The current JCW has been a disappointment for MINI in terms of sales. They won’t every say it but it’s clear that the car hasn’t performed up to expectations. But that’s not to say it doesn’t posses all the ingredients for success. We’ve written about it quite a bit on MF (you can read out [...] More...
lol, dude you're quick. I was just about to post this myself and I figured I'd check first. Should've posted first and read second
I would hope the addition of the JCW Aero Kit helps sales of the JCW model, but IMO the biggest problem is the base price. MINI has priced themselves out of contention in the past few years. :frown5: The best thing they could do is slice a couple grand off the price and add the JCW Aero Kit. $0.02, Ryan
BINGO!!! While the new JCW is sweet, it's price is not and puts it in the range of some other very nice cars... The R53 JCW was a deal in comparison....
New JCW :cornut: I agree with all the above and can't understand why they put a 'Standard Suspension' under it! The least they could have done would have been to put a 'Sport Suspension' under it! With a 'Sport Suspension' the buyer could decide to: 1.)stay with this Sport Suspension adding lighter wheels with nonrunflat tires(ballpark $2k depending on lightness and quality of wheels, give or take) saving a lot of unsprung weight which automatically tightens the suspension. OR 2.) Add the JCW suspension ( again ballpark $2k) at the dealership. Yeah obviously the 'Bean Counters' are in charge of JCW development. Jason
I'm hoping that I over looked some comment about the suspension and that little nugget of info will be disclosed at a later date. I like to think MINI listens to the community. Probably a bit more to the comments made on this forum or motoringfile when it comes to the JCW. Sidenote: Look at the comments on the article. They don't even get 5 comments deep before somebody says something negative and the negative comments throughout the thread are the most conclusory. Nobody knows anything at this point, aside from the projected engine numbers provided by MINI, yet nay-sayers are pretty sure it'll stink. Sorry for the rant, I don't mind speculation but negative know-it-all's bother me.
Hey Dude, I am glad I gave you a laugh:skep: I am sure I am not the only one who figured that the M7 diffuser and the Challenge spec. were one and the same...
The M7 and Challenge spec diffuser are not one in the same. The M7 bits... (image is direct from M7 site) MINI Challenge bits... There are fundamental differences in the design. Note how the M7 bits have what looks like a small wing between the two, this is absent on the Challenge car. Also look the treatment around the exhaust of each. M7's has a smooth curve where the Challenge units take advantage of the space with that arrow head shaped area above the tips. Lastly, Peter of M7 is very good at promotions, don't you think that if MINI was using the M7 bits that Peter would be touting that very fact. I know I would be shouting from the rooftop if MINI picked up a part I designed for a Challenge car. Not that I design parts... So while the concept is similar the execution is quite different.
Let's put the rear diffuser question to rest. The MINI Challenge car was announced in early summer 2007 and photos were released in August 2007: http://www.motoringfile.com/2007/08/14/mini-releases-details-of-the-jcw-challenge-race-car/. Around that time, I'm not sure that M7 was shipping any product for the R56. They did announce an R56 Unichip was coming soon: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/vendor-announcements/111887-m7-new-r56-tuning-solutions.html The next year in June 2008, M7 previewed their rear diffusor: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/interior-exterior/142542-m7-challenge-wing-and-diffuser-new.html. The MINI Challenge cars had already been shipping for some time and the race series already in progress. Any chance that M7 found some "inspiration" from somewhere? And there was this statement: So they were announcing the product and hadn't even put it on a race car yet! Sadly this is common and typical for aftermarket vendors. They don't even have enough budget to properly test their products. MINI had a dedicated group designing and building the race car and I thought it was absurd that MINI would source this fairly important component to a small time aftermarket vendor of parts for the weekend enthusiast.
Speaking from experience I don't believe that MINI does listen to the community (as much as it should). Case in point is the "Death Rattle". I've had that personally, and fortunately my local dealer (Yaletown MINI) was excellent at dealing at it. In reading countless threads on this and the 'other' site there are MANY owners not as foruntate. Why can't MINI come clean and simply fix the problem once and for all and issue a recall for anybody who affected, or at the very least require their dealers to automatically fix if somebody complains about it. I hear owners jumping thru hoops to try to duplicate the noise and dealers trying various bandaids to fix the problem. To me that is NOT 'listening to the community'. Here in Canada our MINIs cost 33% more than in the States and that doesn't include no-charge maintanance during the warranty period. That is a huge ripoff!!! I've also personally emailed some very positive comments and questions to the president of MINI Canada. Never once got a reply, even from an underling. That's NOT 'listening to the community'. I love my MINI and I hope to keep it many years (I had my 318is for 19 years before trading in for the MINI) but not if it ends up costing me an arm and a leg to fix. I like to support my local MINI dealer too but when I'm forced to pay double the price for most parts (vs ordering over the Net) I can't justify that. Maybe MINI USA is different, I can only hope so, but with respect to the "Death Rattle" I hear otherwise. MINI (Canada) is definitely not 'listening to the community'. Sorry for my rant and I'm not intending on hyjacking this thread either.
I like the look...... And Rixter, I agree... they don't listen as much as they should. I am fortunate to have a great dealership that really takes care of me.
There is a President for MINI Canada??? I thought there was just a committee and director that reported to the Father-Company...:idea:
Rixter, very valid points. Maybe it's a BMW thing, I know people who complain about the HPFP issues and BMW's lack of action. I'm sure there are countless issues with most car makers. However, I was speaking more towards MINI listening to the enthusiast community, more frequently than other car makers when they're looking to make their products more appealing, and then taking those suggestions under advisement.
You're right it might have been Pres for BMW Canada or a Director or something. I can't quite recall the press release last summer from the Fatherland.