ulA little Moxie for thArcehivesos and son Words by Jason Gipson, photos Gip
Eric King
We look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “Who are you?” around the car can be a deal breaker. The poet Charles Bukowski answered in response, It began for me, back in 2003. I was visiting my brother “Ahh, the eternal question. The eternal answer? I in Los Angeles. While crossing La Brea at Sunset don’t know..” As car guys, is it truly possible to have Boulevard, I was almost clipped by a speedy little some sort of bond, maybe a spiritual connection, with a twerp of a car. It was a model I had never even seen machine? Can it become part of you? Maybe? But the or heard of back home in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio. I car has to have a soul for you to feed, and it has to feed was intrigued! As I squinted up La Brea, I was able to yours in return. make out only numbers across the back right corner of I’m a simple man, at least as it applies to my car of the little guy… “2002”? What? Later, when I was back choice. I don’t need incredible power to weight ratio. I home in Cincinnati, I fired up my new, smoking fast, high don’t need OBDII to trouble shoot the running condition. Heck, I’m a “slow car fast” kind of guy. My soul’s desire, my passion’s fire, my only need is the automotive equivalent of a ruckus three chord song with a slick riff and a catchy, sing along chorus. Yes please, one that I can sing at the top of my lungs! Well, after nearly a decade of living and loving one particular model of car, that song is the BMW 2002. And has been for me personally, since about, well, day two. Like that perfect three chord song; this over Summer 2010. Just getting to know her. simplified yet ground breaking little sedan has gotten me through some of the ugliest, and the most speed, 2Mbps broadband connection and searched “2002 beautiful times of my adult life. It has given me joy, car”, and that friends, was the dawn of a long running brought me inspiration, a creative outlet, and kept me obsession. sane. Believe it or not, it even brought me closer to Prior to that day, I was a hard core Mopar man, but with my wife by giving her the ability to understand me and a twist. I had grown tired of the typical Mopar owner, my needs as an individual. But most importantly, the tired of the drag race scene. And because of it, I built culture around the BMW 2002 has provided a new world my 1969 Plymouth Valiant as a road racer. Effectively of great people that I never would have discovered blowing the minds of all my friends as it simply did otherwise. And as any car guy knows, the culture not compute! So when I began incessantly reading 168 - MotorWerks Magazine
