Quote:
Originally Posted by StreetCredShifter
Champignon, that is fair. I am curious about what is was like to buy a BMW car new in 1973. That was before the 3, 5, and 7 series became the standard line-up.
I was a teenager in the 1980s, and that is when BMW came into my consciousness with its exposure in shows like Motorweek, more American car mags started paying attention to European and Japanese car manufacturers, its association in popular culture with Yuppies, and for motorsports guys with the development of the M cars from the M division, and with German Touring racing and rally racing.
How was the BMW brand marketed in 1973 in the US? Were there any BMW dealers in your area? Or did you buy it from a dealer that specialized in European brands? My local dealership was family owned up until a couple of years ago. It had a nice history page on its website that showed the evolution of the dealership through the years. It started off as a German car body shop in the 1960s, then it became an authorized BMW service center only in 1971. Then in 1972, its started to do sales as well as service. Then it hit the jackpot with the explosion of BMW's popularity in the 1980s.
Can you share your buying experience of what it was like buying a BMW back in the day? What other choices were available, ie, 3.0 CS, etc.?
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In the fall of 1973 I was a sophomore in college in L.A., and the deal with my parents was no car in the freshman year and if my grades were at least good, they would help me to buy a car at that point, although there was a budget, which would buy a modest American compact car. L.A. was really into imported cars at that point, and all my friends had imported cars with stick shifts. Popular cars I remember among my friends were Toyota Celica, Fiat Spyder, BMW 2002, and one or two others. Most of my driving prior to getting my first car was on my parents' automatics.
I went back east where my family was for the summer, and worked selling small appliances on commission to make some money towards buying a car. My store sold a lot of overpriced junk, and I remember selling a stereo to a famous congressman, Daniel Inouye (?sp) of HI who was famous from the Watergate Hearings.
I told my parents I wanted to buy a 2002; they were incredulous, said it was an overpriced and spartan car compared to the American cars I could have bought, but I was adament. We went to a dealership in the DC area and I placed an order for an orange 2002 with 4MT (5 speeds were not available in that car nor were they common at that point). The car was supposed to cost $3700, however by the time it came in the price had gone up to around $4K, which seemed exhorbitent at the time. The car had crank windows, no A/C, and no radio. The dealer substituted a puke yellow color at the last minute, claiming that the orange one had been damaged in transit by "potash" on the freighter; I'm sure that they just sold the more desirable orange car to someone else and stuck me with the yellow one because they knew I was planning to drive back cross country shortly and would have no choice. BMW was not a common brand in the DC area in 1973, however there was at least one dealer. Most people drove American made cars in that era, especially back east. I don't remember the other cars in the BMW lineup at that time, but believe they included the Bavaria (I'm guessing a precursor of the 5-Series) and the 3.0 CS Coupe. BMW was viewed as making sporty but expensive and spartanly furnished cars in that era.
I kept that car for 8 years, by which point I had gone back east for professional school and then back west to SLC where I lived for a few years. The car was on the verge of rusting out all over when I sold it, and got a VW Jetta which I tolerated for 4 years.
Fast forward to 1993, after further schooling and a nascent medical career ultimately in Alaska, I moved back to the lower 48 with a Lexus SC300 sport coupe which I got a deal on but was however an awful car with a notchy transmission. I traded it in, straight across, for a new 325i, red in color, which I owned for 10 years. It had a 5MT. BMW was common enough by that point that Boise, not a huge city in 1993, had a longstanding dealership.
The 325i reminds me very much of my 135i Coupe, in that it was entry level luxury and drove really well, although was way less powerful than the 135i coupe is. The 325i also was a 4 door sport sedan, although the overall shape and size is very similar to the 135i Coupe.