[uucdigest] Sunday, March 19 2000 Volume 03 : Number 467 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Visit http://www.bubbaclub.com | www.bimmers.com - "serving enthusiasts on the 'net" | Visit http://www.bimmer.org - ultimate BMW bulletin boards! | Subscribe to the Zionsville Autosport Parts Digest: | http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/majordomo.htm ����������������������������������������� In this BMW UUC Digest: [uuc] <E36> Instrument Cluster problems RE: [uuc] Different perspective on things (LONG REPLY) [uuc] <E30> my first (and hopefully last) OBC question [uuc] Re: Top Speed? [uuc] Re: Removing Fan...Help!/DIY Mechanical Work Re: [uuc] <wob> bmw and ford [uuc] death of the manual trans [uuc] Re: UUC Short Shifters [uuc] valentine one....used vs new ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 20:53:52 -0500 From: Felix Vicente <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <E36> Instrument Cluster problems All, I installed an M3 Instrument Cluster in my car last night, and it works great except for one thing: the illumination for the speedometer from about 70-120 mph is not working. I've checked all the bulbs, they all light up just fine. If I shine a flashlight in where the bulb is supposed to go, I get the same results- the rest of the gauges light up fine, except for that one spot. The clear plastic that seems to distribute the light from the light bulb isn't cracked anywhere I can see. Is there anything I can do? (other than reinstalling the stock unit...:( ) - -Felix Vicente Miami, FL (occasionally) '95 325i blk/blk, many mods '95 525iA, calypso/beige, just a chip '98 740iL, white/beige, stock ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 20:50:56 -0500 From: Don Eilenberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Different perspective on things (LONG REPLY) Don Cicchetti asked (*great* name Don!) >But The Wall Street Journal doesn't see it that way. (Today's >column one story) Lotsa Bobbitting.. >What do some of you business types think? Is the WSJ right, or do >they misunderstand those who purchase these cars, and fail to >understand the loyalty we have towards them? (which could prove >disastrous to sales should BMW simply become a "brand" rather than a >car) > >DC I'm gonna paste in something I wrote about an answer I got to the same question over on the real BMW list (2 wheeled ones..), the explaination of the thinking by financial types is there, and my reply to this. It's LONG - so if you're easily bored, page down or delete NOW: ................................................................... John, thanks much. It gives me some idea of the thinking.. a few contrarian comments below: At 11:29 AM 3/17/00 -0800, John Filak wrote: >--- Don Eilenberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Can someone (mebbe one of our economists - I know you're >> out there) 'splain exactly WHY this is being accepted as >> an economic fact by almost every news source tied into >> Wall Street? > >Desi, >I'm no Dr. Blumberg (my old finance prof.), but I'll try >and offer a logical reason for all of this. > >Sounds like there are a couple of forces at work, and I >suspect that the pressure is equally on Ford, et al, as >much as it is on BMW. > >Force 1 - Pressure to gain or increase market share. With a >few big companies instead of many smaller companies, the >pie is divided into less slices. >Strategies to increase market share: > a)Buy out your competition > b)Re-define the market > c)Build a better mousetrap (so to speak) > >By a simple merger of Ford and BMW, they can effectively >combine all three strategies to produce a new company with >a market share much larger than that of each of the >separate companies. An added benefit is financial >stability. With a broader product line, i.e., diversified, >the new company's bottom line is less influenced by a >downturn in, say, the mini-van market. > >This also gives each of the companies better inroads to >marketing in their respective homelands, i.e., Europe for >Ford and the U.S. for BMW. BMW is probably feeling a little >pressure from the Chrysler-Daimler merger with >Mercedes-Benz now finding a very extensive marketing >network at their disposal. This presents the threat of >Mercedes-Benz gaining a bigger slice of the pie, which will >likely be at BMW's expense. The Quandts must know that they >cannot expect to do nothing and have those profits continue >to roll in - YSYL. The better mousetrap is what BMW has based it's corporate philosphy on as far as I can tell.. and they've targeted it towards a smaller marketplace. If you can increase your share of a selective marketplace you can increase your overall sales.. Bikes - we know those, cars are aimed towards a performance marketplace - BMW for a low time was the only manufacturer offering a wide range of cars with a stick shift - if you wanted a performance sedan with stick - there was one choice - BMW. Other manufacturers are now realizing this if you watch Ford's new Lincoln and Mercedes with stick in their 'sporty' cars. To be successful you don't have to be the biggest fish in a big pond - lots easier being the biggest fish in your selected smaller pond. BTW - with BMW/Mercedes - it has been a cat/mouse game for decades. BMW pushes the performance envelope, and Mercedes plays catchup. Mercedes pushes the model envelope (SUV/SAV) and BMW plays catchup. There is no clear winner here - unless you value your driving experience - in this case - BMW wins hands down. BMW/Honda seem to play the same game to some extent in the areas where their motorcycles overlap. (K1200LT vs ?X-Wing?) >Force 2 - Pressure to develop new technology. Companies can >obtain new technology two ways, DIY or buy it. If Ford's >competitive advantage and core competencies differ from >that of BMW, chances are that there is a good opportunity >for some synergy and technology-sharing. The otherside of this is the reluctance to impliment new technology which we see