[Jason]

BMW NA 50th Anniversary | 50 Stories for 50 Years Chapter 7: “Replacing an Icon: The First 3 Series Arrives in the US”

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. - February 18, 2025... When BMW of North America took over sales and distribution from Max Hoffman on March 15, 1975, the 2002 had been part of BMW’s US lineup for more than seven years. With its agile handling and high-revving engine, the 2002 had given BMW an enthusiastic following, and it had been crucial to establishing the US as BMW’s largest export market worldwide.




Even the most highly-regarded cars become outdated, and the 2002 was no exception. The car’s design had been finalized in 1965, and it looked decidedly old-fashioned a decade later. The 2002 had been slated for replacement in the 1974 model year, but its production cycle was extended when its planned successor—a two-door hatchback rather than a sedan—was rejected by BMW’s sales and marketing team led by Bob Lutz. While that car was restyled, the 2002 was updated with rectangular taillights and, in the US, larger bumpers as mandated by new Federal regulations. In this market, the 2002 was also equipped with revised emissions equipment that would ensure compliance through 1976.

In August of that year, the 2002’s replacement finally arrived. The first 3 Series, known internally as the E21, featured forward-looking styling from BMW design chief Paul Bracq over familiar mechanical elements. US customers were offered just one model: the 320i, equipped with the fuel-injected 2.0-liter M10 four cylinder engine that had powered the 2002 tii, mated once again to a four-speed Getrag manual or three-speed ZF automatic.




In the meantime, however, US emissions standards had tightened still further, and the equipment installed to meet those standards reduced performance. Where the 2002 tii’s fuel-injected M10 had delivered 130 horsepower and 130 pound-feet, the same engine in the 320i put out a disappointing 110 horsepower and 112 pound-feet.

That alone would make the 320i a tough sell to performance-oriented customers looking to replace their 2002s, but BMW of North America’s public relations manager Tom McGurn had a plan to cultivate their good will. As the launch of the 320i drew near, McGurn gave members of the BMW Automobile Club of America (ACA) the opportunity to be first in the country to drive the new 3 Series.

“We had to get the cars to Carefree, Arizona for the press launch, and we had to get miles on the cars, so what better way to do that?” McGurn said. “It was as cost-effective as trucking the cars, and we’d get club members’ feedback. Hopefully, they’d start to fall in like if not in love with the new car.”

In November 1976, a dozen new 3 Series set out from Los Angeles with ACA members behind the wheel, many with a spouse or friend in the passenger seat. All were enthusiastic drivers, and their spirited pace attracted the attention of the California Highway Patrol. “A whole phalanx of these cars were pulled over to be given California Performance Awards,” aka speeding tickets, said club member Roger Scilley, who drove one 320i with his wife, Delight Lucas. “I think seven of us got stopped by the CHP all at once near Thermal!” laughed Wayne Wundram, another ACA member.




Despite that inconvenience, the 320 was a hit. “Club members were ecstatic, and now I had contact with 30 or 40 people based around a really fun experience,” McGurn said. “There was some nitpicking about the car, but it was constructive criticism. The overall reaction was very good.”

In Arizona, the cars would be driven by some of the journalists who’d made the 2002 a success, including Car and Driver editor David E. Davis Jr., recently returned to journalism after several years in the advertising business. Davis liked the car, though he and many enthusiasts noted handling quirks—a tendency to lift the inside-rear wheel under hard cornering—that were greatly reduced with the introduction of the better-equipped 320iS a few years into E21 production.

“There was a lot of skepticism, a lot of nostalgia for the 2002, even sometimes without real experience of the car, because it was an icon,” McGurn said. “We had a long drive, and they came back very impressed. I think it fulfilled the promise of the Ultimate Driving Machine. It was fun to drive, and it had all the qualities that BMW was legendary for. The initial reviews by the enthusiast magazines were very positive.”




The buying public responded positively, too. Though some of BMW’s most hardcore customers opted to stick with their well-developed 2002s, lamenting the absence of the six-cylinder 323i offered in Europe, the 320i attracted a broad new audience that allowed BMW of North America to set new sales records every year from 1976 to 1983. Thanks in no small part to the energetic modern styling of the 320i, BMW became the must-have car among the Young Urban Professionals known as Yuppies. That would reveal itself as a curse a decade later, but in the meantime BMW was happy to be the car of choice among this influential and free-spending demographic.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by Jason

[size=5][B]Davis liked the car, though he and many enthusiasts noted handling quirks—a tendency to lift the inside-rear wheel under hard cornering—that were greatly reduced with the introduction of the better-equipped 320iS a few years into E21 production..

