Welcometoalville » BMW http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog thoughts, observations, revelations, user experience, art, life, spirituality, everything else Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:19:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Should I paint my car? http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/bmw-art-car-or-retro-look/ http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/bmw-art-car-or-retro-look/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:01:39 +0000 Al Belote http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/?p=209 Continue reading →]]> rosebud-orange-blue-2-rev-b-sm

I’m thinking of painting my car just to give it a combo retro-tuner BMW art car look. I’m inspired by a few examples I’ve seen from the BMW “art cars” to ones like this WWII fighter-look or this extreme, rusty one by Mike Burroughs. Been thinking of doing this for a few years. Maybe now is the time? Why wait? Why not consider the car a canvas? This scheme is my leading choice. Notice the imitation two-color BBS wheels.

See, the thing is, the car is old (24 years soon) and rusty, with a whole list of things to replace, and 287,000 miles (the last 110,000 of them by me). I’m looking for a replacement actually, sadly. One like it only less rusty/broken/driven. Or perhaps something newer, though, to me, there’s nothing more desirable than a nice BMW E28 — like THIS one.

Only thing is, the paint is, amazingly, still in great condition. It still cleans up well. So it’s kind of sad to “ruin” it. Also, do I want to stand out so much, driving around in an oddly-painted car? Still…if its days are few, and its fully depreciated, let’s go out in style.

]]> http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/bmw-art-car-or-retro-look/feed/ 0 The Ultimate Driving Machine http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/the-ultimate-driving-machine/ http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/the-ultimate-driving-machine/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2005 09:01:24 +0000 Al Belote http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/?p=138 Continue reading →]]>
I bought this car about two years ago after owning a few newer, more “refined” and “comfortable” vehicles. So-called refinement is subjective — somebody else’s idea of refinement. And comfort is overrated and again, subjective. This car is a little wabi-sabi here and there. Worn leather seats and shifter knob. Faint smell of oil and gas — none of that new car smell (which is really just a marketing term for plastic vapor). And I only get AM radio stations and it plays only cassette tapes. But you know what? This car delivers an authentic driving experience — you feel the connection to the machine and to the road. Back in ’86 when I was fresh out of college, this was the symbol that you had arrived. Sure it breaks down a little now and then, but I haven’t loved a car this much since my parent’s 1968 Dodge Dart which I drove in high school.

]]> http://www.welcometoalville.com/blog/the-ultimate-driving-machine/feed/ 0