a special screw technology that is good for a “uni-directional joining process.”

Have a star, not because I agree with you or anything--hell, I don’t even understand it, but because it’s as interesting a take as any on this page today.

No doubt, but if you look at the E36, it has a gauge and switch cluster that is definitely driver centric, perhaps not in tilt, but somewhat cockpit like. From the E46 on, it has been going all wrong in that regard.

Imagine an E36 dash with one of those factory iPads tacked on top!

Alas, we are at an impasse. But I shall continue to maintain your star for the touring car. 

Okay, I am digging this post and the Kinja below.

Starred, but only for the touring car/Winkelhock reference and photo. The four-door E36 is not better looking, especially as an M3.

E36 was best BMW dash. An improvement on the already decent E30. They have since completely lost the plot in this regard. 

Half out stuff is made in China because the Chinese work for pay rates that have not been commonplace in this country for probably 100 years or so. 

Sweet ride! How long have you owned the M5? Any mods, like a 3.8-liter?

No, that’s not my deal at all. No pining necessary as I’ve owned (and still own in one case) other M cars. I’m just taken aback that the E36 gets shit on because it is neither an E30 nor an E46 or newer model. It its time, it was at the top of the heap. 

Oh, wait, now we are ranking them? That was not part of my rant. My problem is this revisionist history that people thought the car was “awful” when it came out. Nobody thought that. Of course, it can’t hold a candle to the E90/E92 with that insane V-8.

The E36, model year 1995, before BMW put staggered tires on it and…

BMW was all set to kill off the M division in the U.S., given the relatively slow sales of the M3 after 1988 model year and then the dismal sales of the E34 M5 (still one of my all-time favorites).

Then the E36 M3 sold like hotcakes and, seemingly overnight, the M division’s biggest market was the U.S. Sure, the M3…

I did. My point is that “car people” are not always saying it’s awful. That was my point.

But fair enough, you enjoyed it. 

What are you, 12 years old? The E36 M3 was a watershed car when it came out. It was never considered “awful,” except possibly by the bros who lauded over the E30 M3 (not as quick as you might be led to believe) and whose mommies bought them E46 M3s. Lots of guys traded their E30 M3s for E36 M3s.

The E36 M3 was faster,…

Fortunately, the average 39-year-old man knows EVERYTHING.

(says a previously 39-year-old man)

Nice! I can rest easy knowing that my ephemeral knowledge of options packages on nearly 30-year-old British-inspired Japanese roadsters remains intact.

Hmm....I remember the options page listing the headrest speakers as only being part of the B package, and LSD as a standalone option. But, then again, memories are known to sometimes be false. I know the speakers were part of the B package, but not sure if it was a standalone option as well. 

TL;DR version: It’s…

I’ve seen higher-mileage, mouse-infested, ripped-seat-bolster, filthy-engined NAs with higher asking prices.

This car is about as Jalop as it gets—stick, fun car, pop-ups, unmolested.

This is NP seven days a week. 

The car has roll-your-own windows, which means it never had the headrest speakers. It has power steering and a leather-wrapped wheel = A package.

The B package came with the headrest speakers, power windows, and cruise control, none of which are necessary in such a beast. Even if you have to reach over to roll down…

The original NA Miata wore 185/60R14 tires. There used to be an abundance of decent performance tires in that size, which was the same as the A2 GTI/GLI had until the 2.0-liter 16V cars came about.

Coming from modern vehicles with 17-inch and greater tire sizes, finding $60 tires seems like a dream come true. Though,…