Do you consider the E36 M3 a classic?

[Cacciatore08]

Originally Posted by Mark D. 4 door M3???? Over a 2 door M3???? Ok Dad..........

ahhaah Mark your so brutally straight up... it amuses me ahaha


e36 is in a catagory of it's own... I plan on skipping the E36 M3 and saving for a E46 M3... way nicer car.... better engine too

[direction88]

Originally Posted by Mark D. 4 door M3???? Over a 2 door M3???? Ok Dad..........

LOL ok Mark, from Dad to Dad I still stand by my claim that the e36 looks way better in 4 door! Just one man's opinion but the long front short rear of the e30 was lost on the e36, debate it if you will but you will never convince me. I think the 2 door e36 looks like shit im and I dont care what the general concensis is on here or anywhere, it just does nothing for me. That being said I would love to find a crashed e36 M3 to strip the engine and tranny from for use in my e30.

[Mark D.]

Originally Posted by direction88 LOL ok Mark, from Dad to Dad I still stand by my claim that the e36 looks way better in 4 door! Just one man's opinion but the long front short rear of the e30 was lost on the e36, debate it if you will but you will never convince me. I think the 2 door e36 looks like shit im and I dont care what the general concensis is on here or anywhere, it just does nothing for me. That being said I would love to find a crashed e36 M3 to strip the engine and tranny from for use in my e30.

LOL

[direction88]

Originally Posted by Mark D. LOL

So with my dodge caravan off the road with tranny problems and the M5 under tarps who is going to pick up the kids from soccer practice?!!! Love ya Mark!!

[Polaris78]

I agree about the e36 - when I decided to try one out, I insisted on a bone stock 5spd *4-door* - I wouldn't even consider the coupe.

I think, in the e36 at least, the sedan is far smarter looking than the coupe, and this goes for the e36 M3 as well...I was even eyeing that white one at M-Cars Seattle for a while...

C

[MGuy]

The 25 year break point is more a legal reference which has become a psychological one because it's the point in many jurisdictions where one can get "classic car" type plates. A classic can certainly be younger, and some cars were classics right off the production like. The M-B 300SL Gullwing, for example, and today something like the Bugatti Veyron.

I have to admit I'm not a fan of the appearance of the E36 in any door configuration. I think it looks like the morph point between the E30 and E46 (which should be no surprise) but incorporated the worst styling points of each. That's just my personal opinion, and I don't grudge guys who like E36s (well, maybe the guys who like the iT, but there are AMC Gremlin clubs out there for God's sake).

The M issue, and maybe I'll flop out my bias for all to see here, is that the E36 was the transition from the Motorsport racing heritage to branding. The E34 M5, the last of the ///M cars to be hand-assembled at Garching, numbered about 12,000 copies of all variants. The E30 numbered about 17k. The E36 numbers over 55,000 copies of all variants.

Yes, it has a sweet engine (at least the 3.2L variant) and is great fun to drive. But fun and horsepower do not make a classic.

If someone gave me one, would I turn my nose up? Not exactly, but I probably would sell it on fairly quickly (maybe Mark would buy it if I asked less than $10k ). The E36 M3 doesn't inspire me, and I know I'm not alone, so I can't put it down to another personal mental defect.

By the way, I'm not particularly inspired by the styling of the E28 either, but I think the E28 M5 is a classic for many reasons, which is why I spent some months searching for the right one. I don't think I could be convinced to buy another E28 unless I got a well sorted 524td as a daily driver.

[smithwison4]

I think e36 m3 is a classic car.