Finally - a modification for my car that even my wife appreciates...

Mike's (from www.540i6.com) Ultimate Cupholder for BMWs!

A webpage bragging about a cup-holder???  Well, if you own a BMW then you will certainly understand.  The factory holders are poorly designed, flimsy,  and simply don't work.   Which leaves you with a predicament - either don't bring that Pepsi with you, or ruin the appearance of your classy Euro-interior with an aftermarket dangling widget thingy.

That is, until now.  The "Ultimate Cupholder" (www.ultimatecupholders.com) is now in limited production, meaning that Mike is producing as many as he can, by hand.  And he's having a hard time keeping up with demand.  I happened to be one of the lucky ones who made the cut for his latest (July '02) production run, and received mine in late July.  What comes in the box?  Just one part - a large stainless steel cup-holder with very nice-quality black felt padding attached to the inside surface.  Is it worth $25?  You bet - since Mike is still in preproduction, his volumes are very low, and he's doing nearly everything by hand.  And I'm happy to support his efforts.  Hopefully the people who are purchasing his product now will help him to take this idea to the next level.

Here's a few pictures of how the Ultimate Cupholder is installed in an E39 540i, and how it looks once it's in the car.

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Here is the cup-holder before installation.  As you can see, it is a classy-looking piece (ignore my toy in the background).
INSTALLATION:  It literally takes longer to walk out to the garage than it does to install the cup-holder.  Simply hook the top of the holder (I call the upper portion of the holder the "retainer flange") beneath the side panel of the center console, just aft of the upper carpet panel.
	Once you have the retaining flange positioned beneath the side panel, simply push it up between the panel and the carpeting until the holder is sitting at the desired height.
That's all there is to it - complete installation takes less than 15 seconds (unless you suffer from extraordinarily severe eye-hand coordination...).
	Here's the cup-holder with the largest soda cup I could find - one of those giants from Carl's Jr.  The holder is perfectly-shaped, and this size of cup slides in and out (no more popping the lid off the cup due to having to squeeze it tightly to remove) with just the right amount of effort. NOTE: I later tried the largest-size cup you can buy at Submarina, and the holder again worked perfectly.  While I haven't yet tried smaller-sized cups, I have no reason to believe there will be any troubles there.
Here's a reference shot showing how the holder looks from the driver's position.  Keep in mind the size of this cup - it sits well below your leg, tucked neatly and securely out of the way.  More importantly, you can access your drink very easily, with little or no attention diverted from driving your bimmer (unless, once again you are severely eye-hand challenged). Keep the comments about my legs to yourself - my wife says she likes them, and I believe her.  So there.
Here's how it looks from the passenger's view (yes, that's a replacement shift knob - I know it doesn't match the wood trim).

FINAL COMMENTS

I've been using my newest mod for a while now, and I love it.  My wife thinks it's the first thing I've added to my car (and that list is long and illustrious) that actually adds value to it.  When not holding a cup, you don't know it's there.  When you do need it, it works, just as you want it to.

In the interests of being completely impartial (I have no connection whatsoever to Mike), I only have one comment regarding the design of the cup-holder.  After installation, the retaining flange causes the plastic sidewall of the center console to deflect outward ever so slightly (perhaps 1/8" - see pics below).  Whether this could cause any long-term effects on the plastic side panel is doubtful, and I'm not too worried about it.  In fact, I'm confident that with a little "customizing" of the shape of the retaining flange (see first photo above), the deflection could be reduced to the point where it is almost undetectable - I just haven't yet had time to play with it.  [NOTE:  I have discussed this issue with Mike, and he confirmed that this is in fact the case].  This is a trivial issue, and doesn't detract from this outstanding product in any way.  To put it in the vernacular of my seven-year old daughter, it's "All That."   If you own a BMW and like to take a soda with you when you drive, you owe yourself a visit to www.ultimatecupholders.com.

Thanks Mike!

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