Hugo Becker

Hugo Becker is our resident curmudgeon and technology maven. Having had a driver’s license for over 40 years, he also has seat time in a large number of cars, from the silly to sublime. He brings a Sputnik era emphasis on science and technology to BMWBLOG, along with a passion for automotive history. Did we mention he’s old and crotchety?
Review: Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus

Review: Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus

Last year, after my 2008 BMW 135i was wrecked for a 135i to be named later (right rear quarter taken out by an uninsured driver), I found the replacement – a 2013 BMW 135i, N55…

TEST DRIVE: 2017 BMW 230i xDrive

Purgatory – Chapter 5 of the History of BMW

The German economic miracle, the ‘Wirtschaftwunder’, was predicated by the western allies currency reform – the replacement of the old Reichsmark with the new Deutschmark, tax reform, and the Marshall Plan. It aided Germany in…

Expansion: History of BMW - Part 3

Expansion: History of BMW – Part 3

On the southeast edge of Eisenach, Germany, there is a steep hill. On top of that hill sits a fortification, a castle. It is not one of those popular fairy tale castles like Neuschwanstein in…

Intermezzo – Chapter Two of a History of BMW

Intermezzo – Chapter Two of a History of BMW

In May of 1922 the restrictions on aircraft engine production, imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, was lifted. Possibly this serves as one of the reasons BMW’s secretive benefactor, Camillo Castiglioni, went to the trouble…