This 2002 we found sitting behind The Sports Car Shop a couple of days ago brought back some vivid memories: it’s exactly like the one Stephanie’s mom had (right down to the tan color) when I got to know her and her family. Dolores bought it in 1975 after inheriting a bit of money from an aunt, as she was otherwise a rather struggling single mom with four kids. But automotively-speaking, she had her priorities, even if it wasn’t exactly the ideal car under the circumstances, in terms of room for a family of five.
And it wasn’t exactly the most reliable of cars either, as I distinctly remember rescuing Dolores once or twice. But it was sweet car to drive, as I had the pleasure to find out on one memorable drive up to Mammoth for a ski trip.
The issues were mainly electrical and overheating. But I do remember clearly that her brother told me it had gotten a new engine under warranty. Exactly why I don’t know.
This one is sporting an aftermarket steering wheels and alloy wheels from a 3 Series. And a dash mat. I drove it on the wonderful drive up thought the desert and up 395 to Mammoth Mt. in the Sierras for a ski weekend with her brother, her younger sister and a friend. These 2002s weren’t actually overtly “sporty” in the way traditional sporty cars had been defined, with their very firm suspensions and peaky engines. The 2002’s fully independent suspension was quite comfortable, with its long travel. Of course we had four in the car on that trip, so that might have colored the experience somewhat.
And the engine was anything but peaky, with a solid torque curve. Of course in Europe, the 1600ti was quite common, and that was a different animal. As was the 2002tii, with its fuel injection and more aggression tuning. But the regular 2002’s engine was in a very modest state of tune, and eminently flexible. Of course US emission controls undoubtedly blunted its top end some too.
I enjoyed that drive, especially the superb visibility, given how scenic the route was.
The rear seat was cozy. But then except for this ski trip, it was strictly an in-town mobile. And the kids were young and limber.
When Dolores decided to retire early and move to Fairfield, Iowa in 1985, I encouraged her to sell the then-ten year old BMW and get something that was going to be more compatible with Midwestern winters and easy to get fixed there. We advertised it and a young kid and his dad showed up, and it was exactly what the kid wanted for his first car. It still looked like new, thanks to the meticulous ministrations to its exterior and interior by Stephanie’s brother, whose real calling in life should have been auto detailing. They were thrilled and drove it back to Pasadena.
And what did we find to replace it with? A puke-green 1970 Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe, with one of those wild “Mod Top” paisley vinyl roofs and a 440 Commando under the hood. It was the polar opposite of the 2002 in just about every way. Nicknamed “La Bamba”, it served her for quite a few years in small town Iowa, where it undoubtedly felt much more at home than a 2002 would have. It guzzled gas like a sailor on shore leave, but it chugged along needing very little otherwise.
When I texted Dolores these pictures of the BMW, she replied with this:
“That car had electrical problems but it surely had zip and was great to drive!”
She’s 93 and still driving, a Ford Contour we bought her new quite a few years ago.
I like these, and especially the newer ones with the larger tail lights. In high school (so around the same era as Dolores’ car) one girl had a blue 2002tii. I lusted after both. And didn’t get any closer than being in the same the parking lot to either. And a friend had a burgundy regular ’02 that was fun to ride along with but according to him BMW stood for Bust My Wallet as something or other always needed work. Maybe that’s why I’ve never owned one. Anyway, I envy Dolores her car and the one you found looks exceptional as well. As does the little orange TR6 next to it.
Yes, superb visibility. Look at those windows. Today, windows with half the height are about all you’re going to get, but at least you get very large wheels to compensate. As you drive along trying to peer out through your narrow slit, you can say “but I got really big wheels!’
Despite the “Move Over” advertising i age, I think you’re right in Paul that these weren’t overtly sporty in the 1960’s (when the 2002 was launched) sense. Not in a bad way: they were torquey, smooth-riding, upright seating position with big steering wheel. But not like an Alfa. About ten years ago a similarly tan, big-bumper 2002 shows up in my neighbor’s driveway. The homeowner’s daughter had gotten it new as a high school graduation gift and wanted to sell it … I was briefly interested until I asked the year. It was a ‘76, and she told me it wouldn’t pass the California smog test mandatory for transfers of 1976 or newer vehicles, and possibly never would due to a failed and unobtanium thermal reactor. One year older and I might have bought it.
I think the emissions controls caused BMW some trouble in the mid 70s. The thermal reactor they used instead of catalytic converters hurt performance and I remember Road & Track praising the introduction of a catalyst on the 5 series as the first time they liked cats. I don’t recall the pre 74 cars having as many issues while the later 2002s and early 3 series got a lot of complaints.
