July 2008 - Boston Chapter BMW CCA

My good friend Joe Rich
. . . and my path to joining Boston BMW CCA
by LARRY BARBIERI, Membership Chair
There’s hardly a day that goes by when I don’t ask myself, “How did I get
here?” I suppose I should define where “here” is. “Here” is being a BMW car
nut (just ask any of my friends! ). “Here” is also being an active member of
the Boston Chapter, a member of the board of directors, a driving school registrar
and a driving instructor at the Chapter’s High Performance Driving Schools.
Over the past few months, I come to realize that I can
probably trace being “here” to one person and one
event in my life. The person is my friend and former
neighbor, Joe Rich and the event was, when I tried to
buy his 1995 M3 from him. But, we have
to back up a bit. Joe used to live across
the street from me. When I first met him
he owned an early silver, E36, 325i. At
the time, to me it was just a silver BMW.
Then one day Joe came home with a
brand, spanking new, 1995, Hellrot M3.
Again, at the time I didn’t know the difference
between an M3 and an M&M!
During those early years my wife and
I became close friends with Joe and his
wife. I found out that Joe was a car guy.
He liked BMWs, but he liked Porsches
too. He was knowledgeable on many aspects
of both. In fact, I found out that Joe
was knowledgeable about many aspects
of just about everything!
Joe and his wife,
Beth ran their own
company and it was
quite successful. Eventually,
they moved a
few miles away to a
larger house, but we
still saw them frequently.
Each year,
Joe and Beth would
host a party just before
Christmas. It was
a lavish event thrown
for their employees as
a sort of end of year
“thank you”. There
were always a few
My good friend
Joe Rich
friends and neighbors invited too. This was just one
of the many generous things Joe did. I could easily fill
several pages with a list of the others.
In 2002 Joe’s long time desire for a Porsche came
to fruition when he purchased a new 911
Cabrio. He sold the M3 to his brother-inlaw,
Brad.
The next year I was in the market for a
new car. I had finally decided that maybe a
BMW would suit me. I had been unhappy
with the two offerings I had from Nissan.
I wanted something better!
Around this same time I discovered
Brad was relocating to Colorado and I
wondered if he would be willing to sell
the car to me and not have to transport it.
I phoned Joe to ask and he told me that,
Joe Rich’s 1995 Hellrot M3
indeed the car would NOT be making the
trip to Colorado … but this was because
Joe had bought it back. As he put it, “I
had such a soft spot for that car. I really
love it. ”Despite my
begging for him to
sell it to me, he graciously
declined,
but informed me
that there were
plenty of them out
there and I should
have no trouble
finding one.
Now I had the
bug. I was so close
to an M3 I could
taste it. Oh yeah,
by this time I had
educated myself on
the M3 and the E36
chassis and the differences between models and . . .
well you get the picture. At that point, the search was
on!
Soon after that I found my white E36, 1995
M3 and joined the BMW car club. As I got
more involved in the club’s activities, Joe
would say to me, “I have no doubt you’ll
be running that club one day! ”Well, I
don’t know about that, but I’m certainly
trying to do my share.
So for me, it was my friend Joe that put
the bug in me about BMWs and started me on
this journey.
This coming year’s driving season was going to be
a great one! Joe had decided to use the M3 for some
track events. He had been to other tracks before and
had some driving experience. He wanted to get the M3
setup a bit better than stock. He asked me what to do
and I was only too happy to pour out my new found
knowledge and suggestions. Eventually, he took the
car to Turner Motorsport where they made modifications
to get him ready for the track.
I was excited, because he was going to come to a
Boston BMW CCA event this year, and I would get to
be his instructor! What a great way to give something
back to him for all that he had given to me.
Sadly, on December 28, 2007, only one week after the
annual Christmas celebration, Joe was taken from us,
suddenly and unexpectedly. He is and always will be
missed. I hardly ever get into my BMW without
thinking of his influence on me and now I
will always think of it. On the many occasions
that we spent with Joe, as the
evening wound down and guests began
to put on their coats and bid their farewells
Joe would never say good-bye. He
always extended his hand to shake yours
and uttered a single word …”Peace”.
If you want to know more about what kind of guy
Joe was, just come find me at the race track. I’ll be driving
the white, E36, 1995 M3 with Joe’s initials on the
back, JRR. Peace ♦
July 2008 Update:
On June 24, 2008 Larry acquired Joe's red 1995 M3.
He reports that “This car has very special meaning
for me. While in my care, it will be driven the way
Joe intended — on the race track.” Look for Larry
and Joe’s Red E36, 1995 M3 at the race track . It
will be the one with Joe's initials on the back.
26 | Boston Bimmer • July 2008 www.boston-bmwcca.org | 27