[Scottz71]

OKAY -- I think I am caught up on rest now, and can make a decent post on my PCD experience and drive from SC. Hopefully I will get the pictures right.

Here's my recap:
-Got to Greenville, SC Thursday night w/ my wife after some flight delays.
-We were brought to the hotel in a nice 5ser wagon.
-Maybe got 2 hours of sleep due to the anticipation of the next day.
-Caught the shuttle to the BMW Center and met Frederick Valdez (awesome guy!) and our driving instructor, Donnie 'Legend' Isley.
-Spent a few classroom minutes w/ Donnie and went out to the track.
-Saw lots of M's (5s,6s, and Coupe) getting ready for M-School.
-Picked a nice Arctic Metallic 335i (e90 chassis) to flog for the morning. Donnie referred to it as "NYC" -- NOT YOUR CAR.
-Made it through the intense aggressive braking exercise without taking out a cone!
-Really enjoyed the high-speed cornering and slalom exercises, the e90 335i really handles well, and is a very capable track car.
-Had some fun spinning on the skip-pad and even got the hang of drifting a bit, although I cannot say I'm going to do that much in the real world.
-Donnie took us out in an M5 for a 'hot lap' where he basically goes as fast as possible, does some aggressive cornering, shows you the monster brakes, and then drifts perfectly for a bit, finished up by some reverse 180's and tire spinning. That guy can DRIVE...!! Did I mention he was a god?? Seriously, I think I want him to be my new best friend...Donnie has the greatest job on Earth.
-Finally, we got some lunch, saw the Zentrum museum, and got a very in-depth factory tour of the X5 / Z4 production facility. It was about 1.5 hours and was a fantastic look into the genius behind BMW manufacturing. There's so much going on there and it is all done in concert to perfection.
-After the 'diversions' we made it back to the Performance Center (we had a 650i to drive around in!! Nice!!) and we were ready to take delivery on our new baby.
-We got lucky and had Mr. Frederick Valdez as our PC specialist. He is one of the most knowledgeable and friendly people I have ever met. He has a wealth of BMW know-it-all and just loves cars in general. If you are doing PCD, then you should just request Frederick, trust me.
-We spent a good 2.5 hours w/ Frederick learning the entire car, inside and out. He covers everything, sets up the memorys on keys, seats, entertainment, and just covers the whole car. He knows every answer and does it with such down-to-earth "care" that you cannot help but be overwhelmed. I think Frederick really embodies BMW's sense of 'pure joy.' He's a real ambassador for the products and I'm grateful for the experience.
-Finally, it was getting late and we had to leave. We said goodbye to Donnie, Frederick, some of our other Delivery-mates, and the Peformance Center, and headed out towards VA for our 7 hour drive (which we did in 6hr 15min).
-It took every ounce of restraint I had to not exceed 4500rpm and 80mph. And I only really had to punch-it once...man was that fun!

Here's all the pictures, hopefully in order of my notes above. We had a great time, and this experience really helps cement us as BMW customers for life. I could not have been happier with my first BMW experience and the folks at the BMW Center are all so great to us, we met many nice owners, and just had a blast. It was one of the greatest days of my life to this point. Thanks to my wife, who stood around all day taking pictures and being a good sport while I drove the courses, talked, swooned over Bimmers, drove intently for 6 hours, and the whole time I generally ignored her. I owe her one for sure.

[Scottz71]

OK, pix did not work cuz they're too big. I have to work on them and will get them up later today. It is time to go out for a DRIVE!

[willwin2day]

Hey hey hey Scott! I take it you had a great time! By the way, you should have seen this guy on the skid pad. Great car control Scott! :-) I think Scott has best summed up the experience at the Performance Center. It is a must for every BMW owner. I look forward to seeing you all!

Donnie

[edspilot]

Donnie:

I sent you an e-mail to your work address on Thursday evening. I sure you'll pick it up on Monday as I knew you were busy this weekend.

Dean

[Scottz71]

Originally Posted by willwin2day

Hey hey hey Scott! I take it you had a great time! By the way, you should have seen this guy on the skid pad. Great car control Scott! :-) I think Scott has best summed up the experience at the Performance Center. It is a must for every BMW owner. I look forward to seeing you all!

Donnie

WE HAD A BLAST!!! I can't wait to get to the Performance Center again!

[rmorin49]

Glad you enjoyed it. If my ED doesn't work out I will be doing a PCD in April for my E93. Did you eat any barbecue?

[willwin2day]

Hey Dean (edspilot)....did you send it to my work (donnie.isley@bmwna.com)? I'll try to respond tomorrow.

donnie

[BK]

Awesome, Scott! I had the green light from my wife to do the PCD as long as I could do it at least 2 weeks before our baby was due... but alas, it took my car too long to get here, and it got too close to her due date. I had to do the normal pickup at my dealer. Even still, it's always a great day when you go to pick up your new Bimmer, and the feeling hasn't yet worn off for me.

I look forward to your photos and also to hearing about Dean's 2-day school, because I may do that this summer or fall.

[edspilot]

Donnie:

Yes, I sent it to your work e-mail (donnie.isley@bmwna.com) on early Friday morning.

Do I need to send it again?

Dean

[ase2dais]

Originally Posted by Scottz71

WE HAD A BLAST!!! I can't wait to get to the Performance Center again!

we dont believe you until we see some photos

and that goes for you too Dean!

:rocks:

[StewtheBassman]

It's nice to be reminded from time to time what Excellence goes behind the design and building of our great cars...and that feeling is evident in the great staff and programs as well. Thanks for the write-up and we look forward to some pics!

[BMoney]

Nice..I picked my 335 sedan up at the PC on the 16th. It definitely is a must. I'm sure I'll be doing it again in a couple of years!

[Scottz71]

OK, maybe I am an idiot but I cannot get the uploader to work for my pix. I have even shrunk them serveral times...

Here is the error message I am getting:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 20971520 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 5480801 bytes) in /home/admin/domains/bimmerpost.com/public_html/forums/includes/class_image.php on line 2354


Can anyone help...I also e-mailed the webmaster and received no response to date.

This is frustrating.

[Scottz71]

Here goes...we just got home in this picture...

[Scottz71]

OK, more pix to come, and YES I am an idiot...stupid computers.

[Scottz71]

Here's our new car, me, some M5s waiting to get flogged at the Performance Center, and me doing my best to control my track car on the skip pad...ENJOY.

SCOTT

[ase2dais]

Im jealous Scott

thks for sharing