Feature: Keeping It Klassy..

“I have a BMW, but only because BMW stands for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and not because I need an expensive car.”
—Bob Marley

Minimalism is a dying art. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, it was a design movement back in the late 60's and early 70's, involving stripping down everything to its barest, most fundamental essentials. BMW has always prided itself with its simple, yet elegant balance of performance and luxury, which begs the question, if you need more than this, you might as well give up. Adam Reynoso has designed his 2004 BMW M3 (E46) after this same philosophy.

“I wanted this car, since I was 15 years old,” says Adam. “The first time I drove an M3—it was amazing.”

The Car
“When I turned 18, I worked at the BMW dealership and bought a 2008 M3, but the parts were so expensive I ended up selling it,” recalls Adam. “If I wanted to mod it, it just wasn't going to happen, so I spent the next eight months looking and saving—I didn't want to jump into anything, which I ended up doing anyway.”

“I was on my way to L.A. to buy a Nissan 350Z with my bro,” says Adam. “On the way, we saw a bunch of Z's left and right, and I was like, I don't want this car, let's go get something different.”

“I started going through my iPhone, found this car, went to check it out, and that was all she wrote,” recalls Adam. “It was a decent price ($21,000), but I will admit I was a little hot headed because I really wanted it.”

“So far the mod list is just short and sweet,” says Adam Reynoso. “It's got an intake from K&N, a prototype Borla ATTAK exhaust, and I just got a wink mirror with five individual mirrors to see everything behind me,” says Adam, as he busies himself installing the mirror to his A pillar's.

“I think it looks old school.” I had to agree.

Stay Tuned: Short BMW Commercial Break!
Every April Fools Day, it has become traditional for BMW advertisers to drop their Ultimate Driving Machine lingo in exchange for a little, tongue and cheek, humor. Enjoy three of BMW's greatest hoax advertisements.

Now the BMW Marque Will Never Be Marked (April 2002)
A tiny sensor mounted in the wiper arm measures the light reflected back from the white section of the BMW badge. Even if a film of dirt cuts out as little as 5% of the light, the sensor will detect it and start the wiper. An ion exchange system softens the water before it's sprayed onto the badge (hard water would of course scratch the enamel surface).

Introducing Canine Repellent Alloy Protection (April 2008)
It prevents any dog from relieving itself on the car by administering an immediate, and relatively pain-free, electric shock. But the surprise is that the 220 volts required for this, come courtesy of our brake energy regeneration system. This converts energy created under braking into an electric charge known as Rim Impulse Power (R.I. P.) and stores it ready for the next encounter.

BMW Magnetic Tow Technology- (April 2009)
For once, we're happy to be behind the competition
Why burn your fuel when you can burn someone else's? This ingenious new system locks onto the car in front via an enhanced magnetic beam. Once your BMW is attached—the vehicle in front will then 'do the pulling' without noticing any change in maneuverability. When turning off the MTT, we suggest a courtesy flick of the headlights to let the obliging driver in front know you are leaving them.

Back to Our Story
“It has been one year, and the car just keeps growing,” says a confident Adam, who received a free Borla prototype exhaust several weeks ago. “I got the opportunity through an auto shop in town.”

Borla had been working on a brand new exhaust for the M3, and they were almost finished with it. The only problem, they needed a completely stock E46 to test it out. As you can imagine, it is about as hard to find a stock M3 in California at a performance shop, as it is to find a virgin at a Rolling Stones concert.

Adam was contacted by the shop to see if he wanted to be the guinea pig for the new exhaust, and he hesitated. “Borla is known for making really quiet exhausts, and I wanted something a little more,” Adam tells me. The deal was sweetened, however, when he was told it was the loudest exhaust Borla had ever made for the M3.

“It is not too loud—no rasp—and it's got a good tone to it,” describes Adam. “It's a good mix of power and sound—I am really happy with it.” The Borla ATTAK exhaust is currently in production, and it should be out within a couple of weeks, but at the time of interview, Adam's M3 was still *special*.

In addition to the exhaust and K&N intake, Adam's M3 has a KW V2 coilover suspension and CCW Classic Wheels. It also has a carbon fiber body kit, which includes a CSL-style splitters, diffuser, and trunk lid.

Future Plans
“I plan on getting the trunk and diffuser fully painted, but I am just going to leave it until I can afford a decent paint job,” says Adam. “The whole front end is chipped up from the freeway—you can't see it in the pictures, but if you get it in the right daylight, it'll scare you.” One of the greatest obstacles for the M3 owner who is not pulling down five digits a month, is coming up with mod money.

“The thing with M3's, is they assume every owner has a billion dollars,” says Adam. “An entry level supercharger is around five grand, and a turbo kit would be roughly twenty to forty thousand, but that forty grand would put you at like 900 wheel horsepower.”

“I'm all over the place, but hopefully one day I can afford a turbo or supercharger, but for now it is just going to be basic bolt-on's,” explains Adam. “Someday I would like to turn it into a full track car with no interior, racing seats, and a roll cage.”

“For now it's my daily driver—to drive to work everyday,” says Adam. “I treat it like a normal car, but it just happens to be one that turns heads.” Adam does have a weekend car he takes out on sunny days, a custom built 1965 Impala.

“I can't park the Impala anywhere,” Adam laughs. “It's more of a land yacht—but at the race track, it's all about my M3.”