McGurn's memory is a bit flawed. I was at the US press launch for the 320i in 1976 at Road Atlanta and I was probably the first in the US to roll an E21 (not there). The "lifting" McGurn refers to (we called him Tom Tom back then for his initials), was tamed quite quickly after my complaint following my accident in November 1976. Our discovery disclosed that BMW specified softer springs for the US market but kept the rear anti-roll bar which resulted in the car lifting a rear-wheel and performing a pirouette at its limit—oftentimes swapping ends.

Our small dealership alone had eleven single-car accidents with the '77 320i which many blamed on swerving to avoid animals in the road and subsequently going off-road into trees and ditches. Mine went upside-down after climbing a hill backwards. My decision was to remove the rear bars from all '77s as they came into our shop. We painted them florescent orange and hung them on the wall of the shop. The next year BMW reverted to Euro spring specs for the US cars and they also removed the rear anti-sway bar. The rear bar eventually returned to the US as part of the "S" package in later years, but with the stiffer springs.

Happy to say my wreck lived on as an IMSA race-car from Miller&Norburn. I got to see it at races in later years. And that is the rest of the story. Try to find a 2002 owner today who will choose an E21 over their 2002 today!

[clubracer6]

This reminds me of the Saturday Night Live 50th special this weekend. Started out at such a great show and slowly faded to the point I barely watch it anymore. I will love both forever!

[BAN_M2C]

Definitely was a big task for the first 3 series to fill the shoes of the 2002!

I like them but would also take my 2002 over a 320i but Im biased. Many of the 320is also became donors for the 2002 taking their LSD, 5 speed and Recaro seats.

Speaking of 50 Years of the 3 Series, if any of you are at Amelia Island Councours next month be sure to seing by the BMW NA. My BMW CCA M Chapter curated 50 3 Series of all years to celebrate the 50 years!

We will have a few BMW Classic Race Cars on display also!

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

McGurn's memory is a bit flawed. I was at the US press launch for the 320i in 1976 at Road Atlanta and I was probably the first in the US to roll an E21 (not there). The "lifting" McGurn refers to (we called him Tom Tom back then for his initials), was tamed quite quickly after my complaint following my accident in November 1976. Our discovery disclosed that BMW specified softer springs for the US market but kept the rear anti-roll bar which resulted in the car lifting a rear-wheel and performing a pirouette at its limit—oftentimes swapping ends.

Our small dealership alone had eleven single-car accidents with the '77 320i which many blamed on swerving to avoid animals in the road and subsequently going off-road into trees and ditches. Mine went upside-down after climbing a hill backwards. My decision was to remove the rear bars from all '77s as they came into our shop. We painted them florescent orange and hung them on the wall of the shop. The next year BMW reverted to Euro spring specs for the US cars and they also removed the rear anti-sway bar. The rear bar eventually returned to the US as part of the "S" package in later years, but with the stiffer springs.

Happy to say my wreck lived on as an IMSA race-car from Miller&Norburn. I got to see it at races in later years. And that is the rest of the story. Try to find a 2002 owner today who will choose an E21 over their 2002 today!

I always appreciate your posts as they are built upon referencing your experience in the industry and facts. I also appreciate your ability to use full sentences, proper grammar, and correct punctuation. Many new members of this world lack those traits.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by thebmw

I also appreciate your ability to use full sentences, proper grammar, and correct punctuation.

A credit to my Mid-Western upbringing and education!

[jmg]

My first car was a rusty old E21 and I’ll always remember:

• Overheating the day I picked her up because I accidentally left it in low gear the entire hour long drive home.

• Experiencing the rear wheel lift as I attempted to drift (I was unsucessful).

• Bouncing off the rev limiter in neutral as I dropped the automatic transmission into gear just to hear the tires chirp.

• Using my friend’s car to push it home when the tranny finally blew and busting the tail light in the process.

