With heavy heart I inform you all upon the untimely passing away of our good friend
Dackelone, moderator and European Editor at Bimmerpost.
Yesterday he died as a result of a very recently diagnosed lethal illness. A life cut short way too soon.
He described his
alter ago "Dackelone" on his Instagram account as "An American living in Bavaria, Germany. Loves the Autobahn and fast cars... and loves travelling around Europe & Germany."
Effectively, he was undeniably a passionate BMW petrolhead and car museum
aficionado (see his dedicated museum thread here) (for his YouTube channel: see here). His visits to BMW Welt are countless (quipped "Dackel's Welt" by close car friends).
Also omnipresent as moderator and European Editor "Dackelone" on Bimmerpost: a walking BMW encyclopedia, always available to offer help and to share experiences and lots of info & trivia (indirectly promoting BMW).
In the past he explained where he got his "Dackelone" handle from: a combination of "Dachshund" (a dog he really liked) and the BMW 1-series (his spiced up BMW 135i was his loyal friend on numerous trips since many years).
His tenure at Bimmerpost spanned over 10 years (February 2010 - July 2020). With over 23,000 posts and thousands of pictures of journeys, he left many marks behind for possible future assistance. His last comment was posted on June 6, 2020. Unfathomable that less than six weeks later he would no longer be among us - signed out forever.
But Dackelone was much more than that. He was a genuine, generous good man. Kind and altruistic. Personally, I had the pleasure to meet him several times (we spent quite some quality time together in the mountains, some of those trips nicknamed "escapades organized by Dackel Tours AG") and enjoyed many conversations about all things BMW and cars in general. Oh yeah, and on trips he often brought a bag full of sweets: "Here, this is for your daughter !". That's how he was.
Needless to say that I am at loss for words. He will be dearly missed.
Farewell, dear friend. Thankful and honored to have known you. Rest In Peace.
-A-
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[COLOR="DarkRed"]EDIT - Eulogy post scriptum on Dackelone journeys[/COLOR]
A tragic situation like this reminds us of our mortality and of the wise advice to celebrate life as much as we can. Or as that 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' quote from 1986 goes: "I said it before and I'll say it again: life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." And
Dackelone definitely stopped and looked around once in a while: in his pastime, his senses have witnessed many nice places and enjoyed numerous fine experiences with lots of people worldwide.
His untimely death could be considered as if a big automotive library featuring an impressive BMW and car museum section of the Bimmerpost community - with free public access and an excellent librarian (very generous, helpful, humble, kind and knowledgeable) - has perished in a totally unexpected fire accident. "Dackel's Welt" and its renowned librarian are no more. As if it were a confirmation of the old saying that the candle that burns twice as bright, burns half as long.
Fortunately, he liked to share his automotive passion with others: he left us countless memories and a versatile 'back catalogue' featuring thousands of comments and pictures. The Bimmerpost legacy of this genuine 'Gutmensch' and quintessential BMW enthusiast will live on in the many petrolhead spirits he touched and will continue to touch.
Dackelone made numerous trips, either in a group or alone, often reported over here at Bimmerpost and on his YouTube and Instagram channels: trips to BMW Welt (see for example here, here, here, here, here and here), BMW Individual Niederlassung (see here), the BMW Leipzig factory (see here), Alpina and RUF automobiles facilities (see here), Manhart Racing (see here), Kleißler Klassik Cars (see here), car museums (see here - "I think I have literally been to every major auto museum in Germany": BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari), car exhibitions (see for example here, here, here, here, here and here), suggestions for European Delivery tours (see for example here), etc.
As organizer + participant: links to many pictures of a couple of his bigger group trips in the Alps and Dolomites:
- 2012 - Stelvio 1.0: here (2011 scouting) and here (2012 trip);
- 2013 - Stelvio 2.0: here and here;
- 2014 - Sella 1.0: here (Spring scouting), here (trip) and here (trip);
- 2015 - Sella 2.0: here and here;
- 2016 - Sella 3.0: here and here;
- 2017 - 2018 - 2019: Summer trips happened but no dedicated threads were conceived.
As participant (not as organizer):
- 2011 - BMW Welt 2.0: here;
- 2012 - BMW Welt 3.0: here;
- 2013 - BMW Welt 4.0: here;
- 2014 - BMW Welt 5.0: here.
His automotive "coat of arms": a stamp which he happened to use as a practical joke on letters accompanying gifts, featuring a fictitious German traveling agency referencing his "Dackelone" moniker:
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Stelvio Pass sign featuring a 1Addicts.com sticker (Italy - 2012):
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