Junkyard Gem: 2001 BMW 325xi Wagon with manual transmission
As minivans and SUVs shoved station wagons to the side late in our previous century, manual transmissions likewise fell out of favor with well-heeled American car shoppers. Finding a 21st-century wagon with three pedals and all-wheel-drive— well, that's a junkyard challenge. I see the occasional discarded manual-equipped Audi A4 wagon and I even own a 5-speed '04 Outback wagon myself, but a BMW E46 with long roof, manual transmission and AWD? That's a tough one. Here's such a car, found in a Denver-area self-service yard.
BMW sold late (1988-1991) E30s with all-wheel-drive systems, and those cars are still common sights in the Denver area. The E30's successor, the E36, came with rear-drive only, but all-wheel-drive returned with the E46. The 325xi Touring wagon was available here for the 2001 through 2005 model years.
Nearly all of those cars had automatic transmissions, as American 3-Series buyers had become a slushbox-heavy crowd by 2001, but this one had the 5-on-the-floor manual. Because so many racers, drifters and BMW-themed influencers have E46s nowadays and they all want manuals, someone grabbed the rare gearbox out of this car soon after it arrived in the junkyard.
The 2.5-liter straight-six made 184 horsepower, so this wagon would have been about 19 times more fun than an '01 Outback.
Yes, you could still get a cassette player in your BMW "Business" radio in 2001.
¿Te gusta conducir?