(first posted 4/11/2018) David E. Davis Jr. penned this tribute to the BMW 2002 in the April 1968 issue of Car and Driver, allowing him to accomplish two key milestones: 1) anointing BMW as the Crown Prince of the nascent Sport Sedan segment and 2) cementing his own reputation as one of the world’s foremost automotive scribes.
Davis masterfully captures the automotive zeitgeist of 1968, with wonderfully wry observations on the mindsets and motivations of various car buying cohorts. And within that context, he deftly positions the BMW 2002 as the epitome of intelligent “stealth status” for driving connoisseurs. The BMW excelled at combining performance, handling, efficiency and function in a nifty, well-priced package: hard to believe, but the 2002 Davis drove listed for $2,850 ($20,810 adjusted). No new BMW available today can be had for anywhere near that low price….
Of course, fifty years on from this article, the automotive world is undergoing a tectonic shift once again. Back then, BMW was a pioneer in reworking the definition of a “prestige” car, with driver engagement, precision engineering and high quality materials coming to be seen as highly desirable for upwardly mobile buyers. Today, the notion of an “Ultimate Driving Machine” is rapidly losing appeal. Who wants to bother with driving, when soulless, autonomous cyborg cars/rolling iPhones are on the horizon? Who even needs rearview mirrors anymore? There are cameras and sensors for that now, so you can hurtle along blithely unaware of your surroundings, supremely confident in the knowledge that utterly infallible software has everything under absolute control…. Human drivers, after all, are soooo 20th Century, along with their dated sport sedans.
Very interesting perspective on the car that cemented BMW’s status and presence in the U.S. market. The 2002 is indeed a very different car in so many ways from today’s cars that aim to accomplish the same appeal.
The beginning of “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. Which BMW hasn’t made in at least a decade (closer to two, actually) now.
We used to hate it when those showed up in B-sedan autocross.
David E. Davis really was an amazing writer. Henry Manney and Peter Egan were fun to read too, when I still bought print copies of car magazines.
Agree, C-D!
I don’t know what I miss more: DED’s words/editorial style or the BMW models of the late 1960’s/early 1970’s.
Both are sorely missed in today’s world.
I became a BMW lover in the early ’70’s. A friend’s mom had a Bavaria… 2.8L six cylinder and 4 speed transmission. It was comfortable, quick, great handling, roomy, and fuel-efficient for the time. It really had no weak points; the best all-around car imaginable. Through the ’70’s and into the ’80’s BMW kept the faith. I thought the original 530i was magnificent. I test-drove a 533i when it came out around 1984 (dealer insisted, even when I said there was no chance of my buying one) and was blown away. Then… the yuppies came along. Rapidly, BMW’s weren’t just a secret of the cognoscenti. They became a symbol and the company has catered to it, making it steadily worse. I doubt I’ll ever bother buying one; to slightly misquote Emerson: “what you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.”
Apart of all the comments made here which are 100% accurate. I believe BMW pays tribute to one of the most influential automotive designs ever made………..the Chevy Corvair. And yes unfortunately BMW has forggoten it’s roots and kinda lost it’s way.
I remember having a huge crush on BMW in the mid 80s. The six cylinder 325 was the object of my desire at the time and it was a good 18-20K when a VW GTI was $12k. I was at talking to a professor at a law school function and the topic turned to cars, BMW in particular which had become a widely held car-lust among my age group. He recalled having owned a 2002 that he liked a lot. He went on to say “I’m not sure just exactly when BMW stopped being a car I can afford to drive, but it definitely happened somewhere along the way.”
I still think of the early 2002 as being a sort of secret club that real car lovers could join. Even by the 80s it was getting hard to tell the car lovers from the people buying image.
You said a mouthfull, i too really liked the 325 of the 80’s(before bloat tation set in) and by then most were buying those bimmers to look good and had no clue what the car was capable of as far as handling.
