Production # of 318is in U.S.?

[dude8383]

Anyone know? I tried wikipedia, and googled but the ones i keep coming across are world wide numbers..

[asubimmer]

that would be cool to know :)

[dude8383]

yup exactly why i brought up the question :)

[asubimmer]

yeah I hear that the 318is is almost as rare in the US as a E30 M3, would be nice to know #'s

[dude8383]

damn...everyone that has posted on the other forums is just giving me world wide figures. blah i can't find anything either...its gotta be somewhere

[Febi Guibo]

write to bmw na on their site!

[stevohill]

I remember reading on a site somewhere(can't remember the site though now) that the production number's for 318is made between '89-91 was in the 40 thousands, which made it nearly as rare as the e30m3. I wish I could remember which site it was though, had a lot of interesting info on it.

[kowalski]

thats not N.A. distribution tho, thats just the amount sold that year in total.

[dude8383]

thats not N.A. distribution tho, thats just the amount sold that year in total.

yeh WERD...im wondering how many specifically made it here.

[KidneyBoy]

Okay, as of now there are about 70 members, now, everyone start taking note of all the 318is you see out there, report back in a weeks time.:rolleyes:

[dude8383]

lol that should take a bit of time...

[kowalski]

Okay, as of now there are about 70 members, now, everyone start taking note of all the 318is you see out there, report back in a weeks time.:rolleyes:


hahahaha...

[asubimmer]

k guys I have 4 so far

[Choking Hazard]

so thats it. 4. Cool. My cars is pretty rare....

[1991318is]

that'd b awesome if there were only 4 made, could get some sweet money if u ever wanted to get rid of yours. But I got no plans on givin up on mine.

[stevohill]

Yeah, seeing 318is is a pretty rare occurence for me, well seeing e30's in general it seems, at least ones that are in "decent" condition. Usually I'll spot one and be like sweet another e30, only to find it's driven by a grandma and is more than likely auto, that or a horrible trashed e30 driven by a hispanic(since I live in az, no offense to anyone who is hispanic) Just makes me sad to see such great cars given no respect.

[Febi Guibo]

hey all this sounds a little... low?
but, here we go:


Dear Mr Guibo,

Thank you for your email.

Unfortunately it's not very much we have in our archives about the US BMW 318is. The only differences between the 318i US and the 318is US were in the Spoilers and some different upholstery for the "is". Therefore both types used the same number range and we cannot find out how many were "i" and how many "is". The total production numbers for the BMW 318i/is US models are:

Four door sedan: 6.730 from May 1990 until May 1991

Two door sedan: 9.779 from December 1989 until May 1991

We hope this is helpful for you.

Yours sincerely,
BMW Mobile Tradition
Group Archives


9,779 two door iS models (in europe, the '.' is our ',')... wow if that's true... it's rare... I think when they say 'US' it means us + canada, but not sure... next letter is to BMW N. America.

Note also, I think the 1,000,000th E30 produced was a 318is!

[dude8383]

wait so there were about 16,500 318i/is produced for the U.S. market?!

[Febi Guibo]

yeah that's about it...

[1991318is]

Sweet, low numbers... Hopefully you get a response from NA, Interesting to see the actual numbers.

[stevohill]

So 16,000 total? thats production numbers, not how many are actually left running and in good condition. We truly are the elitists of the e30's :)

[RED IS 91]

My first post . great to be among friends
here's some info on the 318 is:)

It debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1989 but was overshadowed by the launch of the 850i. Eventually, it was sold in most markets but was most popular in Italy, Spain, Portugal, UK, Ireland and North America. Even so, the 318is is a relatively rare car with 41,234 being made (out of a total of 2.2 million E30's = 1.86%). 9,442 were made in 1990, 29,171 in 1991 and 2,621 in 1992.

As of 2001, there are just 1687 UK 318is left registered with the DVLA in the UK - I guess Ireland has only about 150. I would therefore calculate that there are only ~15-20,000 E30 318is left roadworthy in the whole world - making them nearly as rare as E30 M3's! :eek:

The model was made different to the other sub 2 litre models by mainly incorporating changes in the engine, chassis and braking areas to overall improve its performance to GTi levels. The car was not sold or marketed as a boy-racer though, its overall heavier weight penalising its acceleration competitiveness, but appealed to the more astute driver who valued durability, depth of engineering and resale potential.

