Pet peeve: non-enthusiast E30 drivers

[Raxe]

I've had a few encounters recently, I had a guy in a jacked up truck pull up beside me and lay on the horn until I reached over and wound down my window. "Awesome car! E30's are my favorite!". That was pretty cool.

There are a couple dozen nice E30's in Edmonton, but it seems many don't know about the meets and never show up at any events. If we all got together I think I'd be surprised.

The E30 is definitely a cult car, in the same sense as the FB RX7's, 240sx's, Fox Bodies, MKII's. etc. They aren't low production or high performance, but they are loaded with character and have a very strong die-hard enthusiast following. It's on a different level than the E30 M3, in fact I wouldn't fully consider the M3 to be a real cult car. The M3 is a sports car along the lines of 911 Turbos and other high end stuff, cars everyone dreams about. You don't need to be "in" to know an M3 is a cool car. I define a cult car as something that isn't special to your average person but has a loyal following of enthusiasts for reasons other than rarity, exoticness and performance.

[daniel]

I've had a few encounters recently, I had a guy in a jacked up truck pull up beside me and lay on the horn until I reached over and wound down my window. "Awesome car! E30's are my favorite!". That was pretty cool.

There are a couple dozen nice E30's in Edmonton, but it seems many don't know about the meets and never show up at any events. If we all got together I think I'd be surprised.

The E30 is definitely a cult car, in the same sense as the FB RX7's, 240sx's, Fox Bodies, MKII's. etc. They aren't low production or high performance, but they are loaded with character and have a very strong die-hard enthusiast following. It's on a different level than the E30 M3, in fact I wouldn't fully consider the M3 to be a real cult car. The M3 is a sports car along the lines of 911 Turbos and other high end stuff, cars everyone dreams about. You don't need to be "in" to know an M3 is a cool car. I define a cult car as something that isn't special to your average person but has a loyal following of enthusiasts for reasons other than rarity, exoticness and performance.

well said, sir.

[daniel]

That high!? Wow. I guess just know most of the e30 guys in Portland so I pretty much just wave at them. Speaking of which, what part of P-Town are you in? I'm in NW just off of 23rd.

wellll maybe not that high. i am in SW portland, i go to lewis & clark college and live nearby.

i enjoy the nw 23rd area quite a bit.

[morningsmiler]

I get a pretty good response out here on the Cape. Not that many e30's, though.

BTW, just because the car is stock and the driver is old doesn't mean there's not an enthusiast behind the wheel.

[itsbrokeagain]

not too many people around here have any idea bout the E30s...I see a few around my neck of the woods every day, and the are all rusting or beat to shit and the mufflers are falling apart.

Ive worked on a few at the shop, conditions ranging from `please help me!!` to `you leave fingerprints on my paint I`ll kill you`



And I agree with the E30 being a cult car....it has its own way of standing out, and has a strong following of enthusiasts around the world.

Same goes for my friends 1987 Mazda Rx-7 TurboII...very very clean car, 91k miles on it, just put a fresh engine in, still stock turbo. Only mods ever done were a turbo back Racing Beat exhaust (came with the car, all stainless, unleashed something like 60hp [I dynoed it and confirmed it] and its stupid quiet..not that typical Rx-7 blat blat blat) and some 16" Advan wheels. Cosmetically, just period-correct yellow Bosch foglights, the appropriate Japanese badging (it was called the Savannah Rx-7, and after looking up countless options for the individual models, it was concurred that his car was most similar to the GT-R model, with some GT-S and some GT-X options sprinkled in like the sunroof and such).


I would assume if there was a very clean clean E30 fetching a premium..there are a few on here that would pay gladly for it. Same goes for my friend. He found a die-hard rotary enthusiast, who absolutley loved the car (white exterior btw) and paid a handsome price of $6200. And hes getting the car flatbedded back to his apartment in Hoboken...thats not cheap lol.

So, long story short, there is always a die-hard enthusiast somewhere...but for 50% of the other people, most of them drive it cuse its a cheap car, they dont maintain it, and it has the BMW logo on the front.

