Tag: BMW 507

Monday Musings, GERD Edition

How many of you know what GERD is? It stands for Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease. I have suffered from it my entire life; I can remember getting heartburn in kindergarten. As it turns out I have faulty construction in that I have a hiatal hernia, which simply means that not all of my stomach lies below my diaphragm.

With a strict timetable in terms of my last meal of the day (usually no later than about 3 PM), two or three doses of Omeprazole per day and my running regimen (3-4 days a week, 30-45 minutes at a time), the GERD does not manifest itself that often, anymore. However, every now and then it reminds me it’s still around, like last night.

Being awakened by the sensation that I am choking to death and that my throat is on fire is way beyond unpleasant. The culprit was probably a small PB & J sandwich that I ate around 4 PM. My stomach doesn’t digest anything nut-based that well, anymore.

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Courtesy of 56packardman comes this Autoblog article about a BMW 507 available for auction. Why is that news? Beyond the rarity and status of the 507, this is news because this 507 was owned by the man who created the amazing look of the car, Albrecht Goertz. He also designed the Toyota 2000 GT and the Datsun 240Z. From the Autoblog article:

While as it turns out I have a “problem” with all German cars, not just Volkswagen and Porsche, it is impossible for me not to admire the design of this car. (My German “problem” played a role in my selling my BMW Z4 last month.) I don’t know of any companies making kit car replicas of the 507 (a real one, of which only 252 were made, is VERY expensive), but I think such a replica might have a market. Look at how many companies are making Cobra replicas. Classic Driver currently has three 507s listed for sale, but all are POR meaning Price On Request.

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I don’t know why I am compelled to do this (I guess that’s the definition of compulsion), but here are links to all posts (besides the Home Page) that have generated at least one percent of blog views in order of most views:

Sunday Studebaker

Tuesday Collection

Wednesday Wanderings

Paean For Pontiac

Saturday Studebaker

Tuesday Notes

Wednesday Weirdo

JD Power

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Saturday Salmagundi

Anybody want to guess where this picture was taken? Want a hint? Here’s a run-on sentence: I took this photo four years ago in the town square of the oldest town in the only country in Europe where I have seen a Corvette. (Sure, that’s a big help.) Before I reveal the location I will tell you that this picture is a particular favorite of mine. This photo is from Echternach, Luxembourg.

Sorry, but I don’t know the source of this photo that has been on my computer(s) for years. It is a view of sunset in Europe and Africa from space.

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One book I own on automotive history seems to be unreliable in terms of dates. That fact is unfortunate as the book purports to be a compendium of the significant events in automotive history for each day of the year. For example, the book states that on this day in 1893 the Duryea Brothers made the first test of their automobile, which was the first operational personal car in the United States. However, all other sources list that day as September 20 or 21 and not September 22.

See the source image

From a Pinterest site [does anyone still use that?, I guess I do :)] an alleged picture of a Duryea Brothers automobile. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, founded by brothers Charles and Frank Duryea, was the first American company to build gasoline-powered automobiles. The US was relatively late to the party in terms of automobile manufacturing; the first car as we know it today was built in Germany in 1885 by Karl Benz. The first company formed solely for the purpose of manufacturing automobiles was the French company Panhard et Levassor, which was founded in 1889.

The same book mentioned earlier lists today, September 22, as the day when the magnificent BMW 507 was introduced to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Other sources say the car was introduced earlier, in the summer, and in New York. What did Shakespeare write? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” It really doesn’t matter when this BEAUTIFUL car was first shown to the public, but details do matter.

This is a picture I took of a 1958 BMW 507 at a local auto show. I am a car nut. (Well, maybe I’m just a nut and cars have nothing to do with it.) This car also moved me to tears as it was the first time I had ever seen a 507 in person. Less than a month later I saw the same car while I was returning from running errands.

The irony of the 507 is that, in many ways, it put BMW on the map as an automobile manufacturer and at the same time almost bankrupted the company. That’s another story for another day. Only 252 of these cars were sold and their value today is off the charts. According to NADA Guides the “high” retail value of the 507 is $2.8 million. The “average” retail value is $2.3 million.

As I continue to ponder Ultimate Garage 2.0 I struggle in terms of whether or not each car should be constrained by a budget. What do you think? Should the cars in someone’s Ultimate Garage have any budgetary limitation? I can’t afford a BMW 507 today, but could I still put the car in my Ultimate Garage?