On Sunday, June 4, more than 50 BMW Z3 and M Coupes gathered for Dorkfest 2006 in California. I was there with my own Sapphire Black 1999 BMW Z3 Coupe. We met up in Woodside, a little town south of San Francisco, drove a windy mountain road down to Highway 1, then to Half Moon Bay. After arranging the cars for photos in a large parking lot, we Coupe owners milled about, talking about our cars. I got some good tips on installing an iPod adapter, which, in the BMW, is relatively easy through the stereo's prewired CD-changer plug.

As a bonus, a 2007 BMW M Coupe, based on the Z4 Roadster, made an appearance. This car was driven up from Southern California for the event and was generally admired by all attendees. The original Coupe, produced from 1999 to 2002, was based on the Z3 Roadster and loved by few. It varied in engine size, from the original 2.8-liter in-line six-cylinder in the 1999 Z3 Coupe to a powerful 3.2-liter in-line six in the 2001-2002 M Coupe. The 2007 M Coupe uses the same 3.2-liter engine as the current BMW M3. Although the displacement is the same between the older and newer engines, BMW has wrung another 18 horsepower out of the newer model.

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