ok, that's being a bit of a snob,
my first new car was a 1989 325i (2 doors), which I picked up in Munich, Germany were they were built. It was a threaling experiance, spend a month driving around France, and then shipped it back to the U.S. My choice for this car was: it looked good (to this day I still think it looks good), was fun to drive and was safe (one of the main reason I buy BMW's). I drove it for 10 years, never got tired of it, didn't have a single problems with it in that time. When I moved to Manhattan, I sold it to an ex girlfriend, who kept it a few more years. I think for most people, it is there 1st experiance to the world of BMW ,European driving style and engineering. I gave my girlfriend an 05 325i as a birthday present a few month ago, and I have to say I love driving her car, the balance is perfect, the engine responsive. I feel the 325i has nothing to envy to my z4 or x5 4.4. Actually, I consider the 3 series to be the root of the modern BMW which started with the 1963 "2002" bmw
