der Bayerische November/December 2020 - 30

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(Above) A 1990 BMW 850i (E31) - the subject of my first car review. (Below) The M850i's 20-inch wheels and
low-profile tires match it's low-profile body lines.

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hirty years ago I convinced
the editor of my hometown
newspaper to give me the
chance to start a weekly auto section.
His "demand" was simple - provide
him with eight reviews that met his
standards and he would do it.

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I was faced with a "I can do that
- How am I going to do that?"
situation. After limited success
working with the local car dealers to
schedule vehicles for review, a friend
who was the PR person for the
Chrysler Shelby Performance Center

introduced me to the newly formed
Southern California based auto
journalist organization: the Motor
Press Guild. The first person I called
to arrange for test vehicles was
Patrick Prieto.
That phone call led to an in-

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person meeting. From his reaction, it
was clear that most auto journalists
don't appear for meetings wearing a
suit. After reviewing my presentation,
he agreed to help. Soon, I was on my
way back to the Antelope Valley
driving a 1990 V-12, 6-speed
manual transmission BMW 850i with
an MSRP of $90,000. No need to
convert to 2020 dollars to know that's
darn pricey.
The 1990 E31 8 Series and the
1990 E32 7 Series were BMW's onetwo punch into the ultra-premium
performance luxury market. Both
vehicles put their "three-pointed star"
nemesis on alert. BMW did not mean
to just enter a market owned by
Mercedes, they meant to lead in that
market.
The E31 8 Series was a design
AND technology leader. Images of
the 8 Series adorned exotic car
calendars and posters. The E31 was
one of the first BMWs to feature a
"throttle by wire" system, dynamic
stability control, windows that would
automatically raise and lower when
the doors were opened, an autodimming rear-view mirror, and a
tire pressure monitoring system.
The 5.0 liter naturally aspirated V-12

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der Bayerische November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of der Bayerische November/December 2020

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der Bayerische November/December 2020 - intro
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der Bayerische November/December 2020 - Cover2
der Bayerische November/December 2020 - 1
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