning back were out of the question and I would have to see the removal through come what may.

So, like I say, I wish I had left the aerial-base on for the time being! As if the high-spot round the hole created by tightening the nut wasn't bad enough, even the gentlest of prising has left marks in the paint / lacquer... nightmare. But, alas, here we are so the question is what to do about it now?

A full paint repair would involve removing the raised rim from the hole, bridging from underneath with fibreglass-mat and P40 fibreglass-filler, keying a small circular area around the damage, smoothing off from above with body-filler and then somehow priming, painting and lacquering the affected area in sympathy with the rest of the roof... Whoa, this has created quite a lot of work here. For the time being a square of PVC-tape will have to do! Watch this space as the weather improves!

When a roof falls on a 4 Series...

As if the aftermath of the high winds across the UK this weekend was not bad enough with roof tiles downed and half my barbecue making its way over to next door's garden, I was then called to one of our sites this morning to help lift the forecourt roof off of a customer's 2016 425d...

The bonnet/hood took the brunt, but the rear window has smashed too and, considering nothing hit the glass directly I would assume that just the shock of the massive impact to the front of the car caused it to shatter. Must have made quite a bang...

Considering the size and weight of the metal awning that collapsed I think the Beemer took it pretty well... car is atill driving ok... still, I wouldn't like to be the member of our Service department who had to call the customer this morning and tell them...