The Ultimate Cred Machine
BMW 3.0 CS
Years: 1972 – 75
Price: $28, 000 – $70,000
• Every vehicle can be assigned a Valet Quotient, a 0–10 score factoring both its curb appeal and its public perception. A Prius gets a 0 for being smug and ugly; a Lamborghini might only earn a 7—you’ve gotta assume the driver owns a chain of check-cashing stores. The BMW 3.0 CS? Its Valet Quotient is way off the charts. That’s because the 3.0 CS is emphatically not for wealthy ass-hats. It’s the still-handsome godfather of every long-and-lean coupe that BMW’s ever built, and a steward of the brand’s sporty DNA. With that comes respect. “The 3.0 CS has ultra street cred,” says Neil Jaffe, president of Chequered Flag International in Marina del Rey, California, which is selling this 1974 model. “You can buy so many cars that say so many bad things,” Jaffe says. “This one puts people on notice that you aren’t trying too hard.”—D.D.