The 318is was dechromed and an extended front spoiler was fitted. Some of these spoilers were recessed in the middle, some had front foglights fitted and most had brake cooling ducts. Warmer climates had a grill (or even two) under the bumber to allow extra air to the radiator which was blanked elsewhere. A solid rear lip spoiler was also fitted as on other models. The M-Tech aerodynamic kit was also an option.

[m42 fan]

Seriously, I had no idea there were so few of these. eye opening

[kowalski]

yeah neither did i, i know 3 other locals with 318is's

[dude8383]

wow thats awesome...our cars are RARE then. i would feel guilty to swap it out for an S50 but damn is it ever so tempting..

[Febi Guibo]

you'd lose twice:

1. I'd take your M42Club priviliges
2. I'd take your car

[kowalski]

you'd lose twice:

1. I'd take your M42Club priviliges
2. I'd take your car
3. I'd give you a backhand to the jaw

ahh you said it before me...
i fixed it up a little

[Febi Guibo]

aw I could never slug denis...!

[dude8383]

lol nah like i said i would feel to guilty!!

maybe ill buy a second e30 (325is) that way i wouldn't feel that guilty yanking the engine out...

you'd lose twice:

1. I'd take your M42Club priviliges


man i can't loose the damn commission! i live on this!

haha

[sheepdog]

Okay, as of now there are about 70 members, now, everyone start taking note of all the 318is you see out there, report back in a weeks time.:rolleyes:

One week? How about I just tell you now, NONE!





I have seen two 318i (one was when I was looking for one) and one 318is in the last 2 years.

Several 325's, of differing vintages (one NICE late model white cab) maybe a dozen different ones. e30's are a bit rare in the entire St. Louis area. If I see more than 2 e30's in a month it is rare.


In the first few months after I got it, I nearly caused 2 accidents from people gawking at it. No joke.

I do not claim it to be the best 318, but it is rare to see a nice looking example, especially an IS in the area and apparently these people knew it.

Needless to say getting parts, is a nightmare. Junkyards hang up at the letter "B" and the dealers (all owned by one guy) do not keep e30 parts in stock other than e36 compatible parts. Basically everything I need is shipped in. I did find one 325 at a yard, it was gutted from one end to the other.

[m42 fan]

All owned by one guy... You're talking about Lou Fouz (sp?) aren't you? Ha, I used to live in Illinois before I joined the Navy, closer to St. Louis than Chicago, so I always came down for Cardinals games and such. Great city, btw.

[M42boy]

That is pretty rare in the grand scheme of things (in a sea of mass produced American and Japanese cars). But still seems high compared to some of the numbers I'm used to with the ur-S model Audis. I had a 1995 Audi S6 Avant, of which only about 450 were ever imported to the US.

Of those, only a handful were the rare and desirable "Europa Blue"... And, let's just say, there's one less of those.

My old car:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4s6/msgs/91661.phtml

[Choking Hazard]

My old car:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4s6/msgs/91661.phtml

Oh that was nice. I'm sorry it met with uncooperative physics.:(

[2002maniac]

... And, let's just say, there's one less of those.


That was a nice car. I hope you feel like shit.

[sheepdog]

All owned by one guy... You're talking about Lou Fouz (sp?) aren't you? Ha, I used to live in Illinois before I joined the Navy, closer to St. Louis than Chicago, so I always came down for Cardinals games and such. Great city, btw.

Would not be surprised if Lou owns them. I think it is spelled fusz or something, screwing spelling regardless.

I actually live a bit west of St. louis (60 miles?), moved here from Southern California.
So much better way of life.

Navy huh? Ex A.F. myself.
What do you do?

[jens]

E30 318is is verry rear in Iceland. That is about it:

Red 10/90 R.I.P, swap to E30
white 1/90
Dark grey 1/90
Red 4/90 swap to E30 / Gunni GStuning
Black 12/90 my uncle ( us )
Red 11/90 with 325i engine
Silver 2/91 / jens ( us )