A few years ago I bought a car classic car I've always wanted: the BMW 2002. Affectionately known as the '02 ("oh two"), this is a practical, modern, well-handling, (relatively) small car. It has four wheel disk brakes, and a full independent front and rear suspension. Lots of glass and narrow roof pillars give the driver excellent road visibility.

I drove this 1974 2002 for several years before selling. I wish I'd kept it. It was nearly rust free, so any rust repairs would have been affordable. It needed a clutch, but again, that would have been a reasonable repair.

It didn't have air conditioning, and summer in Virginia can be pretty brutal.

The BMW 2002 is a small sedan, front engine, 4 cylinder, 4 speed transmission, rear wheel drive. It has power front disk brakes, and the front disk system is a dual system. There are dual brakes lines to the front calipers. If one set of lines fail, the front brakes still work. The rear brakes are on yet another separate circuit.

My BMW is a 1974. The final year of production was around 1976, so this is late model car for this line. The 20 of "2002" means it has a 2 liter engine. The 02 of "2002" means it is a second generation car. Yes, it has the large 5mph bumpers and square tail lights. The bumpers may not be as cute as earlier cars, but they are very practical.

This shows some details of the front end and grille.

The front by 1974, safety standards mandated large bumpers.

The 2002 looks great from every angle.

My car was missing a few bits of trim, and didn't have wheel covers.

The sloping lines of the hood and trunk help give the driver great visibility.

The styling is a somewhat boxy, but I love the distinctive curves.

This later model has square tail lights, which are quite a bit larger than the early round tail light cars.

The thin B pillars allow great rear and side visibility.

The trunk lid is fairly distinctive. BMW wasn't trying to hide it.

The 2002 exhaust distinctively exits in the center.

Note the thin rear roof (B) pillars, and large curving rear window.

For a small car, the 2002 has a huge trunk. It is wide and deep, although not as tall as some larger cars. This is a practical sports sedan.

The jack and tools are stored in one side of the trunk.

Lots of luggage room here, and easy to access.

The driver side door brake mount is rusting out. This BMW is in good condition, but is has a fair number of this kind of small problems. There was a bit of rust below the brake/clutch pedals, and that is fairly typical.