
BMW’s sector-defining 3 Series has turned 40 - shawndumas
http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/08/bmw-3-series-40-years-old-and-still-the-ultimate-driving-machine/
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S_A_P
Im not much of a BMW fan myself, but I can appreciate what they do. My high
school girlfriend had a 95 318is that I remember being a dog of a car. At
~2800 - 3000 pounds and having 136 hp it was grossly underpowered. The
handling wasn't all that great, and at least in the case of the 318 had no
tilt or telescoping steering wheel that for me was in a awful position. To top
things off, the engine exploded while on a road trip about 40 miles outside of
Houston while going about 75 mph. It was almost comical had it not been so
dangerous, it literally spit oil onto the windshield when it blew.(The car
wanted us dead)

BMW has had a target on their back with the 3 series since the 90s though, and
with every new generation pundits predict the fall of the 3. I think some of
the criticisms are warranted, its getting really porky, expensive and not as
fun to drive and toss-able as it once was. However, you could say that about
most cars in the segment(A4, C series) and the a lot of the reason for this is
safety requirements and buyer preferences for more luxury items these days. If
I were to buy a BMW, I think I would want a late 80s 6 series. Those are
beautiful cars, I shudder to think what the maintenance costs would be though.

~~~
switch007
A N/A 4 cylinder 3 series is so pointless, and it's perhaps a bit unfair to
judge the entire 3 series line by a 1995 318. The latest F30 is a world away
from a 1995 318is.

(EDIT: I have had a 1998 E46 328i for ~2 years now, and I'm not exactly
enamoured by BMWs... it's had a lot of repairs recently)

~~~
S_A_P
I would hope that an anecdote for one particular model 20 years old would not
be interpreted as my opinion on 40 years of vehicles. I would love to read
stories both good and bad about peoples experience with a 3 series. I would
love to have an E30 3 or M3 as a play around car. That said, that '95 318is
was garbage and does not even come close to "the ultimate driving machine". A
325 of that era would be way better. Im really surprised that BMW even sold
that car with the 1.8l engine anywhere- it was way too underpowered for a near
luxury/sport coupe. At the time, that car was 25k(39,213.76 in todays dollars
according to
[http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=25...](http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=25000&year=1995))
which can get you 3-400 horsepower depending on what you buy these days.

Engine technology has come a long way in those 20 years, you have to get into
econobox cars to find 136hp vehicles now.

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junto
I sold my 1989 BMW E30 a couple of years ago. I was painful to sell, but due
to the lack of environmentally friendly features, the road tax was getting
ridiculously expensive (Germany).

It was such fun to drive, unless it was raining and I had to go around a
corner...

My Dad still owns a garaged (undriven for 15 years) BMW 635 CSi from 1984. It
looks like this:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlXVqo7NrI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlXVqo7NrI)

~~~
mschuster91
> My Dad still owns a garaged (undriven for 15 years) BMW 635 CSi from 1984.

Is he interested in selling it maybe?

~~~
junto
Don't know. Never asked him. It is a UK car though. Steering wheel on the
right.

~~~
mschuster91
Oh damn :/

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robodale
I've owned my 2009 335i since early 2010. It's fun to drive to say the least
(twin turbo, 300 hp, 300 ft-lb torque). You have to pay to play though, the
A/C evaporator started leaking last month. $2400 USD to fix. In it's defense,
that's the first unplanned maintenance I've had to perform in over 5-1/2 years
owning the car. I spent far more during that same amount of time on my
previous car: 2001 Chrysler Sebring...wow, what a piece of shit.

I don't see owning my BMW as a status symbol. Maybe more of a performance
symbol though...because it certainly does perform.

~~~
hippich
to counter, when we just moved to usa, i bought 2000 chrysler concorde for
$2000 with minor cosmetic issues (broken mirror, shot hood and trunk springs,
dirty interior.

i drove this car for 4 years and sold for..... $2050 to upgrade for SUV since
we got kids.

Over time i had to replace water pump, belt, i had issue with hood locked due
cable moved from its place, shocks, but it was pretty routine stuff.

i had to do my own research (which is possible to do with cars 10+ years old)
- 3.2L engine cars were reliable, while 2.7L ones were crap.

