Homecoming "How To"

Homecoming takes place over Labor Day weekend at the BMW Factory that made Z3s and makes Z4s and X5s, the first BMW Factory in the USA, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

1) REGISTER! That means printing out the form from www.bmwroadsterhomecoming.com/
Space is limited to 500 cars so REGISTER NOW.

2) MAKE HOTEL RESERVATIONS. The host hotel - the Embassy Suites
Golf Resort In Greenville- will probably sell out. There is also the
Wingate which has become the second choice of some and the
first choice of some. You want to be in a hotel that has a lot of Z3ers so
you have car washing and can park together and follow each other to events
and stuff, and to hang out in the bar or by the pool…

3) FIND A CARAVAN. You are welcome to drive to Spartanburg on your own, but
the caravans are literally half the fun. You meet a lot of people driving
together, use TalkAbout radios to yak it up on the road, pick up more and
more cars along the way, help each other out, have adventures… There is usually caravan information on the "official" site as well as people hooking up using the email lists and message boards.

What is Homecoming Like?

1) Most people arrive by Thursday night to get settled in (and start
partying). See more about what happens before Thursday below.

2) Friday morning starts the madness. People up early washing cars behind
the hotel, running over to the factory for tours and to view the exhibits and
perhaps for their appointment to run the road course at the Peformance
Center. Meanwhile back at the hotel there are talks from the sponsors like
Michelin Tire and aftermarket goodies being sold in the hotel parking lot.
Friday evening is a picnic at the downtown Greenville area, a nice little
meal and sometimes a souvenir gift from BMW and most phenomenally, the Sea of
Zs. This is when the whole town moves it’s cars off the street and lets the
Zs take over. All you see is Zs down main street, parked 3 across. This is
really funny as some people get very creative… in any case it’s wild to see
and be a part of. Greenville has a lively downtown area so there’s more fun
to be had there too if you can stand it.

3) Saturday morning it is full bore madness. Everything is happening at
once.
-There is the photo on the lawn of the factory where everyone lines up
together and people have been known to stay up all night to get a good spot
for that pic. The shot gets taken at 10am. Last year there was also a shot
for coupes only at 11am.
-There is also the "technical clinic" where the factory associates will do
their best to fix what bugs you on your car. Miracles have been performed
here- but please please please be nice to the associates. They have come out
on their Saturday to work in a tent for you for free.
-There are more appointments for the Performance center track and more car
washing
-There is a pay lunch with music at the factory, as well as the nice snack
bar and also being able to eat in the factory lunchroom.
-There are sometimes other things like demonstations of new vehicles and
marketing discussion groups.
-There are booths set up selling and installing aftermarket goodies in the
factory parking lot and the Marriot parking lot
-Look at the parking lot for the factory associates, you can see many special
colors that are not sold, testing them out on their own cars.
Saturday night is a dinner at the factory in the lunchroom with presentations
and everyone is wondering where the weekend went because it all happened so
fast.

4) Sunday is the Mountain Tour and the Lunch. You can choose from 3 sets of
routes to follow to get to the Lunch spot. Groups of Z3s set off together in
shifts and drive together.

What happens before Thursday? What is the "Nashville Bash"? What is the
Dragon?

Nashville Bash-
On Wednesday there is a big party at BMW of Nashville. They have food and
beer and do great BMW and Dinan work and discount it. Convoys that have come
from Texas and points west like California and Seattle usually stop here on
Wednesday night.

The Dragon-
This is route 129 running from near Alcoa Tennessee into North Carolina. The
road is famous for having 318 curves in 11 miles- it is not for the faint of
heart. When you go to the Nashville Bash on Wednesday, you can choose from 3
routes to get to Spartanburg on Thursday. One is fast, one is scenic- the
other is the Dragon. Some of us love the Dragon so well we go early JUST to
drive it.

OK that is all I can think of right now, as people ask more questions I will
update this with more answers. Everyone should feel welcome at Homecoming!



00xx00

Rachel

Rachel
Esmerelda's Page
Z3ers.com

Edited by: RachelZ3 at: 5/30/04 11:45am