It took a while for BMW to fully develop the naming system we know today, with the 1972 520 (on the E12 platform) the first to hit the scene using a name that would fit in now. The E21 3-Series was next, showing up in 1975. The big, powerful 7-Series hit the streets starting in 1977, so what was the plushest, flashiest Bavarian sedan you could get before then? The E3 New Six, of course, sold in the United States for the 1969 through 1976 model years. Here's one of the last E3s sold here, found in a self-service yard near Reno, Nevada.
The 3.0 Si was the most expensive new BMW available here in 1976, listing at an intimidating $14,990 with automatic transmission (which this car has). That's about $80,265 in 2022 dollars, and about as much as you'd have paid for a new '76 Cadillac Sedan de Ville with a new Buick Le Sabre Custom four-door hardtop and a few tanks of premium gas thrown in. The '76 BMW 530i cost a mere $10,590 ($56,705 today).
Most European E3 buyers would have insisted on the five-speed manual transmission, but American drivers of luxury cars have loved automatics since the first really workable ones appeared in 1940 Oldsmobiles. The shift indicator on the shifter bezel itself is gone, but this indicator on the dash uses a gear-naming system that certainly doesn't comply with American regulations of 1976. It appears that neutral is described as "zero" on this display.
Many of us may be more familiar with this car's coupe sibling, the E9, or the more affordable 2.8-engined Bavaria sedan. The 3.0 S (1971-1974) and 3.0 Si (1975-1976) were the top dogs of the American-market BMW sedan world in their time.
This 3.0-liter, fuel-injected straight-six made 176 hp, which was very impressive for 1976 (when a new Porsche 911S offered a mere 157 horses in US-market configuration).
The interior isn't so bad and the body rust is the surface type you see in dry Western climates. 1976 is a tough year for classic cars near California (this junkyard is located less than ten miles from the state line), because 1975 is the newest model year for the coveted emissions-test exemption in the Golden State. On top of that, late E3s in nice condition don't seem to sell for huge money nowadays. This car probably wasn't worth rescuing, at least not from a c0ld-hearted financial perspective, but we can hope that its parts will live on after its shell meets the cold steel jaws of the crusher.
