Yahoo Autos Junkyard Gem: 1999 BMW 323i Sedan
After documenting more than 2,000 discarded vehicles since I began the project in 2007, the time has come to fill in some holes in the collection. Namely, the BMW 3 Series, now in its seventh generation since the first North American-market 320i appeared here in the 1977 model year. We've seen junkyardified examples of the pre-3-Series 2002 followed by the E21, E30, and E36; I've been seeing kaput E46s on a regular basis for several years now, so I vowed to shoot the next one I saw while making my car-graveyard rounds. That turned out to be this maltreated '99 323i in Denver.
Each successive 3 Series gets heavier and more powerful, with the current G20 3 Series scaling in hundreds of pounds heavier than the 5 Series of the 320i era and coming very close to the heft of the early 7 Series. In 1999, the new 323i lived near the middle of the 3 Series lineup, well above the affordable four-cylinder 318ti on the prestige ladder but far below the mighty M3.
The 323i's engine was this 2.5-liter straight-six, equipped with variable valve timing and rated at 170 horsepower. The 328i got a 2.8-liter six making 193 horses, while the M3 had 240 hp.