Yes, by the mid-80s, BMW ownership had become a mark of being a dreaded Yuppie, not an enthusiast. I distinctly remember a coworker, a horribly pretentious, self-absorbed type, buying a “pre-owned” (god forbid you call it used) BMW 325 and telling everyone that he drove a BMW. I asked what engine was in it, he did not know, nor any fact on why a BMW might be a good car for those who enjoy driving. He simply cared that he was seen in one, and somehow believed it would improve his status. As I recall, it did not. It really reminds me of the vacuous girls from the movie “Heathers” or “Mean Girls” who decide who is worthwhile or not, while those same girls have almost no socially redeeming value themselves. However, there is always some herd mentality that decides something is cool or not, and BMW has rode that horse well past the point of it being put up wet. Such a shame, as the 2002 and earlier cars had such delightful traits, at a price that was affordable. No longer the ultimate driving machine, they are the ultimate signaling machine.
Did his have an automatic? BMW put THM180/200s in them so you could’ve ragged him on his Chevette transmission.
I am fairly confident that the fey poseur had no idea on how to row gears. I wish I would have known that fact back then, but then, he would have not known what a Chevette was. He had 0 interest in cars, just how attractive he thought he was. The BMW was just a fashion accessory.
Much like they still are now.
“No longer the ultimate driving machine, they are the ultimate signaling machine.”
I think Audi is rapidly taking over that slot.
From 1948 to the early ’70s the D-mark was pegged at four to a dollar. It was decoupled just in time for the stagflation ’70s and German products’ prices in the US skyrocketed. At the time, BMW (and Mercedes) offered something Detroit didn’t that people were willing to pay the inflated prices for, so when things stabilized and the dollar strengthened the Germans held on to their sky-high pricing.
As long as the Japanese hadn’t yet pushed upmarket and the Big Three kept their high-end sedans locked firmly in the Brougham Era, the Germans had the field to themselves.
Does anyone know where that picture was taken in the lead photograph? That church looks identical to the church I got married in. I wouldn’t think that the road test for this car was done in Georgia, but then again I have witnessed Car and Driver staff doing road tests in the north Georgia Mountains. And that’s where the church is that I got married in.
Back then the photo shoots were often done with a different car and in a totally different setting than the actual review. It sounds like he was given the 2002 to drive as his daily driver for a period of time, which was fairly common then.
At the time C&D’s headquarters was in Manhattan. Max Hoffman was the official importer (BMW North America didn’t exist yet) and his HQ was close to or in New York City. As Paul notes above, Max probably lent the 2002 to C&D for a few weeks and they drove it around the the NYC area.
There were and still are many country roads in the northern parts of Westchester County NY and Fairfield County CT that are great for “brisk” driving, if you know where to find them. The typical villages these roads pass through have a classic white, clapboard-covered Congregational church sitting near the “town green”, surrounded by large trees. Given the 3+ month lead time for the April issue, C&D probably had the car in late autumn, hence the lack of foliage in the pictures.
My parents, who knew both David E Davis and Max Hoffman, ran time-speed-distance rallies for the Connecticut Sports Car Club. The starting point was across the street from Norfield Congregational Church in Weston, CT. The rallies would head up into northern Fairfield County, wind around the hills and lakes for a few hours, and end at a pub. There were a lot of interesting participants and cars. Some of them came up from The City. David E might have been one of those, but that would have predated the 2002 by a few years.
I’m going to say with near certainty that church is in Fairfield, CT, specifically the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church.
It’s tough to know for sure without looking at pictures of every Congregational Church in CT, because it seems those crafty colonials had a few common templates for their churches, so there are similar buildings all around the state.
I had a genuine religious experience in a 1600 version of this car in 1967.
We had a new young priest join the other four at our very large and prosperous church, Immaculate Conception in Towson. He was straight out of the seminary, and was very bright, and cool. We would go down to the rectory annex after getting out of the parish school, where he lived with the two other younger priests and listen to new records and just hang out. They all had new cars; I guess it was easy to buy a new car on a priest’s salary when all your living expenses are covered.
“Father Tom” bought a brand new 1967 BMW 1600, just like the 2002 but with the smaller 96hp engine. One day he offered to drive me and my friend home and he put on a display of driving unlike I’d ever experienced before. He drove like the devil, but masterfully. He whipped that little mill to the redline for every shift, and took corners at what seemed like absurd speeds. I’d never experienced anything like it.
