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2022 Legends of the Autobahn – West!

Thursday, August 18, 2022, Pacific Grove, California

By Henry Christoff; photos by the author

It’s early,
seven-thirty in the morning, Carl’s Jr parking lot in Pacific Grove. Along with my wife and co-pilot, Kirsti, we have driven our 2001 E46 BMW 330Ci Coupe to Automobile Week in Monterey.

We chose not to take our 1991 850i E31 as the 20+ hour each way, 2200 mile round trip drive from Vancouver Canada to Monterey, California is too arduous and too many road hazards to expose my 8 Series.

We endured an hour wait in traffic to pass through Customs at the U.S. border, traffic on Interstate 5 South was reduced to one lane in mid- Seattle resulting in an extra hour of waiting. Another traffic tie-up in the Portland area, many large tractor trailer rigs the entire drive down to California and back, stones and pebbles being thrust at the front end of the car from other cars and trucks, high summer temperatures driving through central and southern Oregon and all of central California – often reaching to 110F readings on the 330Ci computer.

However this morning, I’m glad to be wearing a long sleeve BMW Motorsport pullover as it is a chilly morning with heavy mist in the air from the fog.

I’m meeting CSi owner Dan along with his co-pilot, Corvette friend, Nick; and 1993 850Ci owner Mike. Both Dan and Mike are long time E31 8 Series owners. Mike is local to the Monterey area and suggested the Carl’s Jr meet point; Dan and Nick drove this morning from Los Altos, California.

It’s a short drive from Carl’s Jr to Legends of the Autobahn held this year at the Pacific Grove Golf Links. We followed other BMWs into the entrance of the Legends show field, stopped at the BMW entry tent to show our registration confirmations, sign release waivers, receive our goody bags and event poster.

Soon after parking my E46 Coupe next to Dan and Mike, other E31s arrived: Rod in his 1997 850Ci, John in his 1995 850Ci, Phillip in his yellow 1991 850i and in the judged class, David in his white 1991 850i. Six E31s total.

On the show field one could see quite a few 2002s and 2800/3.0 Coupes. I have never seen so many of both models in one place, and I’ve attended many BMW classic events and several Legends of the Autobahn.

In addition to the BMWs, of course, there were plenty of Mercedes and Audi cars on the show field.

As one went from car to car enjoying the rolling art, there was smooth jazz being pumped through loudspeakers across the show field giving the event a touch of class.

As the primary event sponsor, Michelin brought their mascot, Bibendum, or “Bib”, also known as “the Michelin Man”.

Here is an interesting historical tidbit… Bibendum, or the Michelin Man, has been the face of the Michelin brand
since 1898!