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Tag: E90

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2008 BMW M3

2008 BMW M3

Published April 18, 2015 by Andrew

Four doors, three pedals and eight cylinders. Is there a more exciting combination for an enthusiast when it comes to a daily driver? Honestly I can’t think of one and of the small group of modern cars to offer this configuration, I’d say the E90 M3 is the top dog. In this modern age of turbocharged everything, it is highly unlikely that we’ll ever see another car like this one. A useable back seat and trunk mated with a 4.0L V8 already sounds old school and we’re only seven years on from when the car was initially offered. When BMW announced the whole M3/M4 plan and the news that the new cars would have a turbocharged six-cylinder, I wasn’t surprised. It’s just how things are going these days. The sports car market is completely over-saturated with vehicles that will surely delight their drivers but will they offer the same visceral connection as their predecessors? I don’t think so but ultimately that is for each of us to decide on our own. What I can say with absolute confidence is that the E90 M3 market is rapidly moving in a very wallet friendly direction, great news for those of us who prefer a screaming V8 soundtrack to the artificially enhanced aural experience of a boosted inline-6.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 BMW M3 on Cars.com

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2008 BMW 335i

Published February 19, 2015 by Andrew

Before I began contributing to GCFSB I was a daily reader. I enjoyed the site more than other used auto blogs because I found that on GCFSB, many of the vehicles were of the more reasonable variety. Perhaps it’s because I grew up flipping through Used Auto Digest far more often than the duPont registry, though I did enjoy doing that once in awhile just for fun. I like to fantasize about $100k + investments in the classic car market just as much as any other enthusaist but I think it’s far more interesting to learn about vehicles which are grounded in reality. So it is with that mindset that I bring you today’s post, an E90 BMW 335i with 3 pedals.

For those folks that are on the casual observer side of the automotive world, this car doesn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary and in some ways they’re right. It’s a RWD, Grey over Black four door sedan with pretty basic features and a manual transmission. It doesn’t demand attention the way an E90 M3 does, what with its vicious soundtrack and more muscular body but I think that’s part of what makes it attractive. The 335i is no slouch in the power department, with the N54 powerplant producing 305 hp/295 lb-ft of torque it always seemed to me like a more grown up RWD, ’11+ STi sedan. Now I’m sure Subaru fans would love to rip me to shreds for comparing their beloved rally machine to this UCLA graduation present but I’d be quick to remind them that it’s really a matter of numbers and function rather than the spirit of the vehicle. Spiritually the STi and the M3 have much in common but they’re vastly different in price and performance so I think that an unfair comparison.

The 335i on the other hand checks many of the same boxes as the STi and ultimately does it all while remaining under the radar. It is this line of thought that got me interested in researching the E90 335i in the first place as I had always wanted to build a “sleeper” STi. Remove the garish wing, add alcantara accents to the interior, upgrade the sound deadening, tweak a few other interior details and you’d have a car that is very similar to this one. However that process can get real pricey, real quick, especially since 2011+ STi sedans are hard to find for under $25k. This 335i is a very reasonable $16,998 with nearly 73k on the clock and I think that for the money, you’d be hard pressed to find a car that offers this combination of performance and luxury.

Click for details: 2008 BMW 335i On Cars.com

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Two Turbos or None? BMW 335i v. M3

Published January 17, 2015 by Carter

A few months ago at a gathering of friends, two BMWs were present – my friend’s E46 M3 and his acquaintance’s E82 135i. A bit under my breath, I mentioned to him that I still couldn’t get over how unattractive the 135i was compared to the M3. I may have said that the E82 looked a bit like a really poor quality bodyshop repaired a E46 that had been both in full frontal and rear crashes – poorly. But my friend countered that if anything, that 135i was faster and more fun to drive than his M3. Looking back, I paused, and thought “Could I?” The answer remains no in my book, but it does raise an interesting question – with E92 335i prices dropping within reach of the higher E46 M3s, which is the better choice?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 BMW 335i on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 2006 Hartge H50

Published December 16, 2014 by Carter

While engine swaps on BMWs seem downright commonplace, there are the normal engine swaps (the well played out S50/52 comes to mind) and then there’s Hartge. The history between the two premier BMW tuning firms in Germany – Alpina and Hartge – is interesting. They’ve vied for the top spot for several decades with slightly different design philosophies. During that time, they’ve also seemingly flip-flopped; originally, Hartge took a more conservative route than Alpina, whose wild turbocharged creations challenged BMW’s own offerings. But after they were granted full manufacturer status in Germany in 1985, Hartge really came into its own and hasn’t looked back since. While like many firms they offer a line of aerodynamic tweats, wheels, exhausts and engine management chips, their party-piece is taking motors from the larger BMWs and popping them into the 3-series models. None of these conversions is more notable than the E90 H50 though. While the E46 H50 took the V8 out of the 5 series, the E90 had a V8 available in the lineup in the M3. Hartge therefore moved up the food chain to the E60 M5’s S85 V10. With a staggering 500 horspower out of the box and even 50 more with Hartge’s tuning, they transformed the rather mundane small executive sedan into a supercar:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2006 Hartge H50 at Turner Motorsports

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Feature Listing: 2007 BMW 328xi Touring 6MT Sport

Published August 2, 2014 by Paul

Upon my urging, an old friend of mine in the Boston area purchased a BMW E91 Touring with a 6-speed manual gearbox after he learned his first child was on the way. His wife desperately wanted an SUV but in the end, the long roof 3er argument won. He had previously driven a 2001 325xi sedan with an automatic, and a 1992 325i sedan with a 5-speed manual and always missed the joy of rowing your own during his E46 ownership, especially when it came to the smooth gearboxes we’ve come to know from the boffins in Munich. If it’s 3 series driving quality you seek but need a bit more practicality in the mix, our reader Dave is offering his very mint 2007 328xi Touring with the Sport package and 6-speed manual gearbox. BMW isn’t offering three-pedal Tourings stateside, so now is your chance to get them while there’s still a few lower mileage examples out there.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 BMW 328xi Touring 6MT Sport on E90 Post

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