BMW sold 380,000 2002's, then 1.3 million e21's! That's pretty nice rise in popularity. While prone to corrosion, drastically lower production numbers and the passage of time are the primary reasons there aren't as many 02's and e21's around, not rust.
I don't know about broken sales records, but I DO know that the e36 marginally outsold the e30 worldwide and in 9 production years vs. the e30's 12 years, which we ALL know doesn't make the e36 the coolest!
I turned your enthusiastic e30 rally into a pissing match. I'm a dush.