All Entries Tagged With: "M3"
Online Trip To The German Candy Shoppe
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Garage Current
SOME day, I will go there. Garage Current. I will!
It’s almost a mantra at this point.
I will. I must. I’m destined!
The sheer quality, caliber, and quantity of really excellent examples of near-classic German cars is just too potent, too fabulous for so ardent an enthusiast like yours truly to ignore.
A roundtrip ticket to Yokohama to visit Garage Current then? Well, if the thought had occurred to me earlier last October, I would’ve made the pilgrimage when I was touring Tokyo.
Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Next time ’round.
In any case, let’s let our minds wander as we add up the must-have’s from their superlative collection.
Only trouble is… Once you’ve collected all these Teutonic toys, you could only drive them one at a time.
[Linked: GarageCurrent]
The Cornerstone To BMW’s Success: The E30 3-Series
By: Christopher P. Davis | IMG by David Guimarães
BMW’s E30 generation 3-Series line entered production in 1981. The last E30 rolled off the assembly line in 1994. The longevity of the model is a true testament to what BMW does best – Produce Racing Inspired Luxury Automobiles with classic styling.
While in recent times, some would argue that BMW has deviated from this model; in the 1980’s they built the model.
The E30 Chassis supported four models (5 if you include the Baur Convertible), a sedan, coupe, estate/ station wagon, and a convertible. From 1988-1991 in the US the first “M3” was available.
When I look at the E30 range now, it a appears rather dated.
However, when you compare it to BMW’s current models, you can see a definitive pedigree in those circular headlamps and that kidney grille.
EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION
For the most part, the styling of the 3-Series range has remained evolutionary. I personally appreciate the fact that if you look at a 2008 BMW 3 and a 1988 BMW 3, you can tell that they are both BMW’s – a feat that many marques have not been able to achieve.
Ask Lincoln.
BMW sold close to 2.4 Million E30 Series cars in 13 years; roughly the same number of cars that Munich sold in the two succeeding incarnations – combined.
Building upon the successes, and almost cult-like fervor around models like the 2002tii and the 2000CS, the introduction of the M3 was the start of the “M” brand within BMW.
The full M series has without a doubt led to BMW’s even greater successes as it entered the 90’s and the 21st century.
FAME
The original BMW E30 M3 had achieved great notoriety before it even hit the showroom floors.
The racing version of the M3 had many successes in DTM, Rally, and Australian Touring Car races among others. The E30 M3 is considered by many to be the premier rally car of all time, racking up more wins than any other car.
In North America BMW only engineered 195 Horses under the hood, In Europe however, 215 were released (This due to all those pesky US rules and regs). BMW equipped the M3 with a stiffer frame and more aerodynamic and larger fenders.
BMW borrowed front brake calipers and wheel bearings from the 5 -Series of the time. The M engineers increased the Caster Angle of the M3 to allow for superior handling characteristics.
CORNERSTONE
At present, BMW makes an almost identical lineup in its 3 Series (With the addition of an M Coupe and Convertible). The E30 is part of that success more than say Benz’s 190E is part of the current C-Class’ appeal.
With high build quality and the loyalty the cars instilled in their owners, the E30 allowed BMW to gain the ardently devoted and loyal customer base that more than endures, it thrives.
The Turbo X Spectacular! Part I: The Talk In Herb’s Garden
By Gunnar Heinrich with Photos by Kevin Kusina
OVERSHADOWED by Herb’s own multi-story BMW dealer on the right and squeezed by a parking lot brimming with new Bimmers on the left, the largest Saab dealer in these United States proved a so-so location to talk Turbo X.
Symbolizing just what GM is pitting Saab’s halo car against, Automobile plenipotentiary Ezra Dyer made a showy arrival in BMW’s latest M3 sedan. Indeed, as the morning wore on and the automotive press talked and was talked-at, alternatively, the name “BMW” would surface time and again.
Starting off at 8:30 AM, GM staff held an all-business presentation on Saab’s showroom floor that set the tone for performance expectations.
GM’s G.M. for Saab, Steve Shannon (formerly Buick’s Roadmaster manager) made fleeting reference to his background and Saab’s.
“We’re much more NPR than Fox News,” said he, who also spoke of the quality rather than the quantity of Saab customers.
Mr. Shannon, armed with PowerPoint, directed the group’s focus on the new “cross wheel drive” system that Saab bought from Swedish engineering firm Haldex.
For some inexplicable reason, as I watched the presentation of power-to-wheel transfer diagrams, Subaru’s tagline kept playing in my head: “From the wheel that slips to the wheel that grips!”
Competing notions of “brand” identity aside, the Haldex system proved to be nothing less than a revolution for Saab performance (I’ll expound in Part III) and Saab is set to make the system a lineup-wide option.
Following the talk we shuffled from showroom to garage where Saab’s staff had a Turbo X hoisted on a lift. Swedish engineer Tommy Sundin ducked low and explained the engineering wizardry behind Haldex’s technological tour de force and the challenges that, “putting a new system into an old car,” presented.
Mr. Sundin reminds us that the Turbo X is based on the agèd Epsilon platform that the jet black halo car shares with an ’02 Opel Vectra and an ’04 Chevy Malibu, among others.
Following the engineer’s remarks, we made a break outside to drive off in Saab’s latest and greatest.
[Linked: Trollhattan Saab]