in the large manufacturers.. either for cost reasons or because they don't believe the marketplace will pay the price for it. BMW - first with ABS on all car models, first with it on bikes. Plus lots of other 'firsts'.. there are some interesting gadgets coming out of Detroit (like the night vision on Caddy), but genuine firsts - I see very few real "firsts" coming from Detroit. BMW charges a premium for their vehicles, but you get a return in new technology which partially makes the premium worthwhile (more below on why you pay more..) >Force 3 - Pressure to trim fat. In all the big company >mergers which have occurred in the last decade, i.e., >Lockheed/Martin Marietta, Northrop/Grumman, McDonnell >Douglas/Boeing, Ciba Geigy/Sandoz, etc., they have all >exhibited a common theme. Re-organize and downsize. The >downsizing most commonly eliminates duplicate operations. True - but they only become duplicate operations when you buy a company with the same operations. If you are running efficently and profitably with the staff you have - there is no need to reduce operations (and staff). With modern means of production - this savings becomes less and less, and office/management staff is already probably overworked, so duplication is going to be a minor factor in allowing a staff reduction. >Force 4 - Pressure to reduce inventories. Just-in-time >inventory strategies require unwavering quality and >reliable delivery to the assembly plants. With JIT, any >defective supplied component stops the line. Building >inventory buffers ties up money. Mergers tend to bring >along vertical integration opportunities. Companies set up >their own supply chains, which they control, and which are >less suseptible to things like labor disputes, other >customers, and inadequate financing. For example, in a >GM/BMW scenario: GM gets radios from Delco, which they own. >It makes Delco stronger if the Delco radio displaces >Blaupunkt in the Bimmer, Blaupunkt being an >independently-owned, unreliable source anyway. BMW can then >reduce the inventory buffer they built because Blaupunkt is >always late on delivery, etc. Multiply this times 100's of >vendors. >(No offense to Blaupunkt. They may be a very good source >for all I know.) Actually BMW uses Pioneer, Alpine and other Japanese radio manufacturers to build radios to their spec's. A case of buying from a company which is not only efficient at making the product needed, but also dependent on your business. I suspect an equal quality radio will cost the same or less from a company dedicated to making this sort of product than a captive radio company which is not forced to be responsive to other market pressures than yours. Plus it lets you specify some 'extras' on the product (weather band on the BMW radios going back 2 decades..) which wouldn't be economical or wanted by the mass market captive consumer. >These forces are in play here. There may be others, but >it's hard to ignore. Looking at what's out there, I'm >hoping it'll be Ford and BMW. I'm hoping no company buys it. The analysis is fine as far as it goes, but it misses what to me is are some big points. Why to people pay a premium for a BMW motorcycle or car? Exclusivity - yes. Value - probably not as Consumer's Reports would measure it, but I do value the quality I get with a BMW, the riding/driving experience I get. Brand-name? Is Mercedes still as exclusive with the Chrysler name attached - not to me. It's only a matter of time before the shared engineering moves upwards to the Chrysler products, and unfortunately - downwards (make things cheaper) to the Mercedes market. And just the name Daimler-Chrysler doesn't ring my chimes at all. A company like Ford (or even Mercedes) won't take the risks that BWM has taken with introducing models for relatively small markets. (M-Coupe, R1100S, etc). These models bring a premium price, perhaps appearing overpriced for what you get, but also they *are* exclusive (less than 1,200 coupes made so far..) and add prestige to the brand name - making the other models more valuable and allowing a higher profit margin across the model range. I think the popular economic thinking misses this point.. There IS a place for smaller production quality products which command a premium price (a few examples - Rollei cameras, Hasselblad cameras, some audio brands) and the value of these products is enhanced by the exclusivity of the brand name.. Which explains BMW's paranoia with dillution of the brand name or emblems. Some of us are willing to pay the extra tarif for what we perceive as the value added to the product by it being 'better', 'exclusive' or oriented towards our wants and needs, and not a mass-consumer product. >John Filak >Sussex County ~ New Jersey Thanks for the primer in popular economics, but I'd like to discuss it sometime with Dr. Blumberg and see if other scenerios are economically feasable! Don Eilenberger, Spring Lk Hts, NJ JMP#1 [EMAIL PROTECTED] NJ Shore BMW Riders web page: http://www.monmouth.com/~deilenberger "You're absolutely right, and I apologize" --Darryl Richman "Silly me... I apologize." --Tim Hall "Sorry..." --Magwa ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 21:58:44 -0500 From: neil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] <E30> my first (and hopefully last) OBC question O.K., so I finally get around to taking a ballpoint pen out to the car to change the OBC display from metric to real measurement, but what do you do if that doesn't work? I tried hitting the AVE MPG button before, after and at the same time as the reset button. I even tried mad stabs at other button combos. Everything seems to work fine (range, economy, fuel quantity, etc.), except that display measure will not switch. I've hunted through many a FAQ page, but did not find the solution. Anyone care to point out what I'm apparently doing wrong here? TIA - -- Do Svedanya! Neil Hitze '91 318is '87 325is '85 318i <FOR SALE> http://www.hitze.com/~neil "..the underdog will eventually survive...." --Colin James Hay "This is not a step." --Heywood Banks Star Trek stuff for sale: http://www.hitze.com/~neil/startrek/startrekforsale.