It started a long on-again-off-again relationship with BMW and an enduring love for everything automotive. Thanks E21!

[brianeck]

A retro body style with modern accouterments and engines (WITHOUT PANORAMIC IDRIVE) would be so badass. The only trend most companies are "recalling" right now is the stupid full width tail lights. I saw a newer A8 last night and I thought it was a dodge stealth, no kidding. The full width tails are awful.

This car with a b58 a modern 6mt and idrive 7 would be the best ride ever.

[rlampare]

Yeah, that’s right I owned a 1980 320i
(if photo does not attach please look at my garage)

[pkay]

Fantastic post about the history.

Reminds me of one of my all time favorite commercials.

[m3rxn]

BM"V" --The Ultimate Driving Machine

[CamasM3e93]

Originally Posted by pkay

Fantastic post about the history.

Reminds me of one of my all time favorite commercials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ7JHa9JLOk

Nice! I am inspired to drive my e90 to work today.

[MiamiFan13]

This is where it all began for me. My first car at age 16....'77 320i 4spd....until the shock towers blew out. Would love to engine swap one and daily drive it.

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Happy to say my wreck lived on as an IMSA race-car from Miller&Norburn. I got to see it at races in later years. And that is the rest of the story. Try to find a 2002 owner today who will choose an E21 over their 2002 today!

I think I used up a whole 36exp roll of film on that 320i when I saw it in action the first time at Road Atlanta back in the day! It wasn't as successful as their 2002s were, but times (rules) were rapidly changing in IMSA RS series at the time too.

Younger BMW owners today can't fathom the amount of modifications enthusiasts felt required to make to cars back then. If nothing else, swapping out springs, struts/shocks, and swaybars (typically from Suspension Techniques, Quickor Engineering, etc) plus wider (and later larger diameter) wheels, just to have a well-handling stable platform which factory offerings were anything but. Think gigantic body roll -- standard feature of factory offerings back then.

This article also refers to the 2002tii fuel injected engine and directly implies it was carried over to the 320i and lost horsepower. They totally missed the fact that the tii had mechanical kugelfischer injection whereas the 320i had a Bosch K-jetronic system (also mechanical, but a totally different design).

Circling back to Miler&Norburn: ~1976 I was in Durham, NC and decided to find their shop. It was a weekend, and it was closed, but wow...my lofty expectations were dashed by the building and area it was located, lol. The building is still there today; it's the red brick building in this google street view. Their address was 2002 E Peabody St . Preston Miller left M&N and opened a race shop in Raleigh a few years later (Preston Miller Rennsport was its name I think). Great guy! I did business with him in 1979 having his shop do some modifications on my car, and he allowed me to work with his mechanic to help out. Imagine that in today's world.

[thebmw]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

A credit to my Mid-Western upbringing and education!

Me too "bro"!

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by CSBM5

Circling back to Miler&Norburn: ~1976 I was in Durham, NC and decided to find their shop. It was a weekend, and it was closed, but wow...my lofty expectations were dashed by the building and area it was located, lol. The building is still there today; it's the red brick building in this google street view. Their address was 2002 E Peabody St . Preston Miller left M&N and opened a race shop in Raleigh a few years later (Preston Miller Rennsport was its name I think). Great guy! I did business with him in 1979 having his shop do some modifications on my car, and he allowed me to work with his mechanic to help out. Imagine that in today's world.

We went to the Miller's facility to pick up what had been a 1980 320i EPA test car that BMW NA gave to M&N and then re-allocated to this project. My memory of that building was just off US 29 north of Greensboro, NC. I was along when we picked it up and was first tasked with stripping it down and attacking the shell with a grinder.

Miller actually moved to Virginia to work on the Mac Attack E21 race-car project. That was after he and Tom were spending several hours each day on the phone discussing it while Tom was the service manager at our BMW Porsche Audi store. They even got their sponsor to foot the bill for an in-house dyno at the race-car garage just down the street. Those were the days!

Russ Hapgood ended up purchasing M&N and operating it for several years. Russ and his son were customers of mine for years. Nice people. Very different shop at that point.

[cfm56d7b]

There are few automotive dynasties which survive the test of time and changing consumer preferences. BMW 3-series (and 4 series) is one of them. Owned F30 (N55) and F36 (B58). The best cars I owned to date.