Mehling.org: Cars Archives

January 15, 2006

LA Auto Show

Tedd and I meet my dad at the LA Auto Show today. Some cool cars on display there. Nothing really, really exciting though. I'd hoped the new BMW Z4 Coupe would be on display. There were a number of really nice manufacturers showing off their stuff. I just love the Elise and there were three to admire. The Porsche setup was pretty well done too. I'm betting the new Porsche Cayman will do well -- we wondered if the Cayman would cannibalize Carrera or Boxster sales (or both?). Guy's day out at the car show, topped off w/ In-n-Out for lunch. Nice.

Posted by ben at 06:00 PM

June 11, 2006

This class saves lives!

I took Tedd to a cool Teen Car Clinic hosted by a local performance driving school, Driving Concepts. The class was all day Sunday and attended by a range of teens (some with permits, some with licenses and some who had never actually driven before). It consisted of classroom discussion followed by practice sessions on a "Closed Course" (read: rented parking lot of local community college). Many of these techniques will sound all to familiar to anyone that's attended a performance driving school.

As I looked on, I realized just how ridiculous our "normal" drivers education is... This was the first time someone was explaining to these kids proper seat positioning and "proper" mirror setup (a method normally taught in performance schools, that elimates blinds spots and does not require turning your head). Not one of them had ever learned how their cars reacted under hard braking or turning.

The kids learned about visual awareness (lifting their eyes), spacing and distance. They learned about ABS and SRS systems. They got lectures on RWD, FWD and AWD. Understeer versus Oversteer was discussed. Everything was followed-up by on the "track" practice sessions.

The exercises basically allowed each student to run through the track at 3-5 different speeds (25-45 MPH) and consisted of things like: slalom (w/ two hands and w/ one to simulate cell phone use and illustrate just how much can go wrong with only one hand on the wheel), hard braking, hard braking in a corner, following distances, object avoidance, cornering with over/under steer and much more than I can remember.

Think about just how much better equiped these students will be able to handle emergency situations on the road now -- they know how cars will react, they've practiced avoidance techniques and they are aware of how to spot potential situations much sooner. If you have a teen that's learning to drive, I can't recommend this program enough. This class really could save lives.

Posted by ben at 08:00 PM

March 05, 2007

When branding goes bad

As some of you may know, I own an old, but special (to a few) BMW. I've owned the car for quite a few years now and it still makes me grin (especially over 4500 RPM!). Well, since purchasing the car, I've joined the BMW car club of America and a special interest group dedicated to my very specific model. This group is made up of members from across the globe (from Australia to Thailand, Sweden to Brazil) and over 1000 members. Maybe that doesn't seem like a big number, but when you consider that there were only 12000 of these cars produced (ending production in 1995), it's not too bad.

Some years ago I volunteered to take over the Frequently Asked Questions list from a friend in Australia. Since that time, the FAQ has grown to over 300 questions, a car registry, related articles archive and more. This FAQ has been produced by the group at large w/ a few dedicated editors coalescing the varied responses into useful answers and categories and publishing them.

In October of 2006, I was sent a letter by BMW GMBH (the German company) telling me I was using their brand name inappropriately. I responded with details of our special interest group and exactly what we were about (i.e. not for profit, big promoters of the BMW brand, providing a service to the enthusiast community, etc.).

After two weeks and no response, I sent another email asking if they had received my response. I received a prompt reply that helped me understand the issue -- they included a screen capture of the website from the time of their original email. It was for a different, non-BMW related website hosted on the same server. Apparently they had grabbed this capture during a server upgrade and the web server software was still being setup. In a response dated the same day (10/30/06), I explained what had happened and reiterated my not-for-profit/BMW enthusiast intentions.

No response. Time passed and I assumed that BMW had reviewed my emails and the website and ruled that in fact, our FAQ site was a positive addition to the BMW brand. It seemed obvious to me and anyone I spoke to about the situation.

Apparently not -- today I received another email from the same attorney:

from: Aimee Gessner
to: Ben Mehling
date: Mar 5, 2007 7:48 AM
subject: AW: bmwmpower.info
====

Dear Ben,

I refer to our previous email correspondence.

Please be informed that it is our company policy to reserve the use of our trademarks on BMW official sites only. This is to ensure that there is no confusion in the mind of the public with respect to the source, sponsorship or affiliation of any web site being run by third parties, including enthusiast sites.

Therefore, we kindly ask you to remove the BMW Logo from your web site, as well as the imagery and text "Ohne Kompromisse" being used on bmwmpower.info, bmwe34m5.com and your other sites. Please confirm once this is done.

Please also note that we also reserve the right to object in the future to the use of any domain names that contain our trademarks, depending on any objectionable content (for example, a change from primarily a non-commercial enthusiast site to a site that is primarily commercial in nature.)

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Aimee Gessner

After four plus months of nothing, they've decided that displaying the BMW logo and a common German phrase on a tiny enthusiast website is eating away at their brand AND causing confusion for consumers (please note, the very first line of every page on the site reads: "A non-profit site for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts. No affiliation with BMW GMBH.").

I've spent hours upon hours promoting their brand. I've recommended their products to countless people. I've gotten family members to purchase BMWs. When I look at purchasing my next car, the first place I look is at BMW's product brochure.

I am sure that it won't last, but at this moment I feel like selling my car and never purchasing or recommending a BMW again.

