Ray Ho 09/27/26
If you are a BMW fan or a car enthusiast in general, you have probably heard of—or might have even attended—Bimmer Invasion a couple of weeks ago at the Fairplex in Pomona/LA, California. Bimmer Invasion is an annual car event held at different times of the year on both coasts.
I have never seen so many BMWs in a single place, except maybe at a yuppie gathering back in the day. In fact, there were so many show cars that organizers needed seven themed exhibit halls to house them. There were literally over a thousand cars on display. Many of them were modified, and some were very rare models, race cars, or even a limo conversion.
M cars were popping up everywhere. Just like at the M&M’s store, they came in a rainbow of colors—though if you prefer black or grey, there were plenty of those as well. There was a vendor row alongside more vendors scattered throughout the exhibit halls. The event also featured a VIP lounge, way too many beer stands, and the mandatory poster signing at the Toyo Tires booth.
When it got too crowded inside the exhibit halls, car fans could grab a beer and browse more display cars outdoors, check out what’s under the hook, while the DJ revolves it! I sympathize if that last phrase sounds familiar to you. At the very least, you would have appreciated the Vintage Vault. That is where you could find the classic cars that us older dudes grew up with.
I met Luis Toro and his clean 1986 325i (E30) at the Vintage Vault. He rescued the car from a junkyard and restored it from the ground up. Just like many owners of E30s today, he couldn’t help but swap in an E36 engine that makes a healthy 280 horses. The massive engine takes up most of the room in the engine bay. Luis mentioned that he removed the AC components just to keep the bay looking clean. Hats off to a true enthusiast willing to endure the California summer heat just so the rest of us can enjoy a cleaner build.
Yupp, it was crazy hot during the show. However, if you prefer slightly “cooler” weather when attending Bimmer Invasion, go check it out during the spring in West Palm Beach, Florida. Who knows, you may even run into a certain Floridian who lives nearby. No worries—if there was a problem, yo, he’ll solve it!