That summer w had a CYO all-day event at a regional CYO facility out in the country. Father Tom was our CYO overseer, and I lobbied hard to get a ride in his BMW. The drive was out in the hills of N. Baltimore County, and the very old roads were narrow, with dips and tight curves, and some great long straight sections. Needless to say, I had a religious experience on that ride. I simply didn’t realize what a car was capable of in the right hands, other than seeing race cars.
Father Tom was a gifted driver, and not once did I feel unsafe. And of course I fell in love with the little Bimmer, and have loved them ever since.
He didn’t last long in the priesthood; maybe three years, and then he drove off in his little BMW. He didn’t seem the priestly kind.
My MIL bought a ’74 2002 in LA after she inherited some money. She was a single mom with four teenage kids. Her sole son talked her into buying the 2002, even though they couldn’t all properly fit in it. But what did that matter. Or the growing and expensive mechanic bills after it got to be a few years old; it had recurring overheating issues.
I drove it a few times in town, but once I drove it up to Mammoth Mt. to go skiing, across the Mojave and up the Eastern side of the Sierras. It was a great drive, and I was somewhat surprised at how comfortable the suspension was. Unlike the typical American car with a HD or sports suspension, or the Brit sports cars, it was not hard or harsh. That meant there was some body lean in cornering, but it hung on very well, even on rough surfaces. That was the key.
I could go on…I wish I’d had one once, but I have happy memories.
I too had a “religious experience” in a ‘67 1600, owned by a high school friend’s dad. He was a brisk and smooth driver, and that car, so austere by modern standards, felt sporty and refined. No comparison with our family Volvo 122S. But a few years later, when I had my license and drove it several times, it didn’t feel so great. Awkward driving position, rubbery shifter … it was nice, but not so special. By the late ‘70’s, when I’d put some time behind the wheel of various friends’ 2002’s, I was even less impressed. But it certainly was a breakthrough car in 1968. And still looks very appealing today. The replacement 320i just looked so fat by comparison. I’ve taken short drives behind the wheel in both E30 and E36 M3’s, and THEY were fun; the true successors to the 2002.
I will admit that by the time I drove MIL’s 2002 in the late 70s, it was not exactly a religious experience. yes, the shifter was a bit rubbery, and the performance on the de-smogged ’74 was hardly brilliant. But the design was pretty old by then. One has to see it in the context of the mid-late 60s and the cars that were then on the market.
CYO, Immaculate Conception, North Balto. County roads, priests with cool cars…takes me back! Thanks. Also, I remember reading this article and being blown away, we had a Podunk BMW dealer in Baltimore and he wouldn’t even discuss trading my wife’s ’67 Volvo 122. A missed opportunity.
David E Davis Jr. was such a brilliant writer – you don’t find articles like that in today’s publications at all. Davis, Phil Llewellin and LJK Setright are among those who inspired me and made reading car magazines a joy in my teenage years. As for the car, yes, it did help create BMW’s reputation for sports sedans – don’t know the last day I saw one.
Something I learned today: a BMW 320i with automatic and no options lists at $35,895 including destination. A 320i in Germany lists at 40,000 Euro which Google says is $49,524. Even though the German price includes 19% VAT it seems way high.
I was introduced to these in high school in 1967. Up to that point it was Mustangs etc. A family friend’s father got the franchise for BMW in Worcester, MA, and she got one of the first ones. It was a real eye opener and my whole perspective about performance and handling was transformed. I never looked back. I eventually in the mid 70’s I had three of them at different times. Fun to drive, easy to work on.
My mother shortly before she passed away finally purchased one. She appreciated great handling cars with a manual. It was a bit of a setup on my part. I convinced her one summer to take a look at a one year old one being sold privately. She took it for a drive and during that time we came upon a very sharp right angle turn and as always she taped the brakes, and tried to downshift into second and it would not go in at that time. Not panicking, she just took the wheel with both hands and took the turn without touching the brakes and continued online like nothing occurred. I wasn’t sure at the time whether she would buy it, but that was quickly answered right after that quick turn. She whispered distinctly, “SOLD”.
