BMW E36 M3
 

Cool car IMO. Good looks and excellent handling.

Cool car.

I thought you never ask ;) .

Definitely cool car, it had large shoes to fill coming in after the E30 M3 but it completed the task admirably.

Cool no doubt, its M afterall :) Looks brilliant in stock also.

I'm used to see just blue E36 M3s here and they look better than this yellow IMO, but they're great COOL cars no doubt. AC Shnitzer made great looking M3s :D

Cool.

Not quite so cool in yellow :D

Aweful picture....no stock rims, not the right color. And those early orange blinkers look like shit too...

This is better:
http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/4096/rorym3814fm.jpg

Car is obviously cool.

Well, just picked a picture without looking 10 minutes for it since I guessed everybody know anyway what an E36 M3 is ;)

Geez people you're voting on the car, not the picture! :?

I have to agree fully with dani, uncool for me.

Subzero for me, my favorite M. I'd have mine as a dark-colored GT please. :)

Lusted after one for years. Will always be cool for me.

COOL!! ... 8)

Cool!!!

I think this might be the best looking 3 series so far.... but the M3 version is the less aggressive of all, so it's only cool.

I voted it for cool since IMO its the less sorted M3 although at the end of the day its a M3; for instance, its not as great fun as the E30 because of its weight in the front and understeering problem; in addition, its not as sorted as the E46 in terms of suspensions, chassis,.....if it wasnt enough, the car weights almost as much as the E46, and it doesnt perform as the E46

At the end of the day, its the worst M3 version, and it remains me the comparison between the F40, the Enzo and the F50, where the F50 is the car which I disliked most

Its a cool car, and it doesnt attract that much unwanted attention, easy to drive when you want to, and has a bit of poke when you feel like it :mrgreen:

I'll try find this british magazine review, which has the e30, e36 and e46 up against it each, and they found the E36 to be the best handeling out of the three, the most neautral and balanced.

A perfect car to drive around to nightclubs.

Have to agree with Dani due to the E30 & E46 being so good it ends up being uncool and yeah now that you look at it, it looks pretty ordinary.
It simply doesn't have any of the agression and appeal of either the E30 or the E46 and as far as press reviews go it isn't as good to drive either.

Okay, I don't know about the Euro version, but I have never heard ONE BAD review about the US E36 M3 with its S50/S52 engine pumping out ONLY 240hp. With regards to its drive, many have had said it is more direct, more communicative than the E46 and only behind the E30. In my opinion, the E46 feels a bit damp.

And two great cars before and after it doesn't make this car uncool.

By the way, yes, I do own one.

uncool for me.

the powerplant just seems lacking compared with the huge jump it recieved with the E46....

the looks aren't classic by any means... and have become quite dated.

The E36 M3 had 286 hp (eurospec) from the start and a whopping 321hp later. A mere 22hp less than the heavier E46.

LOL@the powerplant lacking. That's bullshit. Even the US-spec M3 had a 0-60 acceleration under 6 seconds. That was fucking serious performance. Faster than the RX-8 in your signature f.e.

It was BY FAR the best sports sedan/coupe to have in that class during the period it was produced. I even think the gap with competition was larger than with the E46. The M3 was judged The Best Handling Car in America by the editors of Car and Driver.

a very cool car IMO.. i just love the e36s.. and what could be better then the M3! what a great car! 8)

Uncool. It just has too much of a fan boy base. It’s a great car, looks good, wonderful in every way but it’s an M3. Too many fan boys and I would still choose other cars over it for its price tag or less.

5.5 Secs in the US Spec.

Sleepers are half the fun though :wink: especially in the sedan trim :D

What high powered sports car doesn't? especially in the attainable segment. I dont see how you can call a car uncool because of the late fanbase it attaracts.

For that matter, how can you detract points by comparing it to it's descendant? You can't retro engineer something to be greater to it's successor. That would be like saying the F40 was uncool because it can't hang with the Enzo.

That's the funny thing about time though. Everything starts looking dated. The only way to make something not look dated over time, would be to constatnly change it's look. Just not possible.

Yes, the E46 was overdampend and underspung. The steering is alot heavier in the E36, but imo has better feel. It's easier to catch when stepping out, but the shifts are tighter on the E46 which i like alot. The feel is just alot sportier. But yet again, that's age talking. the shift bushings on most E36's are worn giving it a sloppy feel.

