Okay, we could so rock this
Making it a day of E36. Hairdresser’s car you say? Fine, we don’t care— so what if we don’t take it to the track. We’d still rock this E36 M3 Cabrio just like this— with the dark green paint, caramel leather and Forged M Double Spokes (okay, maybe not the wooden steering wheel— on the early-’90s four-spoke airbag wheel we’ve always disliked even without the wood).
Maybe it’s the recent warm spell around these parts that’s getting to us, but it looks good— no shame in admitting that, we say. Hairdresser’s car or not.
Motoring Con Brio 
never liked the e36 m3, not only did they look like a hairdressers’ car they drove like one too, but then how could anyone top the sublime e30 m3 ? nowadays they are undervalued and represent an affordable entry into m-cars. best of the lot was the rare m3 gt, only in british racing green with green leather interior.
wm said this on June 1, 2011 at 8:13 pm
The E30 M3 is far from undervalued here, I’m afraid— if anything, they have become larger than life in the enthusiast’s consciousness. I still love them, but the days of picking up a good example that hasn’t been engine-swapped for relatively little are long gone. Here the affordable entry into M cars is the E36, and will very soon be the E46.
motoringconbrio said this on June 1, 2011 at 8:44 pm
sorry i meant the e36 was undervalued.
wm said this on June 2, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Um, you’d have to be seriously delusional if you think the E36 M3 drives like a hairdresser’s car. The convertible, perhaps, but the coupe and sedan E36 M3s are one of the best handling (and most raced) sports cars out there. The E36 is one of the best looking 3-series made, too.
WM, you have no credibility with me.
ZeGerman said this on June 1, 2011 at 10:56 pm
the only reason they are so popular amongst racers is because they are cheap ! downunder you can find a 3.0 and sometimes a 3.2 for around $10,000usd. car magazine uk once compared the e36 driver experience to being akin to driving a toyota corolla. they also compared the m3 3,2 to a toyota supra and the bimmer got trounced.
wm said this on June 2, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I guess all those decades of the 3-Series being the benchmark of sports car handling must have been bad acid trips then…
Please enlighten us by finding said article which claims that driving an E36 M3 is like driving a Toyota Corolla.
ZeGerman said this on June 2, 2011 at 8:32 pm
as stated it was in a late 90s issue of car magazine. will get back with exact issue number…
wm said this on June 3, 2011 at 12:29 am
have to agree. i’m not a fan of the E36 M3…..it was probably the most ‘mainstream’ M3 ever…..kinda pedestrian looking, and basically a product of the early 90s—–a bad time in the automotive world for design and development.
Syed said this on June 2, 2011 at 10:34 am
i’ve driven a couple—wasn’t particularly impressed either way…just sort of felt like a slightly modded E36…
Syed said this on June 2, 2011 at 10:35 am
Unlike many other automakers, BMW was actually at the top of their game in the ’90s. Styling was good across the board, reliability was very high, and their cars were dead simple to maintain. Things have gone dramatically downhill since the early ’00s.
The E36 brought better handling over the E30 via more sophisticated (i.e. better) rear suspension, better engines, and more durable transmissions.
I don’t know what it would take to impress you if you didn’t like the E36s you drove, since they won virtually every single sports car shootout when new. You don’t really know what you have on your hands until you’ve driven one on a track. Yes, the E36 M3 is common, and in the US they didn’t come with true ///M division motors like they did in Europe, but even with that, they’ll still smoke nearly anything else sold in the US in its class.
They one of the absolute best sports car bargains out there – cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, huge aftermarket, lots of handling finesses & driver feedback, etc… This is why they dominate road courses everywhere.
ZeGerman said this on June 2, 2011 at 11:26 am
i largely agree, i think the e36 m3 is a great buy. i don’t love the coupe but would gladly shop for a four-door, which to me seem more special.
motoringconbrio said this on June 2, 2011 at 11:45 am
still gets a big fat MEH from me……sorry. i’m guessing you own one then?
Syed said this on June 2, 2011 at 8:33 pm
i’ve driven a couple—wasn’t particularly impressed either way…just sort of felt like a slightly modded E36…
ah, but i don’t think a slightly modded e36 is anything to scoff at, performance-wise.
https://motoringconbrio.com/2011/03/21/2300-e36-325is-5300-in-mods-giant-slaying-track-day-performer/
motoringconbrio said this on June 2, 2011 at 11:47 am
ditto, the popular opinion at the time was that a ‘330’ badge would have been more appropriate than an m-badge.
and that was the full fat 286bhp euro version. imagine the further disappointment if european/asia drivers had gotten hold of the watered down us version :p
wm said this on June 3, 2011 at 12:32 am
I have to admit that I wouldn´t want to be seen in a e36 cab. It´s just so dominated by people you don´t want to be compared with..
A shame seeing me writing this.
Philip said this on June 2, 2011 at 11:30 am
i could so long as it had a standard transmission. given that standards make up less than 10% of the cars here, that is enough to make the difference.
motoringconbrio said this on June 2, 2011 at 11:48 am
Although I would never want to own a convertible for numerous reasons, the E36 ‘vert has really good lines, unlike a million other cars that look terrible when you chop off the roof.
ZeGerman said this on June 2, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Regardless of any dynamics, nothing can overcome this is a classic tai-tai car of the first order. Except maybe jumping into an SLK.
Kuroneko said this on June 3, 2011 at 1:01 am
haha skorj— i had to look that one up 🙂 might i also throw in automatic boxster?
motoringconbrio said this on June 3, 2011 at 6:05 am
I actually owned an e36 m3. It drove amazingly well. You could daily drive it and take it to the track bone stock. It was a great car. With that said, I don’t have it anymore because in was not “in love”. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a convertible. Sorry mcb, ha.
Jim said this on June 3, 2011 at 11:11 am
haha jim. here’s a (philosophical?) question: is a roadster a convertible? 😉
motoringconbrio said this on June 3, 2011 at 12:38 pm
I’m having a hard time understanding the “rules” here.
So why exactly aren’t “real guys” supposed to drive convertibles?
Assuming roadsters are OK, what characteristic makes the difference? A power top? A back seat? A manual transmission? True performance vs. mere sporting pretense? Luxury trim and features?
Sure, some cars clearly belong in one category or another. For example: VW Cabriolet or New Beetle cabriolet = chick car, or worse, a HS graduation present for upper-middle class teen girls. On the other hand, I’ve never seen a woman driving a Honda S2000.
However, these lines get blurry very quickly.
So, what’s the deal?
Larry said this on June 9, 2011 at 2:29 pm