Great memories, and I’m glad she got to enjoy her dream car for two years.
As an aside, it was my experience with these cars, occasionally getting down into second could be a little difficult. It felt like the linkage had a rubbery feeling. Fortunately it was rare.
“… telling everyone that he drove a BMW…”
There’s car enthusiasts and just materialistic types. This is why Beemer SUV’s are now just common vehicles in upper middle class areas. Bought to fit in with social cliques and not that they ‘enjoy driving them’.
BTW, what a great community CC is, that there are several of us, in the US, who have (good) memories of 1602’s and 2002’s from their early days. They weren’t very common then, so there’s probably not a lot of us, but CC has brought us together 40 years later. Thanks Paul and everyone else!
When I was 18 in the summer of 82, working as a car stereo installer, I had the chance to drive a 77-81 BMW 320i (I couldn’t tell you what model year).
I only drove it around the building, from the front of the store to the back/service area.
In reverse, back out of parking spot, put in 1st, straight, right turn, 2nd, brake, 1st, 180 degree right into service bay.
The clutch, shifter, and MANUAL steering felt so precise. Perhaps the previous 7 years of car magazines, Car & Driver mostly, Road Track, and Consumer Reports (which rated a 320i behind a Corolla!!!!) had biased me, but this car felt smooth.
In the late70s, a base 320i cost about double what a Ford Fairmont cost. That’s a lot of money for a car with an AM radio and now power assists, save for brakes.
It was the most ‘precise’ car I had driven up to that point in time. And while I was only 18, thanks to the stereo job, I had been exposed to several cars besides our family Fairmont, Ventura (Nova) and the drivers ed Chrysler Newport.
Yet, that day, if I had the money, I would buy one.
Eventually, I did buy a ‘great car’! My first new car was a 86 VW GTI.
And 7 years later, I bought a used 91 BMW 318i. Another great car.
IMO, the BMW 1600/2002 was THE ORIGINAL sport sedan. The 3-series that replaced my E30 was the last of the standout BMWs, and the 1-series was the last BMW that evoked the iconic 1600/2002.
As others note, now it’s just an automatic/crossover status symbol. They are good cars, but stopped standing out as “ultimate driving machines” decades ago.
Think Car and Driver would attempt writing like this today?
I’ve really loved reading these comments and learning about people’s first BMW “enlightenment.” So I figured I’d add mine.
In October 1983, Pop’s mother WoWo celebrated her 80th birthday with a huge party at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Family and friends came from far and wide to celebrate, and it was a fantastic time. But one of the best highlights came courtesy of my older cousin Lavinia, the daughter of Pop’s sister Lavinia. “L’il” Lavinia was (is) always fun and a bit wild, and that applied on the automotive front as well. She was the first in my family to get a BMW —a 1983 320is finished in bright red (Henna Red). I’ll never forget seeing her roar up in the forecourt of the Peabody in that car—my jaw dropped.
But then it got even better.
When I ran over to check out the car, Lavinia jumped out, got in the front passenger seat and told me to hop in and take it for a spin (I told you she was fun!). So that’s exactly what we did. Luckily, it all happened so fast I didn’t even have time to be nervous. For starters, I barely knew how to drive a stick. But that didn’t matter, because it all just worked so right, I was able to clutch and shift like a pro right out of the gate. That shifter, combined with the handling, the great seats, the lusty engine, the nimble size, the great visibility made for an unmatched level of driving enjoyment. And Lavinia loved and appreciated the capabilities of that car, so she was the best front seat companion ever for my first drive in a Bimmer. It truly was an epiphany for me, and that jaunt around downtown Memphis will always be one of my best drives ever.
This article does convey “what it felt like” to drive BMW. It just felt right: like you were always going fast, but never so fast that you should worry. Most BMWs seemed to want you to hit the gas, and find a curve, like the car wanted to show you something. (Almost every single living person who reads about cars on the internet thinks there is some point at which this stopped being true, but do we have to solve “Who Broke Up The Beatles” every time BMW is mentioned?)
It’s good, if we can, occasionally to forget about the marketing, the sociology, maybe even objective data about acceleration and skidpad adherence, and just remember it’s fun to go fast in a car that wants to.
