Upcoming Changes

Details

Published: 24 July 2018

By September's end, our driving events for 2018 will be over.

Looking to the future, we'll work at teaching new drivers how to handle their responsibilities and their vehicles at another Tire Rack™ Street Survival school at the begining of Ocotober.

Behind the scenes, the records of the Chapter are being organized and scanned. Operational information will become available to the Board via electronic storage by the year's end.  An appropriate archive for inactive print materials is being sought and should be found by that time as well.

We have access to the web site template; transfer of pictures and information shall commence in October.  Rollout of the new site for members is expected in early 2019.

The year-end transition will include a  go-karting "trial run" and plans to visit the March 2019 Cleveland Auto Show.  Expect the unexpected in 2019 from the Chapter, because you never know where the road will take you.

Cruising through Summer 2018

Details

Published: 20 June 2018

Northern Ohio members have a variety of activities to keep them entertained them throughout the summer. We end June as the featured marque/car organization at Gervasi Vineyard’s Wednesday night Cruise-In on June 27. If you haven’t registered already, do so soon, so we and the winery can plan accordingly.

You have less than a month to finalize your plans for O’Fest, taking place during the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. If you consider all the events and activities, you have almost two weeks of fun from which to select!

Right afterwards, the Crawford Aviation and Auto Museum will host a Coffee & Cars segment at their Macedonia-based Restoration-Preservation Facility. Just make a reservation with Crawford and let us know you’ll be attending.

We close out July with a special summer social cruise on the Portage Lakes. We’re renting the covered and windowed Portage Princess pontoon boat for a late Sunday morning two-hour tour of the eight-lake waterfront. You’ll be able to enjoy the water and views while mixing with members. This is a reservation-only limited-seating event, so book early with us!

There’s a lull in the action in August which would allow those interested to participate in or to visit Buckeye Chapter’s Mid-Ohio Driving Experience before we consider a busy September.

Our first fall excursion has us headed to one of the nation's largest candy stores to get a head start on Sweetest Day and Halloween. Not only can you buy vintage brands of candy but you also can visit a well-stocked soda shoppe and challenge each other to rounds of miniature golf.

At the end of September we cross three counties to moor at Royal Docks Brewing Company where American craft beer meets the British pub—complete with red call box (aka tardis).

For details on all the mentioned events and for reservation instructions, check under the left-side Upcoming Club Events or from the upper horizontal navigation, Chapter Info, scrolling down to List All Chapter Events.

Plan to come out, meet, and participate with fellow BMW enthusiasts!

Enjoy the summer safely!

I WANT YOU

Details

Published: 21 April 2017

 With acknowledgement to James Montgomery Flagg who created the original 1917 Uncle Sam recruitment poster.   

It looks like Spring finally has arrived!  The 2017 event and driving season is starting.  And, I'm looking for you.

In fact, I WANT YOU!

I want to see you, meet you, have you come out to drives, car control sessions, car shows, and socials.

To keep up on planned events, there's a calendar listing on every web page which shows the next five items on our schedule.  However, did you know you can view all upcoming activities from the navigation at the top of the page?  Select Chapter Info; the last item on the drop-down is List All Chapter Events.  By using this link you can keep up with everything organized for the year.

An upcoming item I would especially like to see members attend is our Memorial Day Weekend High-Performance Driving Experience (HPDE) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course--one of the premier tracks in the country.

This event is an excellent opportunity for those who want to learn about their vehicles and gain valuable skills in how to handle these wonderful machines. We provide classroom discussion and training as well as on-track coaching with experienced drivers in the right seats of registered participants.

If you want more details about the experience, please contact a Board member.  Not certain if this type of event is for you?  Take a drive to the track that weekend, watch students (and club racers), ask questions.

We bookend the month of June with wineries--starting with a scenic drive to a new rural location and ending with a Gervasi Vineyard Cruise-In where we're the featured marque of the week.

July provides several weeks and weekends of opportunity to visit Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix activities which include car corrals, socials, and racing.  We've scheduled at least one group drive to Schenley Park for those who have never attended.

Plans for an August social similar to last year's 25th Anniversary are almost complete.  We'll debut a new type of participation-driving event in September:  Part scavenger hunt, part gimmick rally, part drive.

October combines fall leaves and unusual venues leading to a local brewery.  November will cover a progressive food-shopping adventure which might help with holiday menus and which includes historic sights and sites.

And, there will be some new events and surprises as we transition into 2018.  For example, we're investigating a go-kart series for the winter to keep us off the streets and still "on-track."

So, get the car out of storage, limber up your observation and driving skills, and meet me this year at an event.  I really DO want you!

Origins of Northern Ohio Chapter

Details

Published: 09 October 2016

When early BMW Car Club of America members joined the national organization in the mid-1970s, they became members of a local entity which was rather unique at the time. While most chapters were located around metropolitan areas, Ohio had one of the first—if not the first—statewide chapter, Buckeye.

After attending meetings and events in the Columbus area for a time, our lifetime member John Franklin contacted members in Cleveland, Akron, and other northeastern Ohio areas and created the Cleveland/Akron Area to have more localized events and management. At approximately the same time, members in the Cincinnati region also organized regionally as an Area within Buckeye.

Cleveland/Akron monthly meetings initially were held at the Franklin home and later in area restaurants. To pull members from Cleveland’s western suburbs, later meetings were held at the Elegant Hog—the current location of the Windham Hotel.

In the early 1980s, the Columbus Area turned over management of Buckeye Chapter to the Cleveland/Akron Area.  In the late 1980s-early 1990s, the Cincinnati Area became the managing force for Buckeye.

After Buckeye Chapter hosted their first BMWCCA OktoberFest, members of the Cleveland/Akron Area requested secession from Buckeye Chapter. The intention was to concentrate activities and governance in a more localized area, believing this would better serve local members. This request for secession was one of the first of its type for the national organization.

In late fall 1991 with agreement from the remaining Areas of Buckeye Chapter, Northern Ohio Chapter was formed, encompassing Ohio postal zip codes from 44000 to 44999, which corresponds to the northeastern quadrant of the state. The general territorial area covers from Castalia-Sandusky to Galion-Mansfield to Dover-New Philadelphia over to the Pennsylvania border and northward to the shores of Lake Erie.