At long last, my 545i arrived, thankfully none the worse for wear! The car left Bremerhaven Germany on Nov 23rd and arrived in port two weeks later on the Takasago. EH Harms advised that the car's voyage may be tracked on www.2wglogal.com using the VIN. It was two additional weeks for customs clearance, VPC, and transport to the dealer in Louisville. Add two additional days to install new wheels (SSR GT3's) and I had the car a few days before Christmas.

One Note on the wheels: Be sure to ask the dealer if they have any experience mounting these wheels as the technician overtightened (a.k.a. stripped the threads on) the valve stems and the tires would not hold air. Thankfully, Alex at Tire Rack sent a complete set of replacement stems and installation instructions via Fed Ex overnight thus minimizing the delay.