I heard on Roadfly that BMW NA "re-assigned" Gene Stewart so that he's no longer dealing with owner's engine failure issues. Supposedly they did so because of my conversation with him on November 12. Gene seemed an honest guy who actually cared about the owners. This is a very short-sighted, dirty tactic on the part of BMW NA. Frankly, I didn't think they'd act this way. I feel bad for Gene.

I decided to call BMW NA today. I asked the woman to connect me to Gene Stewart and was told he was out until the following Tuesday. I then asked her about the engine failures; she said she knew nothing about them. She then said Gene was the person to talk to there, and that she'd leave him a message to return my call.

I picked-up the car from Beverly Hills BMW today after having the driver's side seatbelt retractor replaced. They were unwilling to check the front for the cause of a constant, annoying rattle because of my after-market suspension, even though I told them that I and a professional shop had already gone through it and couldn't find the cause in the suspension. Also, the service advisor there, when asked, said they hadn't had any engine replacements there since the very first ones this winter. That seems unlikely, considering how many cars they sell there.

Went to the M3 Generations meet in Orange County, California, today. Great event. Lots of M3's there. Spoke at length with Peter; he and I are considering pursuing a class action vigorously. We're just fed-up with the company not even giving us the courtesy of a phone call or personal letter. We don't want to suffer all the possible troubles of engine failure and the resultant hazard, inconvenience, loss of value, etc. Many other owners seemed supportive.

Time has dragged on while I drive the car with the Engine of Damocles. I haven't seen any sign of things improving for BMW M3 owners. Perhaps it's just frustration, perhaps it's timely, but I had to send off another letter into the void that is BMW Customer Service. How long are they going to wait to contact us individually? How long until I can feel confident in my expensive new car? Am I going to be the one who gets hurt if/when my engine fails at just the wrong moment? I'm sick of waiting. It's time to shake things up. This is too important an issue for us to be passive. I'm ready to start organizing owners and to consider turning to the press and/or a lawsuit. Sure, the press has been quiet. They'll run the story, though, if the safety issue is made clear enough. BMW had better do something soon, or we'll all suffer in some way.

Here are my thoughts on the situation now. It seems that even early 2002 production cars have some tendency to fail. Some statistically- and logically-talented folks on the Roadfly Forum have theorized that there are at least two failure modalities: an early failure one that plagues cars with the 'red bearings' and another which can affect cars produced before and after the bearing switch. This means to me that, even if they replace my engine tomorrow (not likely), it, too could fail. I want to begin thinking of what remedies are acceptable. First, here are my concerns:

• Safety: I do not believe it is reasonable or prudent to insist owners of cars produced in the high-risk time period drive until they experience engine failure. If the engine goes in the most dramatic fashion (a punctured block, which has happened more than once), it could all too easily result in injury or death.
  
  
• Reliability: I demand an extremely reliable car when spending so much money with a major auto manufacturer. Wondering if it'll blow at any given moment detracts greatly from the ownership experience.
  
  
• Warranty: If there continues to be such a high likelihood of failure, I don't want to be responsible for engine replacements in the future, even after the standard warranty has expired. I expect to have a car free of defects as the basis of my warranty agreement.
  
  
• Resale Value: People are already starting to dump these cars to avoid this engine failure issue. Others are avoiding the model and certainly those cars produced in the high-risk period when buying used M3s. I don't want my investment in the car to be devalued because of a manufacturing problem and BMW's subsequent mishandling of the situation.

Here are some ideas for directions BMW can take with owners. Perhaps they're not all feasible, few are likely, but all would go some way towards winning back my loyalty and preventing legal action.

• Level with us: Give us the exact reason(s) for the failures, some honest statistics, and a BMW gamelan for dealing with this situation.
  
  
• Buy back the cars: If BMW would buy back my M3 for what I paid, I'd be out the interest paid to date on my loan. That's alright, as I'd then be free to decide what's next in my garage. Even with things as they are, I'd likely buy a new, hopefully problem-free M3.
  
  
• Replace all suspect engines immediately: This or the above buy-back idea are the only ways to ensure public safety. I'm not willing, as I cannot overstate, to continue driving something this dangerous indefinitely.
  
  
• Provide greatly extended warranty: Some have suggested a transferable seven-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. This would help to a great degree in overcoming reliability concerns and bolstering resale values.

So, I just received BMW North America's Response to my initial letter. Had I received this earlier and had I not received the insulting Form Letter, I may have been somewhat appeased. As things stand, this letter, too, has far too great a focus on proper use and maintenance, which makes me nervous and angry, since we're dealing with an engineering/production/assembly issue here, not operator error. At least this letter makes some reference to engine failures, though it falls far short of really levelling with us. Another glaring problem, in my eyes, is the focus on replacing engines after they fail. I don't want to wait and see if/when the engine implodes. I want it fixed now. I just don't see how they can ask me to drive a $60,000 time bomb. Ugh, more later, I'm sure.