http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/cars/bmw-european-delivery-experience-in-munich-gerrmany.html http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/cars/bmw-european-delivery-experience-in-munich-gerrmany.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500


The dream became a reality when I was told to spec out a 750LI, because I was being sent as a representative of Motor Werks . I chose

to pick up the car near the end of May, since World Cup Soccer was going on the whole month of June, and everything would have been too crowded for me. This extra time also allowed me to plan what I thought would be a well rounded trip including a factory tour at Dingolfing, one of BMW’s most advanced plants in the world, which is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays. I also made a reservation for the Munich plant as a backup, so once I was confirmed for Dingolfing, I cancelled the Munich plant tour.



I left on a Tuesday , about 4:30 pm and arrived Wednesday around 8:30 am….just in time for breakfast at the airport and to take a picture

standing in the giant BMW grill in the hallway in the airport. Then instead of the usual cab to the Hotel, I thought I would be a bit more adventurous and ride the train and find the Hotel on my own. I wasn’t picking up the car till the following day. I really didn’t need it in Munich , only when I was leaving town. After finding my Hotel, dropped my suitcase, and ventured out to explore Munich, by foot, by train and by bus. Ate in some really great restaurants, drank some fine beer and hung out at the open air market and people watch.



Today, Thursday, was my pickup day and after a big breakfast and great directions, took the train to the delivery center. I was surprised

to find the location in a residential neighborhood. It was pretty low key from the outside, nicer on the inside. I was greeted promptly, told it would be a few minutes while forms were printed, the car detailed and brought up into the garage for delivery. They don’t want to get them completely ready until the customer shows up. I went upstairs to the café, signed in the book, and had a sandwich while I waited. A short time later, they called my name and I went downstairs and signed the paperwork. I didn’t need anyone to go over the car, so I plugged the Hotel into the Navigation, and in a short time, I was back at the Hotel and was able to arrange for underground parking nearby so the car would be safe.



I left Friday morning about 8:30 for Dachau and from there, headed to Dingolfing. I knew the plant tour was at 2pm and couldn’t be late, but I had plenty of time in between and actually arrived at Dingolfing early so I hung out at their gift store and took pictures of all the workers leaving and all the workers on the second shift starting. One of the most amazing things I noticed was that was once we were inside, I really didn’t see that many workers. Most of the work stations would have about 10 robots to one worker, so I still wasn’t sure where everyone disappeared to, but it is a five story building that resembles a giant movie sound stage and the production line was humming. I believe that Dingolfing should be a mandatory stop on your journey if you are in the area when the tours are offered. If you love the cars, you’ll be amazed at the process. The tour ends at 4:30 , so it was time to head to Salzburg ,Austria………….



After stopping at the gas station on the Autobahn to get my Austria road sticker and vest, I cruised into Salzberg about 7:30pm , found the Hotel and a great garage inside of a mountain which was around the corner from my hotel. Took a walk and a block party wine tasting going on, so I mingled with the crowd and had some of the wines they were offering. Saturday morning took a narrated bus tour and a short walking tour and then left about 11:30 am headed for Prague in the Czech Republic.



Crossing the border into Czech Republic, there was a currency Exchange store, so I pulled in and gave up some of those Euros for the Czech currency. The Navigation was flawless, not only did it take me right to the Hotel every time , this time I wound up with a parking spot directly in front of the Hotel which was on a main downtown street. The name of this hotel is The Adria , on Vaclavske Namesti 26 phone 420 233 920 118, 119, 139 or 141 . The reason I’m mentioning this Hotel is because the location was awesome and the room better than most, but I walked all over Prague and took many pictures of the amazing architecture that was all around me. Signed up for a two hour walking tour the following day.



Decided to stop in Cologne over night, on the way to Amsterdam. I arrived in Cologne about 8pm Sunday, found a nice place for dinner, just by wandering aimlessly and went back to the hotel so I could get on the internet and check in with my family. Monday morning a took a walk to find the Chocolate Museum and after a very long walk, I did find it sitting in the river, but the closer I got, I wasn’t seeing any activity there. I read the sign and it said closed Mondays, so I guess I wasn’t going to see their Chocolate fountain or taste any of the goodies. I did manage to go around to a side door and went in to just peek. I introduced myself to someone and they explained that it is always closed on Mondays, but they did give me a brochure and I took a few pictures inside and when I was leaving, saw a group of school kids coming to see things, but they didn’t know it was closed either.


Monday afternoon, left for Amsterdam . On the autobahn there must have been a major accident somewhere up ahead and the Police were directing cars off the highway. Once I had a chance to pull over, I reprogrammed the Navigation to avoid highways and it immediately started me on some beautiful back roads. After about twenty minutes, I switched it back to find the highway and was able to get right back on, avoid all the traffic and crank the speed back up.



Got to Amsterdam about 1:30pm and after dropping the suitcase at the hotel, reset the Nav for the drop off location which turned out to be another 30 minutes. I was nervous because I knew they closed by 3:30 and I didn’t want to have to come back. Once I found it, the paperwork took about 30 minutes, they called me a cab and I took a few more pictures of the drop off process.



Amsterdam was my final city since it has so much diversity and beauty. I first took a canal boat tour , but later bought a 24hour pass for about 17 euros and was able to get my bearings pretty well and not be nervous walking around absorbing the sights and smells of the city. I went to the Riks museum to see the Rembrandts , and the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank House. I took the most pictures in Amsterdam , perhaps because I was there the longest.



Had a 7am flight out of Amsterdam to Frankfort and a 8:30 am flight from there back to Chicago, I arrived around 1:30 pm, tired, but anxious to be home to see my family.


