Los Angeles loses a BMW ACA founder.
Born in Stockholm in 1940, Leif Anderberg soon emigrated to the United States, where he met and married Fia, also a Swedish expatriate. Eventually they moved to Southern California, where Leif worked for a well-known global marketing and advertising research company.
In September 1969, Leif and Fia purchased a brand-new BMW 2002. That same year, Leif found an ad for a BMW Car Club of Boston and promptly became Member #154. Shortly thereafter, in April 1970, the Anderbergs joined about three dozen other Los Angeles BMW fans to form the BMW Automobile Club of America (BMW ACA).
Anderberg was elected the first president of the BMW ACA. Leif and Fia were fiercely loyal to both clubs until they merged in the late 1990s, with the ACA’s LA contingent becoming LA Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America.
Through the years, Anderberg served several terms as LA Chapter president, as well as chairman of the board, membership chair, secretary, observer at the International Council meetings, and newsletter editor. For many, many years, he and Fia were the chapter’s driving-school organizers, as well as helping to organize hundreds of other events—autocrosses, picnics, tours, barbecues, Christmas parties, beer tastings, hillclimbs, beach parties, tech sessions, and camping trips.
In 1995, BMW established the Friend Of The Marque award, recognizing “enthusiasts whose personal commitment to their passion extends far beyond the normal.” As that was the exact definition of the love Leif and Fia had for all things BMW, they were among the first to be named Friends Of The Marque.
Anderberg succumbed to an apparent heart attack in January 2012. He was preceded in death by his wife, Fia, in 1997. “I am sure,” said LA Chapter president Delight Lucas, “his wings have Motorsport stripes—and his halo is a roundel.”
