The German automaker gets an early jump on the 2004 model year with the introduction of its bread-and-butter 3 Series coupe and convertible. The front end has been revised with a wider kidney grille, modified hood, tighter front apron, and new headlights. More than cosmetics, these high-tech lamps can now follow the road directed by data from steering angle and direction, road speed, and yaw rates. At the rear, the taillamps feature adaptive braking light technology enabling the intensity to reflect the braking input. Full-on emergency braking will have the taillamps illuminated as brightly as the dedicated brake lights. The coupes and convertibles will now come standard with a six-speed manual transmission, and the six-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox offered on the M3 will be optional when the cars go on sale in April.
