Junkyard Gem: 1980 BMW 320i
bmw is on the seventh generation of the 3 series by now, with curb weights 50% higher and horsepower levels 50% to 400% greater than what we saw when the very first 320i two-door sedans showed up at american bmw dealerships in late 1976. the e21-platform 320i stayed on sale here until the soon-to-be-legendary e30 replaced it for the 1984 model year, and i've found this 200k-mile example of a mid-series e21 in a self-service boneyard near reno, nevada. yes, this car reached just over 200,000 miles during its life. that's pretty good for a malaise era machine not built by mercedes-benz. mt. san antonio college, known by its students as "mount sac," is located in southern california. a life spent in california and nevada would explain this car's lack of body rust. this car appears to have been purchased with the luxus touring group option package, which included a sunroof (considered a powerful status symbol in 1980) and cost $1,545. that's about $5,920 in 2022 dollars, or enough to buy about 50 grams of cocaine back then. the sticker price on this car was $11,810, or about $45,230 today. a new chevy camaro z28 cost just $7,121 that year. while the e21 was available as many different models in europe, from the deutschemark-pinching 315 all the way up to the six-cylinder 323i, americans got just the 320i. all u.s.-market e21s came with a fuel-injected 1.8-liter or 2.0-liter version of the m10 engine that powered 1602s and 2002s in earlier years. if this is the original engine, it is a 1.8 rated at 101 horsepower. the car weighed about 2,300 pounds, just a bit more than a new mitsubishi mirage, so it was fairly quick for the era despite barely achieving triple-digit horsepower. each successive generation of 3 series became more luxurious and powerful as the decades went on, but the e21 still had plenty of its lightweight 02 series ancestry.
source:autoblog.com