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 22:17:33 -0500 From: Neil Maller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: Top Speed? >How do you calculate the theoretical top speed of an engine? Using the RPM, >Torque, HP and final drive ratio. The top speed of an engine is usually considered equal to that of the vehicle in which it's installed. When it's not, now THAT'S a problem. Neil - "Check those engine mounts Franz" 96 M3 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 22:45:35 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Re: Removing Fan...Help!/DIY Mechanical Work In a message dated 3/18/00 10:09:23 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Brett Anderson writes: <<OK, I'm going to start by saying what a lot of other people are thinking. Are you sure you should be tackling something as critical as a timing belt job when you don't even know what "a shaft that runs through the engine" is? I do hope you don't need this car for work on Monday because I can already visualize it sitting on a flat bed on it's way to a shop where you'll pay three times the cost of a timing belt replacement, just to finish what you started. >> Take Brett's words to heart!!!! It may be a great way to "learn", just like I did with my son's clutch job on the '87 325is last summer (and thanks for the advice Brett), but next time I'll let a professional do it!! (my rib is still cracked<g>). I thought of tackling the timing belt/tensioner pulley replacement myself too, but fortunately I came to my senses and let my mechanic do the job! Play around on a non-daily driver...learn by mistakes that won't harm the car or you. Best advice I can offer. John Weese BMW CCA #76646 Nittany Bimmers Chapter 6 Bimmer Family (yeah, I work on em all(selectively however)) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 19:49:57 -0800 From: Don Cicchetti <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] <wob> bmw and ford >That's Fernando Lamas Sr.'s line! At least according to BC. Ricardo >would be more like, "Tattoo, before the plane arrives would you fetch >me my Grecian formula? My sideburns need a touch up." Tatoo would >then kick him in the shins and run away. Hah! you are so right. Good comments Carlos. DC - -- __________________________________________ Don Cicchetti CCA member - guitar player '71 02/M42 "Ingrid" -Beatnik Motor Works- __________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 21:58:41 CST From: "cody williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] death of the manual trans One thing that I will give Ford credit for is that you can walk into an Svt autherized dealer (yes, they actually have to be autherized to sell the Svt line) and ask for an automatic Cobra Mustang and see what you get. Not many cars are not offered without an automatic as an option. well they did one thing right. Cody Williams 90 325is 5 foward gears, all manual. >Go by the Jag-oo-ar booth at a car show and ask why there's no manual >trans, and you will get superior-looking smirks all 'round. The >same smirks the folks at the Foad booth were giving ten years ago >when they said that manuals are "obsolete"... Surprised there's no >manuals in the Jag-oo-ar line? > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 23:12:32 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Re: UUC Short Shifters In a message dated 3/18/00 6:07:31 PM Pacific Standard Time, Duangerous writes: > This was before the guys came out with the new 'bearing' kits which are even >slicker.... Once again, Duangerous is correct. The UUC cartridge bearing Evo short shift kits are indeed slicker. Slicker than snot on a marble doorknob! That's pretty slick... I recently installed the UUC street evo shifter on my '87 325iS. Took it mere days later to Buttonwillow Raceway Park (near Bakersfield, CA) for three glorious days of track time. Now, those of you who know me know that I am a somewhat *thrifty*, ok, cheap bastard (anyone else using an old cookie sheet as a heat shield? Didn't think so...). The idea of spending $200 on a shift lever is foreign to me as I knew that it would not add horsepower, handling, or braking power to the car. Guess what? It is one of the better expenditures that I have made! Snick-snick and I'm in the next gear (up or down shifting). Time savings during the shifting process and not having to worry about missing a shift were worth the money. Not having to worry about the shifts let me concentrate on driving better which, I am sure, resulted in seconds being shaved off of my lap times (don't really know as timing was not allowed at the driving school). Thanks to Josh at Eurosport for getting it to me in time for the track event. Best part of all this is that my wife (an advanced-intermediate driver) loves it! She has despised most other short shifters that she has tried, so this was not an easy sell on my part. Now, neither of us can imagine driving on the track without it. Street effort is low too. I'm very happy. Cheers, Kirk Lachman Sin City Chapter ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 23:34:01 -0600 From: "Dave Lacki" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] valentine one....used vs new hello, With all the talk recently about the "best detector" etc....does anyone know if the older models are as good as the newer models? Was thinking about watching for a used one to come on the market..but they are still pretty pricey, so unless its a steal may be better to cough up the extra cash and go for new.... any thoughts....????? Dave 90 535i 91 Alfa spider ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #467 ************************** _________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | Bonneville Motorwerks . http://www.bonnevillemotorwerks.com | Circle Tire Co. 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