What if BMW named its cars? E30 could've been...?

[Andrew325is]

Yep, 325e is 2.7 liter. Early M10 316 & 316i are 1.8 liter. So the naming hasn't really ever matched the displacement. As far as I can tell it represents relative performance within the lineup. So just marketing basically.

[Andrew325is]

Even back into the 70s it didn't always match. E23 733i, E24 633CSi, & E12 533i were 3.2 liter.

[roguetoaster]

What do you mean?

What do you think I mean?

[Staszek]

Oliver

[Aleman]

They should've made electric cars and called all of them turbos.

LOL - Like the stupid Porsche Taycan. It's electric and has 'Turbo' written bigly on the back. So bad, like most cars with a 'Hemi' label on them don't have a hemi engine in 'em.

I like the BMW Rapp name.

[lukeADE335i]

Have to agree that the Taycan model names got up my nose too... saying the electric has 'turbo' performance and the name now represents a spec level is daft.

Lol.. on my e36 comment - there were always a few models where the number didn't match exactly the engine displacement. I even owned an '84 316 with the 1.8L carby engine when I was in the UK. Was a good car with a 32/36 Weber on it :)

[roguetoaster]

They must mean turbo in the same way that the turbo feature on many old computers made them slower.

[packratbimmer]

They named at least one - the Bavaria. They couldn't come up with a better name, so left it at that!

[Andrew325is]

What do you think I mean?

I really have no idea.

[roguetoaster]

I really have no idea.

Good....good.

[Stanley Rockafella]

good....good.

[lukeADE335i]

They must mean turbo in the same way that the turbo feature on many old computers made them slower.

I'd forgotten about that one - yes, the good old turbo button on IBM clones in the 80s / 90s! When it was off it was meant to slow the computer down to play old games, but when on / lit up it would run at maximum speed - many manufactures wired them backwards though so the turbo button on would actually slow the machine down

[Aleman]

They must mean turbo in the same way that the turbo feature on many old computers made them slower.

Oddly enough, the Porsche representative referred to the PC 'Turbo' button when discussing the Taycan with Jay on Jay Leno's Garage. Either way, BOTH uses of the label are weak marketing moves.

Another option for the E30, the BMW Stallion? LOL

[varg]

It probably would have had a stupid name. The Germans aren't very good at naming cars, they're better off sticking to model numbers. Look at VWs of the E30's era...
'golf'
'jetta'
'passat'
'scirocco'

And today:
'tiguan'

Naming slow boring cars after winds... and made up gibberish.

[TobyB]

like most cars with a 'Hemi' label on them don't have a hemi engine in 'em.

Sure they do! Even the later M10 head had a TRIPLE hemispherical combustion chamber! So did the M20, and even semi-hemi PISTONS, for more powah!!!
It's a truly meaningless term when you take it out of its original context, which was
'we actually designed a combustion chamber, rather than just let it happen
however worked out best for packaging' which was the old way.

Likewise, where did the term 'turbo' come from, anyways? 'charging' makes sense. 'Turbo' and 'Super' don't, really. Except as names.

BMW should not name cars. The Wurtzlerund and the FastenSchpiegel would NOT have sold to the '80's yuppies that made BMW what it is today.

t
dual hemispherical