Top 10 unforgettable cars

[Jscotty]

Naw. The article is wrong. The 2002 started the trend.

I would have to agree with that. I think that the E30 as well as the other Beemers that hit the market around that time were sharing the success created by the 2002. Even when growing up as a child through the late 70's the only two things I knew about a BMW was that "BMW" was a stupid name for a car and it had a reputation for high performance.

[ivo316]

Didn't BMW with the profit from the isetta, 600 and the isard buy the Glass factory and started producing the Glass 3000 as the BMW 3.0 cs ???

I think the following cars are missing from the list.

67 Corvette stingray
65 GT 30 mustang
Plymouth barracuda 440 six pack
Pontiac Trans-Am

And the venerable 1971 argentinean Torino.

A rambler Rouge modified in Argentina, very advanced for it's time, With OHC and hemispherical combustion chambers.

Made 4th in Le Mans

This pic is at Nurburgring:



The engine:



And the Dash:

[Massive Lee]

i think it was actaully the 700 that saved bmw and allowed them to buy the tooling for producing the 1500

Actually, it was the earlier 300 and 600 that helped BMW momentirely stay afloat. In the 1920s, BMW started building cars with a British car, the Dixie, and recovered after WW2 with an Italian product from Iso. And then the early Neu Klasse (1500, 1600 and 1800) helped BMW get into a more prosperous era. Mercedes-Benz was very interested in getting the Quandt's assets when they were worth nothing, back in the early 1960s.

[CleanAzzE30z]

Because Trents a racist asshole. Deal with it. ;)


Mariano

[e304me]

i think it was actaully the 700 that saved bmw and allowed them to buy the tooling for producing the 1500

[colombacho]

side note:
why did trent get banned?!

[Massive Lee]

The Neue Klass (1500 to 2002Tii) are the cars that saved BMW from going bankrupt. The 2002 lineage is the car that revealed BMW to North American. BMW won races with 2002s, just like with later e30 M3s. Then followed the e21 and the e30, the Yuppie car. The e30 came in a very potent format, but perhaps too civilized and not having the personality of its famous predecessor: the 2002. It took the 318is and the M3 to bring passion into the model.

Not everyone liked the e30 as the design did without BMW's then trademark: the shark nose, that could be found on e3s, e9s, e12s, e21s, e24s and e28s. The e30's design was judged as being a bit "Japanese". Sure it brilliantly passed the test of time. An e30's design is certainly not "passé" or gimmicky. 25 years later, it still looks very contemporary. To sum it up, the e30 was a brilliant car, but not as flamboyant as some other BMWs. And the car was so plagued by the Yuppie image, especially as a convertible...

[Jon325i]

That is a flawed 'survey' if you ask me - not one American car listed. Granted I find most American cars undesirable, however there are a few classics which are worthy of being on the list. These would be...

Corvette
Mustang
Thunderbird

There's also a myriad of muscle cars from the late 60s early 70s era which are noteworthy and highly prized (anyone see this years' Barrett-Jackson auction?). Particularly the Mustang and 'Vette....both of these marques have cult-like followings. They are worthy of being on the list.

As for BMW debate, the 2002 was a groundbreaking car for the folks at Bavaria and I think it is the car that put BMW on the map. The E30 is essentially an evolution of the '02 only a bit larger, heavier and more refined.

Jon

[CleanAzzE30z]

The most prized, though, was the M3 racing homologation special: A modern classic.

Complete fabrication.



Mariano

[mudflaps]

that list is whacked out IMO.

[euroshark]

Trent is right... After the 2002, the 5 series and 6 series were definitely the most influential cars for the automobile world, followed by the E30.

[Low Level E30]

Where did they do the survay at? Cause most Americans propobly don't know what some of those cars are.

Agreed.

That, and most of the cars in the list are SMALL cars - you know how Americans just LOVE small cars...

... or not.

[JasonC]

Where did they do the survay at? Cause most Americans propobly don't know what some of those cars are.

[Low Level E30]

2002, fo' sho'. It is the original BMW cult car.

[Charlie]

Definetly gonna have to go with the 2002. It broke the reputation that the Bavarias and other "big" BMW sedans had had at the time. Big luxury cars with questionable reliability and no power, not "driver's" cars.

-Charlie