its stupid to compare the looks of the two as well..

its like which one of these looks better




or

8/29/2011 11:10:47 AM

Quote :

"its stupid to compare the looks of the two as well.. "

one would think. but he maintains the GNX looks better...has better styling.


for p2:

Quote :

"I'm pretty sure the question was "Which is the cooler car" and that is [intentionally] vague and open endeded"

I'm pretty sure I was engaged in discussion with the OP when he posted this thread, and this thread was a result of said discussion. So I know what he meant...he's notorious for trying to communicate with the least keystrokes possible, and confusion often results. The discussion/debate was over looks/styling of the GNX vs the E46 M3.

Also it's pretty stupid/pointless to try compare the "coolness" of the GNX vs the M3, for a multitude of reasons. This being the most obvious:

Quote :

"i think this comparison is a lil unfair but the gnx wins by a land slide."

8/29/2011 11:16:59 AM

no....


in comparison to other cars from the same time period... sure....
but over all ... no ... not even close...

save a couple of rare examples... anything made past 74 just doesn't have "timeless styling"

8/29/2011 11:20:19 AM

Quote :

" GNX vs E46 M3, in the looks department only. Not which one you'd like to own, drive, bang in, etc. Not rednecks vs eurofags. Just which car looks best...has the best styling. Which wins for you?"

GNX. But then again I have a strange affinity for boxy early 80's American iron. Plus it just looks meaner.

8/29/2011 3:08:17 PM

Quote :

"LOL keep telling yourself that. and it is a 3 series. "

Actually, that’s incorrect, but wouldn’t expect you to know anyway. It might be the case of “it looks like a duck”, but it certainly doesn’t walk or talk like one.

1) On official BMW site it is sold under “M” and not under “3” line up, that is BMW did not put it up as high performance version of 3 series…as it distinguishes 316, 318, 320, 325, 328, 330, 335 from one another.
2) On current model it only shares headlights and taillights (doors and some interior pieces as well i think) with the current model. Fundamentals are 100% different in design and performance.
3) On just about every car search engine and other sites it is delineated from 3-series

Ask outside of automotive circles and most people call it a “BMW” or 3 series, because it looks like one. My point to arghx saying that just like GNX, people have no clue about M3.

[Edited on August 29, 2011 at 4:27 PM. Reason : bh]

8/29/2011 4:24:55 PM

There's a difference between how a car is marketed and how it is engineered. Are you going to say the old Z3-based M cars aren't Z3's?

8/29/2011 5:22:09 PM

^^goddamn i hate people like you... its the same damned chassis you dipshit with some additional bracing here and there. I don't care how its 'marketed' If you go by marketing the saab 9-2x is a swedish car with aerospace technology in it when we all know its a fucking subaru.

You're trying to tell me the M5 M3 M6 and X5M have more in common with each other then the lines they're based off of. You can take that gear shift and sit on it.

Have a nice day :-)

[Edited on August 29, 2011 at 5:47 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2011 5:42:13 PM

Quote :

"There's a difference between how a car is marketed and how it is engineered. Are you going to say the old Z3-based M cars aren't Z3's?"

Not only it is marketed differently (since its intro in 80’s), but especially engineered. M-division is completely different corporate and engineering entity in BMW. Aside few visual cues, it shares absolutely nothing with regular 3-series car. Engine, transmission, differential, steering, brakes, entire suspension down to bushings, wheel/tires, seats, track width, axles, cooling even some lubricants…everything is 100% different. If that doesn’t make a car different, I don’t what will. Different conversation, but M cars also don’t follow 3 series release dates either, not even by a close margin of dates. Once F30 is in full production, E9X M3 will still be good 2-3 years in production.

Quote :

" ^^goddamn i hate people like you... its the same damned chassis you dipshit with some additional bracing here and there. I don't care how its 'marketed' If you go by marketing the saab 9-2x is a swedish car with aerospace technology in it when we all know its a fucking subaru."

Some additional bracing? Hahaha! Funny because until ’02 M3 didn’t even have a measly FSB….but ok. Nice strawman argument. Comparing Saab 9-2x marketing to M3 vs 3 series marketing? Really? Saab 9-2x is a twin WRX, based on exact same platform, kind of like Ford Taurus was to Mercury Sable or grand vic to grand marquis. These cars share all the mechanical fundamentals with one another.

8/29/2011 6:18:33 PM

there's a reason it's called an e30/e36/e46 m3 and not e-someotherchassiscode m3. it's not because the cars only look kinda similar

8/29/2011 7:19:06 PM

Quote :

"it's not because the cars only look kinda similar"

ok, ill play. besides looking similar what do they share exactly?

8/29/2011 8:24:51 PM

The entire unibody structure.

What do you think they re engineered the shit from sratch?

