Can you imagine what it’d be like to drive this in 1998? It was a year insignificant to most, but I was only 8 years old then. And it was the year my mom passed. I mention that because…well, I’m not sure. Maybe because it serves as a reminder that our existence is temporary and if I didn’t go for a drive today, I might not be here to go for a drive tomorrow. Morbid, but a fact of life.

Few things get me out of bed before the sun rises — the cat throwing up, the dog barking (whining) for breakfast, and any opportunity to drive my E36. Thankfully, on an uneventful Tuesday, it was something involving my E36 that made it easy to lift my head off the pillow, put on my glasses, and take my morning dump.

The U.S. E36 M3 (1995–1999) was neutered. While the European version had 321hp, the U.S. version only had 240hp. The E36 M3 also didn’t have rad box flairs like its race-bred predecessor (E30 M3) and it didn’t have an engine as special as the M3 that followed (E46 M3). So, why are prices of this“bastard-child” M3 increasing?