In these later days, I don’t hate the (mainly used) cars that BMW made me hate as a teenager (broughams, barges, trucks, tinny hatchbacks, Granadas, 2+2 Z-cars, etc). Still, if I must have one and only one 1968 car as my sole driver, a 2002, or a 2800, would be in very serious consideration.
The Beatles broke up?? Dammitt!!
In 1967, my dad’s best friend in Nuremberg replaced his beloved ’55 VW Convertible with a new BMW 1600. That was an epic thing- this guy LOVED that VW, and spent a small fortune over the years keeping it legal (TUV inspections) and pristine. Hard to do when using it as a DD in a land of salted roads. One ride in the little BMW, though, and I got it.
” the automotive world is undergoing a tectonic shift once again ”
Don’t you mean ‘Teutonic shift’, GN? (grin)
Haha!
Actually, I think it will be really interesting to see how various global brands respond to the shift toward autonomous driving. I do think it will be especially challenging for BMW, since they built the brand on being a driving machine, which becomes irrelevant when fewer and fewer customers have any interest in being an engaged driver. It makes me think of the hardship Cadillac faced when much of the luxury market shifted to “Teutonic performance/luxury sedans” and they simply couldn’t compete, since that just wasn’t in their DNA.
So how does BMW make a relevant robot car? What will the Roundel come to stand for in the future? The driver’s car for people who no longer want to drive doesn’t feel very compelling…. VW Group may have it easier: they can make Audi the soulless autonomy brand (they are arguably already soulless, and the brand can easily go “driverless” and still appeal to the same sort of customers who buy their products today) while Porsche can remain as a niche high performance brand for those foolish humans who still want to occasionally pilot a performance vehicle (though it will no doubt have autonomous modes too).
It will be fascinating to watch. I wish DEDjr were still with us, as I’d love to see his take on what’s happening in the automotive world today.
Very enjoyable piece to read about BMW 2002 , but my favorite one on BMW 2002 is the piece from Autoweek, last time I checked it was still on its website.
Two of my cousins in Toronto have two 2002 TTI The older cousin got from his rich classmate in late 70s, he eventually rebuilt the car in 90s. The younger cousin got 1973 model in 1996 after he graduated from University of Waterloo , I rode on several times, it was very roomy in comparison with a 1984 Civic Sedan. This cousin completely rebuilt that car in 2000s added a 5 speed manual. I am not sure that was a right move.
As for today’s BMW, it increasingly becomes a luxury car even the 3 series lost its edge, but its 1 series like 135is brought back some of its past glories. Some rumors said that 1 series was developed by Rover just before BMW acquires Rover.
Sort of a puff piece. Nah, a POWDER puff piece. These single carb tin cans were dogs with only 100hp (not the puffy 114hp).
The later Kugelfischer MFI cars with 125hp? Now your talking fun….
There’s a cultural inflection that goes missing somewhere over the South Pacific, because this sort of self-conscious, self-aggrandising writing doesn’t work for me. It’s an semi-literate’s rip on posh but mouthy 1940’s New Yorker stuff, or, say, someone like Lucius Beebe. It is over-written without achieving an amusing result. Worse, it has helped (or even started) a tradition of philosopher car journalism, which continues now and is all largely execrable.
I do understand his enthusiasm for the car at that time in that place, though by the time I finally got to drive a 1600 in about 2000, age had wearied the wonder. Slow, noisy, vague steering, it felt no more interesting than any Datsun 510 I’d driven. Though way prettier, ofcourse.
But I did have a Beemer moment, two actually. First in an ’85 323i manual in perhaps ’90, from which drive I was as exhilarated as Davis was in ’68, and then a quite new 318i manual in ’98, which I liked enough to buy. That proved a rather slower form of exhilaration, and a money pit as the miles piled up, but it did have that uniquely BM sensation of harmony. And blimey, it handled.
BMW haven’t entirely lost the way suggested in ’68, they’re still attractive cars, but there’s none that appeal currently. Given the traffic I’m so oft wedged in, in a world vastly more packed than in ’68, an electric self-driver from them might just change that opinion!