The BMW 3 Series is a compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It was the successor to the 2002 coupe. The 3 Series is BMW's best selling automobile, accounting for nearly 40% of all automobiles sold by the company in 2005. Its main competitors are Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Saab 9-3, and Audi A4.The 3 Series is the best selling foreign luxury sedan in the United States — 98,000 vehicles were sold in 2005.

In 1968, an article appeared in Car and Driver praising the BMW 2002 for its European style and driving characteristics. Historically, BMW got its start in the American market in New York City when Austrian born importer Max Hoffman began selling imported BMWs.

Max Hoffman, often referred to as the "father" of the import car business, was a famous New York Car Dealer/Importer who is largely responsible for the US sports car resurgence of the 40's and 50's. He imported sports cars to the US and made them available after WW II. Hoffman helped sponsor amateur sports car racing in the US and encouraged the European manufacturers to respond to the emerging US sports car market. Hoffman influenced BMW product marketing (as well as other German made cars )in the US for many years.

The success of the 2002 led to the founding of BMW North America in 1975. And shortly thereafter a new model was introduced that furthered this concept of performance and practicality – the BMW 3 Series. This new model was a direct descendant of the 2002. The 3 series is the most successful of BMW models, a trend that will likely continue well into the future.

3 Series vehicles can be largely differentiated by the underlying platform:

* BMW E21 - (1975–1983) 3 Series
* BMW E30 - (1984–1994) 3 Series
* BMW E36 - (1992–1998) 3 Series
* BMW E46 - (1999–2006) 3 Series
* BMW E90 - (2005–) 3 Series Sedan
* BMW E91 - (2006-) 3 Series Wagon
* BMW E92 - (2007-) 3 Series Coupé
* BMW E93 - (2007-) 3 Series Convertible

View also: BMW Classics - BMW 5 Series - BMW Z4 - BMW 6 Series

BMW 3 Series - BMW X6 - BMW X1 - BMW X5

BMW 7 Series - BMW GINA - BMW F1 - BMW H2R

BMW Just 4-2 - BMW X3 - BMW Z3 - BMW Z8 - BMW Z9

BMW 1 Series - BMW Concept Coupé - BMW Concept CS - BMW EfficientDynamics Concept

Check out the BMW 3 Series wallpapers and BMW 3 Series Pictures (pics) collection below: