BMW E46

BMW E46

The BMW E46 is the fourth generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW, produced from 1998 when it succeeded the BMW E36.The BMW E46 was released in 1998 to worldwide markets in the sedan body style. In 1999, a coupé and touring body style became available to all markets, and the sedan was released in the United States. BMW E46 a convertible and hatchback body

style was released in 2000, the latter only for Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The BMW E46 experienced enormous success in all markets and was widely considered the performance benchmark of its class BMW E46 3series.The record selling year for the BMW E46 chassis was 2002, when 561,249 vehicles were sold worldwide. The main competitors during the BMW E46' s production run were the Alfa Romeo 156, Audi A4, Infiniti G, Lexus IS, Acura TL, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Rover 75/MG ZT.

BMW E46

BMW M GmbH produced a high-performance variant of the BMW E46 chassis, designated the M3. This BMW E46 m3 version had a larger, more powerful engine, sportier suspension, a limited slip differential, and various aesthetic modifications. The BMW E46 M3 was released in 2001 and was available only in the coupé and convertible body style. It was offered with two transmissions; a standard 6-speed manual, or an optional sequential manual gearbox.
The BMW E46 was developed as an evolutionary replacement for the BMW E36 chassis. In late 1995, the general exterior design of the BMW E46 by Erik Goplen was chosen and as a result DesignworksUSA was contracted by BMW to work alongside BMW Group's in-house design team to create the exterior body work in February 1996. Based on the E36 body shell, the design team put an emphasis on improving aerodynamics and increasing the car's aggressive stance.Design patents were filed in Germany on 16 July 1997 and in the US on 16 January 1998.While the styling of the BMW E46 was seen as an evolution of the extremely successful previous generation 3-series, it was not immediately embraced by either the buying public, or the automotive press. Word leaked out in the press that the BMW E46 stylists were unhappy in raising the roof-line, and the general "rounding" of the body panels in comparison to the more squarish E36 series.

BMW E46

Since the start of production  BMW E46 the entire in-car entertainment system .Radio Function, Navigation System, Television and Telecommunications systems is based on a very flexible automotive computer system.As a result the BMW E46 models can all be easily upgraded with the newest BMW technologies including BMW's Bluetooth System, the DVD based Navigation system, as well as BMW's CD changers that play MP3s.An emphasis was put on reducing unsprung weight and increasing structural rigidity rather than increasing power output: the highest displacement model at release, the BMW E46 28, had only 3 horsepower more than the E36 328.To counter this small power increase, the body shell of the E46 was claimed by BMW to be 70% more rigid than the E36's,and aluminum suspension components were used increasingly in order to decrease unsprung weight.In tune with BMW's core values,12 the BMW E46 was released with a front engined rear-wheel drive layout with 50/50 weight distribution.This balance allows for optimal handling in regard to the drive train layout.

courtesy by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_(E46)