All of these places were not only chosen for their beauty, but their history and their proximity to each other. It seemed like the average distance time wise between all the cities was three hours, maybe it helped that I was cruising a high speeds, but the cities really aren’t too far apart and the highways and autobahn are much smoother than ours are. All I can really say after this is “European delivery, what a trip“

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edBMW.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/cars/bmw-performance-center-spartanburg-nc.html http://www.articletrader.com/automotive/cars/bmw-performance-center-spartanburg-nc.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500


The first customer I had set up for a Performance Center delivery, was picking up his 5 series car that was built in Germany. He gave me all the details of how it went, and when it was finished, he and his wife headed into the Blue Ridge Mountains for a two day drive, staying at a few B & B’s, while driving on some of the most spectacular roadways in America. It wasn’t about speed, since the posted speed limit was fairly low, it was about the experience, the culture and “ The Ultimate Driving Machine “



I knew then, that this was something I needed to experience first hand, in order to fully understand the message and the experience! It just took a while longer than expected but I was able to go during the week of May 12th, 2006.



I arrived in the early evening, was picked up by someone from the hotel, checked into my beautiful room, took a fast shower and then came back down for a delicious dinner. I knew I needed to be up early the next day, so after a short after dinner walk, I went to sleep.

I asked for a 6 am wake up call and after another complimentary meal, I hopped on the 7:30 am shuttle to the Performance Center to take delivery of my wife’s new X3 SAV. Upon our arrival, my small group of 4 other owners, were greeted by the staff that we would be spending part of our time with, who then went on to inform us of how the day would progress. I was introduced to Fredrick Valdez, Delivery Specialist. He walked me into a small room that our new X3 was sitting in and proceeded to go over everything about the Performance Center and the Manufacturing facility. We then talked about the X3, but since I sell them, I didn’t want to take any more of his time going over the SAV. We then drove it right out of that room, onto a driveway outside, in order for me to take a few pictures.

When half of my group was done with their deliveries, we were each put into the same type of vehicle we were picking up, along with two way radios, so we all knew where we were going and what we would be doing when we got there.

We basically drove on an obstacle course, subjecting the vehicles to extreme conditions which you might see once in a while. We then drove a slalom course to experience different maneuvers in order to push these vehicles to their limits.



After a delicious lunch, we caravanned to the Zentrum Museum and told to stay as long as we like , since the manufacturing plant was closed to visitors for retooling of the new X5. This ended the delivery process, so after that, it was time for me to begin my long journey home and really get a great feel for the X3. I wound up putting on one thousand miles in my two day ride home.

The Performance center really works for those that don’t have the time or patience to do an ED, but do have the time to go to Spartanburg, SC . Be sure and ask if you can take a hot lap with your driving instructor, they are all professional drivers and this is where you get to see how good they really are!

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edBMW

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/4-renovations-that-kill-a-homes-value.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/4-renovations-that-kill-a-homes-value.html Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500 As the housing market cools, you need to think twice about these upgrades.

By Gerri Willis, Money Magazine contributor

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- Read a home decorating magazine or watch a cable-TV home improvement show, and you might easily conclude that any upgrade will pay off when you sell.

Not so.

Even in good times, not all projects have widespread appeal. You'll earn back virtually your entire investment in a kitchen or deck, but less than 75 cents on the dollar if you add a home office or sunroom, according to "Remodeling" magazine's annual cost vs. value survey.

What's worse, some renovations can even hurt you in the eyes of home buyers, a costly problem if you hope to sell in a softening market like today's.
The Swimming Pool

In some areas, especially hot-weather spots like Arizona and Florida, a pool is a must-have. In the Southwest, adding one boosts your home's value by 11 percent on average, according to a National Association of Realtors study.

But elsewhere it can just as easily turn off buyers, who worry about affording the upkeep and insurance. And if the most likely buyer of your home is a family with small children, think long and hard before installing a pool.

"People with younger children may be leery of houses with pools for safety reasons," says Barry Graziano, a real estate agent with Prudential Rand Realty in White Plains, N.Y. "I've had families walk away. A pool can cut down on the number of people who will want to buy your house."
The Addition

You've thought about how that great room and master bedroom wing will let the family spread out. But what you probably haven't considered is what the space will look like from the outside.

"A badly designed addition can kill your resale value," says Sal Alfano, the editorial director of Remodeling. "People focus on the floor plan and the flow, but not on how it fits into the neighborhood or even the house itself."

Watch out for boxy, poorly detailed additions. Proportions matter.
Trendy Finishes

Be careful of a style that will look dated when you throw your open house. Spotting the trend that's on its way out is trickier than you think. While it is easy to assume that sleek red European kitchen cabinetry is tomorrow's harvest gold fridge, other design staples that seem like sure bets can quickly drift into obscurity too.

That's what Mark Johnson, a Whirlpool design manager, says is happening to stainless-steel appliances. "For a period of time, people aspired to a commercial kitchen," he says. "What I am seeing is more interest in warmer finishes."

You want a design trend with legs. Johnson says custom panels that dress appliances in maple or mahogany finishes are likely to remain popular for several years.

Also, think about the materials for hardware like hinges and light fixtures. Polished brass or anything shiny is out. Brushed nickel is a better option. Johnson is betting that oiled-bronze finishes will take off next.
The Jacuzzi

The elaborate master bath is okay, but the big circular tub with 15 jets that can pulse or massage is risky.

According to Holly Slaughter, brand manager at RealEstate.com, you're better off with an oversize shower that has a rain showerhead and multiple jets (think of it as a car wash for humans).

Busy boomers have little time to spend hanging out in the bathtub, and parents with small kids prefer a conventional tub. Ultimately, don't expect a future buyer to pay up for the luxury you considered an essential.

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OwnChicagoHome.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>