der Bayerische March/April 2020 - 7

2019's
Penultimate DIY Event for

Ultimate Driving Machines at BMW of Sterling
By Aneek Roy

n the November 2019 issue of
Roundel, editor-in-chief Satch
Carlson wrote:
"November, the penultimate
month, gives smarty-pants writers
the opportunity to use the word
penultimate, having missed the
opportunity in October to use antepenultimate. (Only an unrepentant
pedant would proceed backwards
from there.) It is also the sometimes alarming preamble to winter try telling my friends in the Snow
Belt that autumn runs through most
of December."
I haven't yet attained smartypants writer status, but I did have
the opportunity to attend NCC's
second to last - that is, penultimate
- DIY event of 2019 as a helper.
The event took place on a cool,
sunny, and fortunately snow-free
November Saturday at BMW of
Sterling. A longtime NCC sponsor,
BMW of Sterling is one of the
newest and most modern BMW
automobile dealerships in the
Washington, D.C. to Baltimore
region. It's also on the very short
list of U.S. dealerships that sell and
service all three of BMW's car
brands: BMW, Mini, and RollsRoyce. The parent company, Sterling

March I April

Motorcars, owns franchises for
Lamborghini and McLaren as well.
The BMW of Sterling service
facility is noteworthy not only for its
size (over 50 bays) but also for its
cleanliness and attention to detail.
Because the service department
is open on Saturdays, DIY event
participants shared the facility with
the dealership's technicians who
were working on customers' cars.

Thanks to expert preparation and
planning by NCC DIY chair Chris
Wooten and BMW of Sterling Parts
Manager Tony Henry, there was no
worry of any conflicts between the
two. The German idiom wie am
Schnürchen laufen, meaning "to
run like clockwork", definitely
applied here.
NCC members never disappoint with the wide variety of car

(Top) BMW of Sterling provided ten bays in its spacious and immaculately
clean service area for DIY participants to use. (Above) A friendly BMW of
Sterling technician helps Terence Seawright to remove a wheel.

models they bring to DIY events,
and this one was no exception.
Representing the current generation
of BMW automobiles, Sridhar
Kowdley replaced the six spark
plugs on his 2015 M235i. On the
other side of the vehicle age spectrum, and going back several
generations, one could hardly ask
for a better example of the
M235i's spiritual ancestor than
John Hewes' 1972 2002tii, on
which John changed the vital fluids.
Sandwiched between Sridhar's and
John's cars in terms of vintage was
Cliff Brody's 1995 325i Coupe,
whose electrical system received
a thorough inspection. Cars from
manufacturers other than BMW are
always welcome at NCC DIY events,
as member Celine Anand came
to appreciate. Celine changed the
engine oil and filter on her 2016
Buick Encore.
Several other successful
projects were performed at the
event. Not surprisingly, maintenance operations involving a car's
vital fluids were quite common.
Joining John Hewes and Celine in
such endeavors were NCC M Club
Day chairman Doug Verner, who
changed the engine oil and brake

https://www.bmwofsterling.com/

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