Posted by ben at 10:49 PM


January 15, 2006 LA Auto Show Tedd and I meet my dad at the LA Auto Show today. Some cool cars on display there. Nothing really, really exciting though. I'd hoped the new BMW Z4 Coupe would be on display. There were a number of really nice manufacturers showing off their stuff. I just love the Elise and there were three to admire. The Porsche setup was pretty well done too. I'm betting the new Porsche Cayman will do well -- we wondered if the Cayman would cannibalize Carrera or Boxster sales (or both?). Guy's day out at the car show, topped off w/ In-n-Out for lunch. Nice. Posted by ben at 06:00 PM June 11, 2006 This class saves lives! I took Tedd to a cool Teen Car Clinic hosted by a local performance driving school, Driving Concepts. The class was all day Sunday and attended by a range of teens (some with permits, some with licenses and some who had never actually driven before). It consisted of classroom discussion followed by practice sessions on a "Closed Course" (read: rented parking lot of local community college). Many of these techniques will sound all to familiar to anyone that's attended a performance driving school. As I looked on, I realized just how ridiculous our "normal" drivers education is... This was the first time someone was explaining to these kids proper seat positioning and "proper" mirror setup (a method normally taught in performance schools, that elimates blinds spots and does not require turning your head). Not one of them had ever learned how their cars reacted under hard braking or turning. The kids learned about visual awareness (lifting their eyes), spacing and distance. They learned about ABS and SRS systems. They got lectures on RWD, FWD and AWD. Understeer versus Oversteer was discussed. Everything was followed-up by on the "track" practice sessions. The exercises basically allowed each student to run through the track at 3-5 different speeds (25-45 MPH) and consisted of things like: slalom (w/ two hands and w/ one to simulate cell phone use and illustrate just how much can go wrong with only one hand on the wheel), hard braking, hard braking in a corner, following distances, object avoidance, cornering with over/under steer and much more than I can remember. Think about just how much better equiped these students will be able to handle emergency situations on the road now -- they know how cars will react, they've practiced avoidance techniques and they are aware of how to spot potential situations much sooner. If you have a teen that's learning to drive, I can't recommend this program enough. This class really could save lives. Posted by ben at 08:00 PM March 05, 2007 When branding goes bad As some of you may know, I own an old, but special (to a few) BMW. I've owned the car for quite a few years now and it still makes me grin (especially over 4500 RPM!). Well, since purchasing the car, I've joined the BMW car club of America and a special interest group dedicated to my very specific model. This group is made up of members from across the globe (from Australia to Thailand, Sweden to Brazil) and over 1000 members. Maybe that doesn't seem like a big number, but when you consider that there were only 12000 of these cars produced (ending production in 1995), it's not too bad. Some years ago I volunteered to take over the Frequently Asked Questions list from a friend in Australia. Since that time, the FAQ has grown to over 300 questions, a car registry, related articles archive and more. This FAQ has been produced by the group at large w/ a few dedicated editors coalescing the varied responses into useful answers and categories and publishing them. In October of 2006, I was sent a letter by BMW GMBH (the German company) telling me I was using their brand name inappropriately. I responded with details of our special interest group and exactly what we were about (i.e. not for profit, big promoters of the BMW brand, providing a service to the enthusiast community, etc.). After two weeks and no response, I sent another email asking if they had received my response. I received a prompt reply that helped me understand the issue -- they included a screen capture of the website from the time of their original email. It was for a different, non-BMW related website hosted on the same server. Apparently they had grabbed this capture during a server upgrade and the web server software was still being setup. In a response dated the same day (10/30/06), I explained what had happened and reiterated my not-for-profit/BMW enthusiast intentions. No response. Time passed and I assumed that BMW had reviewed my emails and the website and ruled that in fact, our FAQ site was a positive addition to the BMW brand. It seemed obvious to me and anyone I spoke to about the situation. Apparently not -- today I received another email from the same attorney: from: Aimee Gessner to: Ben Mehling date: Mar 5, 2007 7:48 AM subject: AW: bmwmpower.info ==== Dear Ben, I refer to our previous email correspondence. Please be informed that it is our company policy to reserve the use of our trademarks on BMW official sites only. This is to ensure that there is no confusion in the mind of the public with respect to the source, sponsorship or affiliation of any web site being run by third parties, including enthusiast sites. Therefore, we kindly ask you to remove the BMW Logo from your web site, as well as the imagery and text "Ohne Kompromisse" being used on bmwmpower.info, bmwe34m5.com and your other sites. Please confirm once this is done. Please also note that we also reserve the right to object in the future to the use of any domain names that contain our trademarks, depending on any objectionable content (for example, a change from primarily a non-commercial enthusiast site to a site that is primarily commercial in nature.) Thank you for your understanding. Regards, Aimee Gessner After four plus months of nothing, they've decided that displaying the BMW logo and a common German phrase on a tiny enthusiast website is eating away at their brand AND causing confusion for consumers (please note, the very first line of every page on the site reads: "A non-profit site for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts. No affiliation with BMW GMBH."). I've spent hours upon hours promoting their brand. I've recommended their products to countless people. I've gotten family members to purchase BMWs. When I look at purchasing my next car, the first place I look is at BMW's product brochure. I am sure that it won't last, but at this moment I feel like selling my car and never purchasing or recommending a BMW again. Posted by ben at 10:49 PM		Bookmarks Ben's Resume Ben's Lists Mehling Photo Album Flickr Photo Album Recently Archived Cozumal and Playa Palancar Akumal Desperately Seeking Lodging See you in nine days Sian Ka'an Coba Ruins Tulum Ruins Finally! 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