May 22 2009

The Carlisle Import and Kit/Replicar Nationals is pretty much unlike any other car show you might attend. It's not held on a prestigious racetrack or a swank golf course, but on the fairgrounds outside a Pennsylvania college town. As its rather awkward name suggests, any non-domestic brand is welcome, though that rule is even fairly flexible given the inordinate number of Fieros that attend every year.

While Carlisle attracts a strange melange of enthusiasts from all makes, it continues to fight for its place of prominence amongst BMW owners. The days of a heavily organized presence by active local 2002 owners are gone, and the mix of cars is down accordingly. It perhaps didn't help that a rescheduled Potomac Deutsche Marque Concours in Virginia conflicted with Carlisle this year. We went to that show as well, and found that it had more wow-factor BMWs than Carlisle.

The field may have been thin, but that made it no less significant. Notable participants included a 2002 tii, a 2002 rally car, an E28 M5, several M Coupes and even newer models like the 135i we brought and a 335i or two.