[BeirBrennerE30]

I get a pretty good response out here on the Cape. Not that many e30's, though.

BTW, just because the car is stock and the driver is old doesn't mean there's not an enthusiast behind the wheel.

where on cape cod are you from? the cape has some of my favorite driving roads.

[Rede30eS]

you guys are lucky, id be even more lucky to see another e30 inside a month, and when i do it is driven by some old man or women, sure they look like they appreciated it and what not, but i dont think they would be interested in the "e30 cult". you guys know that i've NEVER seen a e30 m3 driving on the road, only ever in shows and trackdays, NEVER on the road... it dissappoints me, there no room for the little german guy underneath all the japs and bogan mobiles (commodore,falcon).

It's the same way around me. :(

[morningsmiler]

where on cape cod are you from? the cape has some of my favorite driving roads.

I'm in Brewster...I love the 28 between Orleans and Chatham.

[DCColegrove]

For a lot of people it's just an old car.

A lot of my customers at the shop will see my e30s and say oh I had one of those...Most of them are driving e46, e38, e39... They have moved on to bigger and better things...

I snicker at them behind their backs...

[itsbrokeagain]

For a lot of people it's just an old car.

A lot of my customers at the shop will see my e30s and say oh I had one of those...Most of them are driving e46, e38, e39... They have moved on to bigger and better things...

I snicker at them behind their backs...

haha so true. Its funny but I actually enjoy driving my E30 more than the E90.

I get to compare 20 years difference between the two, and I realize, not much has changed at all. The Kink is still there, the ZSP seats are still awesome, the console is stupid user friendly.

The 325Is was the best you could buy around here back then, before stepping up to the M3...same goes for today. 335 is the step below the M3, although if you do the car right it will beat the M3 lol.

My girl gets mad now whenever I bring the E90...I seriously dont know whats wrong with her...has a taste in old german cars? She did want to own an old Beetle at one point....

[2Big4a3Series]

I always get the wave from all the VW guys, and just about anything else European,

LOL! It must be something that VW owners do. One of my first cars was a 71 VW microbus and every time I passed another like it, the other driver and I would always mutally raise the "peace" sign.

There are several E30 owners in my neighborhood but I'd doubt that any of them really know or appriciate what they have. Most of the ones around here (as the OP mentioned) are bone stock and on bottle caps. There is a nice cabrio 3 doors down from me that has aftermarket wheels but for the most part 99% of the E30's around here are treated like old cars waiting to die. At the supermarket there is an employee who has a red 318 that's so faded it looks pink. I'd love to wax it up and detail it for her just so I don't have to cringe every time I see it.

[sefb222]

wellll maybe not that high. i am in SW portland, i go to lewis & clark college and live nearby.

i enjoy the nw 23rd area quite a bit.

i'm in SW too. well, a bit further down into john's landing.. right across from willamette park.

who's got the beautiful red ix that i keep seeing in my neighborhood... usually on macadam? it's def not stock height.

[rodrigo]

I have not tried yet since I have not driven the E30 substantially yet...just running to errands and 'round the block trips.

I drive a lowered and de-badged Volvo Cross-Country with european plates...when ever I see a BMW or a VW that has nice 'mods' (for lack of better word) I flash the highbeams. 9 times out of 10 I always get a wave. If I see a normal E30 I look and appreciate, but the driver never even notices.

I do always pass a lowered red E30 sedan with a high beam intake going the opposite direction on Smithtown Avenue when I go home from work if I leave at 6:28pm.

[DSP74]

The closest I've come to an enthusiastic look recent, was from a stuck up looking old lady in an E36 M3. I was pumping gas and saw her pointing it out to her even more stuck up looking husband. Once we got on the highway he passed. She looked over and smiled and he just stared strait ahead.......

[funcrew]

i try to ignore people in e30's waving at me....

You should move to Las Vegas. Me and my kids would wave at you every day like total spazzes until you finally caved in.