We had a 1970 BMW 2000 between 72 and 77 and the only issue I remember was the synchromesh wearing out and body rust, This was the car that really started me as an enthusiast, along with my parents subscribing to R&T. While the 4 Neue Klasse was rare in the US they were great family cars, although I think we nearly got a Datsun 510 instead of the BMW.
At a time when the roads were filled with wallowing whales, the 2002 was an obviously better vehicle. Somehow there was an acceptance of giant cars that barely seated four, got 12 mpg, and weighed 1200 pounds more than they should have. Then there was the 2002. If you thought cars should be sold by the pound and ride like an RV, you wouldn’t understand.
Love the drive up 395 to Mammoth. Made that drive a lot of times in the late 80s/early 90s. My favorite trip was in my wife’s 91 Miata. Top down, American Beauty blasting from San Diego to somewhere rather north of Victorville, skis strapped vertically to the bottom-mount bike rack. Good times.
A few years back I saw a 2002 like this in Aarhus, Denmark. It was a slighlty rainy day with sunny spells and I wandered over to take a look at the car, parked in the University publisher´s car park. Apart from being a good looking car, something wierd struck me. It was box fresh. There wasn´t even dirt on the tyres, as if the car had been trailered into postion. The interior fabric was utterly unmarked. No dust or debris was present anywhere inside or outside – I was looking at it from 5 cm distance. The simple story is that is was a recent full restoration and had just driven to the location – but still, it was somewhat supernatural to see the car as it must have looked in the showroom forty years earlier.
And did I say this BMW is a fabulous car – if only BMW could find it in their hearts to make a similarly compact and minimal sport saloon i.e almost no features other than those found in this car. I´d have that in an instant.
Little did anybody knew that the BMW 1600/2002 series were supplanted/replaced by the BMW 3 in 1975 and 4 Series in production along with the 3 Series which went to various design changes all throughout the years. Here are the Four Door versions except the 1600/2002 series along with the 1G 3 Series not having Four Door Sedan versions yet.
This is almost exactly identical to my wife’s ’75, including the color! The only difference is that hers had the crank-open sunroof, which she liked a lot more than I did. It was a much more pleasant city-street car than my Alfa 2-liter Berlina, being much lighter in the controls, though its back-road cornering never felt as secure as the Alfa’s. Still, my brother and I borrowed it for a 500+ mile trip to visit our mom in Missouri, and enjoyed every mile of it.
That sunroof later came in handy when I took a temp job delivering The Tennessean every morning, to raise spending $$ for an upcoming Paris trip. Unless it was raining, I could leave the roof open and fling the papers out a lot more easily than using the side windows!
These were pretty popular with exchange students at San Jose State when I went there at the end of the 1970s. They caught my interest and led to my desire for a BMW Bavaria or the more upscale 3.0 sedan. I passed on any BMW and bought a three year old Coupe de Ville when I graduated college in 1980. My brother on the other hand bought a new 1980 BMW 320i with manual five speed. I was quite impressed by the quality of this very austerely appointed car. There was nothing that was electrically assisted. I liked the size and the directness of the car, no nonsense except the price! He kept it for ten years and put over 200,000 miles on it. Forty years later he bought a two year old 5 series that did not prove to be as durable. Even 320i s are pretty rare on the ground around here.
Rarely see Stephanie posing in pics
I think many have forgotten, or are too young to know why thermal reactors were used. BMW and some others like Mazda, went with reactors because 2 way pellet cats were crap. 2 way cats didn’t flow well, got gummed up fast, and they didn’t deal with oxides of nitrogen. In the end you were left with a dog of an engine, that burnt out the cats quickly unless they were tuned just right, which was difficult if you used a carb which most cars had. With 2 way cats you had to tune the engine to pass smog and sacrifice performance. Plus, you were tied to unleaded, so not only could you not use cheaper leaded regular, but you had to hunt for a gas station that had unleaded, otherwise you would poison the cat. That’s why many brands tried to avoind using a cat or anything if they could, and you could often find 49 state spec domestic cars like that.
BMW chose thermal reactors because you could tune the engine for performance, and let the reactors burn the pollutants and get the top end. Thats why they got nearly 180 hp from a 3 liter six (see Car and Driver Page), while the Corvette’s L48 350 V8 was on 165 bhp. Chevrolet could barely come up with a L82 350 in 1975. And a 4 speed 733i on reactors could out accelerate a Mercedes 450SEL and Jag XJ12 in 0-60mph. When 3 way cats and lambda sond oxygen sensors became available, BMW switched to that. But earlier, 2 way cats just weren’t worth it. Try a stock mid to late ’70s Trans Am or Z28…dead dogs!!
Compare the 4 speed BMW 530i with the 4 speed 400 cubic inch Trans Am. You need 6.6 liters worth of V8 to match a 3 liter six. Those pellet 2 way cats were crap for performance. This was when domestic V8s were complete dogs.