If they aren't the same car then an sti shouldnt be considered a wrx
Diff engine tranny diffs springs struts widebodykit swaybars and a spoiler can change the entire model of the car.

Seriously every e36 can be made into an m with bolt ons e 30 you need a good body guy for the wide body kit but it's been done the e46 newer I don't know about and i don't care about because e46ms are too hard to turbo for a DD and the newer ones aren't worth the price.

I'd rip you one on the e39 too but I'm on a phone and it's not worth my time.

[Edited on August 29, 2011 at 9:42 PM. Reason : .]

8/29/2011 9:30:09 PM

Unibody is different too.

Here you go:

8/29/2011 9:43:18 PM

Quote :

"What do you think they re engineered the shit from sratch?"

Certainly not, but that's not what we are talking about here. I never said the car does not have some parts identical to 3-series bimmers, but for all that's worth it is completely different car from purpose, design, all major components and feel.

Quote :

"If they aren't the same car then an sti shouldnt be considered a wrx Diff engine tranny diffs springs struts widebodykit swaybars and a spoiler can change the entire model of the car."

I don't know what subarus have or don't have. We are talking about your claims that 3-series and M3 are the same car, figuratively speaking. Feel free to start another thread.

Quote :

"Seriously every e36 can be made into an m with bolt ons e 30 you need a good body guy for the wide body kit but it's been done the e46 newer I don't know about and i don't care about because e46ms are too hard to turbo for a DD and the newer ones aren't worth the price."

bla bla bla...you can turn geo metro into a corvette look alike with enough money. who cares?
OFF TANGENT completely.

Quote :

"I'd rip you one on the e39 too but I'm on a phone and it's not worth my time."

more bla bla. not talking E39 here.

8/29/2011 9:55:34 PM

Get those pics working I want to see.

Also, I won't take a strong stance in this argument but I do know that the e36 M3 chassis is reinforced in many ways and entire suspension assemblies while being similar are completely different from the subframes all the way out to the last control arm, wheel bearing, brake shield, etc. I would expect a base WRX to be more similar to an STi in comparison.

8/29/2011 10:00:00 PM

pics working for me? i can PM too.

8/29/2011 10:03:35 PM

all i'm saying is that the quote "an M3 is not a 3-series" is some stupid "my shit don't stink" excuse made by someone who doesn't want their car lumped in with the car that their car is ENTIRELY BASED ON. Its not like i'm saying the 3-series is a POS and thus the M is too. I'm just saying there is a 3 in the name because its still an Em-Effing 3 series.

8/30/2011 8:27:20 AM

^agreed. I bet smoothcrim probably thinks an RUF isn't a Porsche either. Or a Saleen a Ford.

Quote :

"M3 is probably the most ubiquitous car on American race tracks"

While I'm a fan of M3s, in this category I'd put them behind the Miata and 911.

8/30/2011 9:29:05 AM

^^Can’t get into your personal issues or how you stereotype, but I like all BMWs and drive a regular 3-series now. Fact is that M3 is not “ENTIRELY” based on 3-series. It is structurally, mechanically and just about every other way designed and engineered different from regular 3-series.

^Here I’ll rephrase it for you. It is one of the most ubiquitous cars on American race tracks. Btw, I never said M3 is not BMW as you are implying with your RUF and Saleen references.

8/30/2011 12:39:44 PM

thats true...

8/30/2011 12:56:50 PM

lol so the m3 is a completely different car that looks just like a wide body 3 series.

Ok... yep

that's all i'm sayin...

8/30/2011 1:12:30 PM

Quote :

"lol so the m3 is a completely different car that looks just like a wide body 3 series. "

Spot on.

8/30/2011 1:24:51 PM

well that makes all kinds of economic sense!

[Edited on August 30, 2011 at 1:42 PM. Reason : ]

8/30/2011 1:37:10 PM

Good Lord. Most of you who know me know I got love for all my peeps and I respect your individual interests and differences of opinion. But GODDAMN, there are quite a lot of you who, in traditional TWW fashion, are being a bunch of hairsplitting faggots in this thread.

Now, as I've just said, I respect your individual interests and differences of opinion...

...but this thread topic is going to be that one exception.

GNX hands down...and any of you who think that any of your M3s (with the possible exception of the E30) is even remotely as cool or unique or more beautiful...well, you're a card-carrying, cock-chugging, take-it-in-the-shitter, scrotum-licking, dookball-eating FAGGOT.

They're not even in the same class. The E30 comes close because it's a relatively rare in-the-raw car, produced in road trim solely for homologation purposes. Every M3 afterward just doesn't capture that soul in my opinion.

And the GNX is pure soul...pure Americana. It just inspires that eye-watering FEELING in me. I feel a connection to it. Sure, it's crude by modern day standards (and lots of world standards in its time), but man...it's one of the few production cars that really grabs me.

Carry on.

9/1/2011 11:47:02 AM