But to say that the E36 is underpowered? Remember, the mid 90's were hardly the power wars, so 240 (US) was alot considering alot of companies were still recovering from the scramble of conforming to ODB emissions compliancy which ended up choking cars and destroying their potential power (late 80's Camaros with 305ci V8's weren't even making 200hp). IIRC, even the C4 Corvettes were putting down fairly low numbers with exception of the GrandSport ZR1 engine which was devloped with Lotus and put out by Mercury Marine. So really, the E36 M3 was a breath of fresh air into a choking market segment. The E30 M3 though really didn't have it's legendary status then, so at the time, the idea of the M3 getting an inline 6 over a 4 was as incredible as the E60 M5 getting a V10 over it's predecessor's V8.

now the E46 retaining the inline 6 but achieving the 100hp/L mark, natually aspirated mind you, was the next huge landmark, especially considering that it's capable of running with a car that as another 1.8L and 2 cylinders (E39 M5). But again, i don't see how you can fault the E36 for falling short of a car that was on the drawing board while it was on the production line.


Now that i am done rambling on, i voted cool. :D

Well I don’t know any other "high powered sports car" that has a fan base quite like the M3! Not even close. Its like ever single kid anywhere on earth that has ever modified a Honda product by default must worship the M3! LOL The M3 fan boy base is pretty much as bad as it gets. Sorry all M3s are uncool because of this.

So by that sentiment, you think all European sports cars are uncool right? Even Japanese sports cars like the Supra and WRX are uncool because of their followers?

Exactly, only down fault in my view is the shifter, a OE M Roadster/Coupe shifter would rectify that. Otherwise than that one point it is a GREAT drive.

I would like "iraghava" to show me reviews that said the E36 drive sucks. I have yet to see one.

Agreed, I don't understand how people are comparing this car to the E46. So like I said earilier, just because those are great cars doesn't make the E36 a bad car.

The E36 stepped up and fill the shoes of the E30 admirably.

I hate it when people make their judgement on bullshit arguments. If you don't like it, fine, but quit coming up with wrong "facts".

From an objective point of view the E36 M3 was impressive, VERY impressive.

Nope. You don’t seem to understand what I keep saying. The M3 has a worse ridicules fan boy base than any other car! Maybe not where you live but they do here. The M3 fan boy base is like 100 times more than the WRX or even the Supra.

Like I keep saying, as far as I'm concerned the M3 has the single worst fan boy base of any car on earth. The only other car that comes even close to a similar fan boy base, but still no where near as bad, is the NSX. And in true Clarkson style I don’t care if you agree with me or not, the M3 is uncool and I will just keep moving it higher up and out of your reach on my own personal cool wall ;)

P.S. that would actually be an interesting thread; Worst Fan Boy Cars!

Like I just said the M3 would be the hands down winner of the #1 spot. But the NSX, Lexus IS- GS 300-400 what ever the hell car that is that everyone thinks is so cool, 350Z, Supra, etc. etc. would all be great candidates for the top 10 ;)

What do expect from him? Go look through the political forum. all his arguments are like that.

Uhhh he wasn’t talking about me dude. He was talking about the guy that’s talking about how it drives. The cool wall is not about facts or technical aspects. Clarkson has said that over and over. It’s about a car being cool or not. And the M3 is uncool because of its fan boy base. It's my opinion that the M3 is uncool, and it is a fact that the car has one of the largest fan boy bases of any car.

Not much you can argue with there. If your opinion is that it’s a cool car that’s your right, we all have our own personal cool walls.

You're right this time. Although I think basing your opinion on a fan base is a bit fishy, you can successfully argue it can define the "coolness" of a car.

I was talking about morons like nthfinity, which make it a sport to argue about a car based on mis-information and general bullshit.

Global, i apologize if i came off a bit harsh. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me that you would hate a car because of it's unfortunate attactiveness to a small percentage of retards over its entire target audience.

Well look at the real Top Gear "Cool Wall" They have a lot of cars in the uncool section for much less significant reasons. Infact they also have the M3 as uncool! lol

I just think all M3s are uncool because of the teenage fan base. Its an incredible machine, looks good, but is uncool. I think all BMWs are uncool actually. I would never buy one.

Anyway, like i said, we all have our own personal cool walls ;)

Saying all M3 and BMW's are uncool just because of the fan base (a fan base that you don't even have to visit) is just wrong and stupid, and the worst way to judge a car for the cool wall.

