When Murray Fowler first ripped around Southern California in his 1969 BMW 2800CS coupe, there wasn’t a whole lot there.
He remembers weaving around orange groves and oil fields and “not a lot else” between the small town of Corona and the Pacific Ocean. If anyone asked where he got his rare car he’d tell them: “They’re hard to find. But soon, there’ll be a lot of BMWs here.”
Now 81, Fowler sticks to back roads rather than driving on crowded freeways, avoiding the ubiquitous high-end BMWs frequently favored by Orange County billionaires and Hollywood celebrities. He has also stuck with his “Blue Max,” the BMW coupe he bought 39 years ago with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.
Fowler’s car now has an incredible 416,610 miles. He believes it’s the most miles on any such car in the world. Fowler says his achievement is the result of “defensive driving” and “a lifelong love of BMWs,” but one glance at the shiny coupe sitting in his Costa Mesa garage leads to a different conclusion. While Fowler hasn’t fully restored the car he bought in February 1972 -- “it’s never been off its wheels” -- his attention to detail in caring for his car over the years befits a former naval officer who once serviced aircraft and gunboats.
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