Now I drive 2007 Ford Crown Victoria which I bought for $3400.... full set of
brake pads and rotors under $200 :) and can be replaced without reprogramming
ECU with simple tools you can get even in walmart :) And being police
interceptor model, it is alrighty on the road (obviously can't compare
performance wise with bi-turbo bmw engine, but i spend most of the time in the
traffic, so ice cold AC is actually what I care about :))

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raspasov
Can't help it but make the comparison between the iPhone and the 3 series.
Both are at the same time a status symbol, and best-in-class utility machines
with exquisite design.

The 3 series has been around for much, much longer though.

~~~
Aoyagi
>best-in-class

Have you seen the latest trends of BMW? The way how they're going downhill and
how Cadillac and their "sport-luxury" sedans are catching up makes me feel
like the perception of BMW is an anachronism.

~~~
beedogs
To me, the E46 body was the last good-looking 3 series BMW made. I haven't
seen one since that made me feel the same way.

~~~
arethuza
Have you seen an i8 - they are one of the best looking cars I've seen in the
last few years. They look _much_ nicer than they do in pictures.

~~~
hultner
I've seen one almost daily for a while now when I walk past either of the two
BMW centers in close proximity to where I live and I can't say that I agree
with you.

To me the i8 (and even more so the i3) looks like some sort of weird Japanese
spaceship from the future and not at all the subtle luxurious classy design
that I expect from a German Premium wagon. In short it's to much attention,
screaming "I'm here, look at me". I'm not a rapper I want timeless class not
flashy bling.

~~~
arethuza
"weird Japanese spaceship from the future"

I must like that look then - i rather like the looks of i3 as well!

NB And I'm not even a huge fan of BMWs after owning an X5 for a while....

~~~
vetinari
i3??? That's so ugly, that I wondered, what stuff were the designers smoking
and how they managed to persuade the higher-ups to actually produce that.

But I understand you after owning X5 ;)

~~~
arethuza
Just goes to show!

Mind you when I first saw a Tesla (I've only seen one) I did think "That new
Ford Mondeo looks really nice"... :-)

~~~
hultner
Yeah I have to agree with you, Tesla is missing distinction and brand
characteristics, it's a good first attempt at premium but not quite there.
However they are heading along the right track so I think that if they persist
they'll mature and develop brand character over time.

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garyrichardson
I miss my E30 328i cab. It felt like the pinnacle of what a car should be.
With the manual transmission I've never felt more part of the car. I loved
every second of driving it, even though the clutch felt like pushing two
cinder blocks.

I forgot to change the timing belt and blew the engine. I "upgraded" to an E36
cab. It's nice, but feels too soft and comfortable. The body shape is all
bloated -- when you sit in an E30 there's your shoulder, the door and 1.5
inches later the outside. In an E36 it feels like there's a foot between you
and the outside of the car.

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tvm
I've had E30 and E34.

While the technical level and overall comfort was very nice, they were
terrible rust buckets.

Their current models can be fun though. Eg., try to change headlight on E70
(yes, you're going to need a hoist and rivet gun).

BMW is just not what it used to be.

~~~
vetinari
X5 and X6 are among the worst serviceable models, ever. Changing lights on
E70... well, when it is on hoist, you can go the remove bumper+fender way :(

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dingaling
Sector-defining?

The medium sporting saloon was fairly well established in Europe by the time
the E21 arrived. Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Triumph were well established in the
mainstream and there were plenty of smaller specialists too.

BMW came along with a well-screwed-together package and struck marketing gold
with that famous tag-line even though other cars may have been technically
superior. That iPhone analogy is looking pretty accurate.

Anyway the 3-series today has little heritage with That original vision. The
E36 Compact ( which actually used parts of the E30 chassis ) was probably the
last of that lineage until the recent 1-series.

~~~
mfringel
Design and execution count.

You mention "well-screwed-together package". To my mind, if they defined the
"well-put-together mass-produced sporting sedan" segment by showing you could
have a entry-level luxury sedan that wasn't perpetually in the shop, then yes,
they did define a segment.

~~~
mzs
There was the Bluebird SSS from Datsun same time too, good handling, quite
reliable, had executive models, even a 'sharknose' L series 6 in Japan all the
way back in '74 years before the BMW M60. About the only thing E21 got better
was safety, but Volvo had that before with the Amazon even, took til about
'78-81 for the higher performance engines though.

