derBayerische July /August 2022 - 12

S P E C I A L A C C E S S T O B M W N O R T H A M E R I C A ' S N E W V D C
themselves to an assortment of
food and beverages in a wellequipped
break room. Once everyone
made their way to the main
processing floor, NCC President
and East Coast Governor of the M
Chapter, Paul Seto, and VDC
Manager, Angela Adams-Bauer,
addressed the group. Introductions
were made and the schedule and
format of the program was presented.
The program itself was broken
into three separate sections. BMW
NA's M Brand and Product
Managers, Tim O'Brien and John
Kelly, were there to discuss BMW
M. BMW NA's Eastern Region
Technical Training Manager, Cesar
Castaneda, and BMW NA's Product
& Technology Communications
Manager, Jay Hanson, were there
for show and tell with BMW new
electric vehicles, the i4s and iX.
And VDC associates Aisha Holmes
and Timothy Johnson walked
everyone through the phases of
the VDC process.
I joined Tim O'Brien and John
Kelly's group first. They kicked
things off by talking about the M
brand and the differences between
M Performance vehicles and M
vehicles. They fielded questions
from the group, which involved
topics like BMW's acquisition of
Alpina, manual versus automatic
transmissions, and use of all-wheel
drive in M vehicles. Tim and John
also focused on the M5 CS on
display, speaking to its dynamics,
differentiality, and exclusivity.
Adam Sacher from BMW Motorrad
showcased the M 1000 RR motorcycle
and answered the group's
questions.
Next I joined the group led by
■ (From the Top) The Jeff Koons M850i made a special appearance.
Photo by Scott Santos. An M5 CS on display at the Baltimore VDC.
Photo by Mike Bevels.
Inspector/Installer Aisha Holmes
and Bodyshop Technician Timothy
Johnson who gave a guided tour of
the VDC's intake and inspection
process of vehicles arriving on
ships at the nearby dock. As BMW
NA's newest VDC, it began processing
its first vehicles in early October
of 2021. The official grand opening
took place on February 7th, 2022.
The state-of-the-art facility has a
large, open, indoor area where the
vehicles are driven through. There
are offices and break rooms adjacent
to the large vehicle processing
area. Despite the event taking
place on a water-logged Friday, the
weather wasn't of consequence as
we were inside such a beautifully
built complex, completely shielded
from the elements.
As Aisha and Timothy relayed,
the intake and inspection process
begins at " Q-Gate " . Vehicles that
have minor damage are sent to
" Level 1 " , for quick fixes such as
touch ups of scratches or minor wet
sanding and polishing. Vehicles
requiring accessory installation,
such as performance exhausts, are
sent to the " Mech Shop. " Vehicles
having more damage are sent to the
fully equipped body shop.
There was a fully loaded M8 in
the process of being repaired in the
body shop. As Timothy told the
story, this M8 was parked next to a
light pole in the parking lot. A bird
built a large nest on top of the light
pole, which fell onto the M8 during
a windstorm, scratching and denting
some of the panels. Timothy
joked that while the M8 could no
longer be sold to a customer which
would cause some disappointment,
but after it was repaired it would
certainly make a BMW VP happy as
it becomes part of the corporate
fleet.
I listened to Cesar Castaneda
and Jay Hanson give overviews and
take questions on BMW's new electric
vehicles, the i4 and iX. The i4
M50 is quite the performer! They
are just as impressive in real life as
they are on paper. These are part of
BMW's current Ultimate Driving
Experience roadshow.
Time went by quickly and there
was never a dull moment.
Everywhere you turned there was
something unique to look at, and
there was someone from BMW NA
to engage in conversation. As the
event wrapped up, it was interesting
to hear CCA members, BMW NA
reps, and VDC staff talk about their
favorite parts of the afternoon.
John Kelly, BMW NA's M
Product Manager, said, " I was
12
derBayerische

derBayerische July /August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of derBayerische July /August 2022

derBayerische July /August 2022 - Intro
derBayerische July /August 2022 - Cover1
derBayerische July /August 2022 - Cover2
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 1
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 2
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 3
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 4
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 5
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 6
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 7
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 8
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 9
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 10
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 11
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 12
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 13
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 14
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 15
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 16
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 17
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 18
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 19
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 20
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 21
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 22
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 23
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 24
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 25
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 26
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 27
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 28
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 29
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 30
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 31
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 32
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 33
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 34
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 35
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 36
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 37
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 38
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 39
derBayerische July /August 2022 - 40
derBayerische July /August 2022 - Cover3
derBayerische July /August 2022 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-march-april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-january-february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-september-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-july-august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/nxtbook/MercuryTest
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-march-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-january-february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-july-august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-may-june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-march-april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-january-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-november-december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derbayerische-september-october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/der-bayerische-july-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/der-bayerische-may-june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_MarApr2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_JanFeb2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_NovDec2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_SeptOct2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_JulyAugust2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_MayJune2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mercury/derBayerische/derBayerische_MarApr2020
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com