The cool wall is a list where you give your opinion of a car not considering all the politics or other peoples reactions towards that car, regardless if it has collected a fan base or not. Why should you change your opinion of a car just because someone likes it allot or hates it?

the car was brilliant, yes.

but US spec was quite different then the eurospec; which is what i am basing my argument on... something i didnt know was eurospec was up to 321 hp...
US spec never made it past 240hp (something you didn't know) in 2000, there was no M cars.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/3721/m3vm31mj.th.jpg
so, now that you see my argument is solid as a rock; i rest my case (when comparing only US spec cars)

yes, its more powerful, and i dont doubt faster, and a better handler then the RX8 in my sig...

guess what, i would rather have the E36 M3 then the RX8; as im sure it would offer more driving pleasure. the mazda in my sig is there because it is a recent sighting; and a good picture... nothing to do with liking it more or less then a BMW E36 M3. so your argument against mine is a loaded one; ultimately irrelevant.

But again, you are comparing the E36 to it's little brother which i don't understand. Engine technology alone is a deciding factor in the E46 since the S54 uses the AluSil alloy that was introduced in the S62 of the M5, where as the S52 of the E36 was an aluminum block.

How can you fault the E36 for that?

The US spec came from havng to meet our emissions requirements, which is also why we don't have the CSL. Once they figured out how to get around that (cold start emissions were the main problem) it was fine.

^^^^^^
i said it felt slow; he said it had as much as 321 hp at the end; and our version clearly doesnt (for the aformentioned reasons)

that, and a used C5 vette with 350 hp will do 5 seconds to 60, and carry on upwards of 160 stock... for cheaper...

(i take it you mean comparing the E46 vs its little brother)

I probably should have worded it as: comparing the E36 to it's YOUNGER brother, since the E46 is decidedly the younger version.

quite right :oops:

Well you guys are just going to have to accept that there are a lot of people in the world that do not like BMW's. I agree that it can piss you off. Kind of like how so many people hat all "American" cars just because they are American. That is totally unfair. And saying I think all BMW's are uncool may be unfair, but none the less, that’s what I think! ;)

Anyway I'm drunk, just got back from one bar and heading out the door for another!!

HAPPY MOTHER FUCKING ST PATRICKS DAY!!! LOL

Emissions and keeping cost down below $40k (USD) was one of the main objective in the E36 M3. Remember BMWNA didn't even want to bring the E36 M3 over ecause they were afraid it would not sell. And we didn't get it until 1995.

Our cars had the S50 and the S52 both rated at 240hp, backed more importantly with equal amount of torque in the S54 version. More than adequate in my opinion.

Let's put it this way, my friend just bought a new Honda Accord and that has 245hp, is it faster than my car?

I am still waiting for iraghava to show me some reviews that said the E36 doesn't drive good, M3 or not.

sorry, i knew what you meant some others may not.

I hadn't heard that before. I thought the delay was because of the emissions re-development.

Fixed :) (maybe it is just that I want a S54 really really bad ;) ).

Well, it was two folds, one was definitely because of the emissions and two was because of cost and marketing.

I knew the US-spec M3 had 240hp, why do you think I mentioned the spec of the car in my reply? However the performance was still up to par, and definately not lacking in comparison to the E46 M3. And that is what you claimed. "It felt slow". It's a 5.5 seconds 0-60 car (US-spec). How the fuck does that feel slow (unless you drive Ferrari's for daily commuting).
Your argument suck once again.

But nevertheless, when we discuss the car, at least do it on its merits, not because of some US-regulation bullshit. The car has 286hp at introduction, and 321hp at the end.

once again; that is the car you got... not the car we recieved; and to me, that becomes totally irrelevant.... those are its merrits here

if i want a 5.5 second -100kph car, i may as well get a 5 speed mustang GT for 10+k cheaper. (oh, now you are going to go on about its handling... blah blah; til you actually drive one; they really aren't as bad as so many europeans think they have to be).

what do people basically say about the 99 stang GT? its basically slow.

Car and Driver rated the M3 the best handling car in America, ahead of the Ferrari 355, Porsche 911, Boxster, Corvette, NSX, Supra and others. It has a 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, and you bullshit how a Mustang GT is just as fast straightline? And how a Mustang compares in handling?

5.5 seconds for 0-60mph is faster than the 350Z, RX-8 and a Boxster for example, it smashed its competiton (C43 AMG, S4) and you call it a slow car....

You're an idiot.

For me, I am not that worry about the Car and Driver review. More so that during the 90s no car in the same class came close to its performance level. The E36's entire package was put together very well even in it's 240hp form.

I can understand, your car is cool :twisted: