Mini News Most liked posts in thread: Interview: How The Mini USA Boss Keeps An Icon From Becoming A Fad

"He's counting on the fan base to stay loyal and find what they're looking for as needs change, but to appreciate the fact they're not becoming a German status symbol, either. Even if the cars have more BMW in them than ever before."

See, this is where they lose me......I accepted the fact that a 4 door and Countryman were needed to keep the marque viable and grow sales....the problem comes in what's become of the original lineup - the Cooper and Cooper S hatch. Probably because they have to share a floor pan, now they've grown and grown where they didn't need to......and they don't still have the core values that drew people to the car in the first place. Lightweight, efficient packaging, nimble handling and so on.....they've tamped down the "fun factor" in favor of appealing to a larger market.

I guess you can't have both....but as a part of the loyal fan base he mentions, I'm NOT finding what I'm looking for in MINI product anymore.

The other side of this is that as they've become more BMW, they've also gone "upscale" in price, to the point where - like a BMW - the only MINI I can afford to buy now is a used one.

 

I actually prefer the looks of the base F56 Cooper to the S - there's a tuning shop in Japan that's fitted the base bumper to an S, and it looks a LOT better.

 

Funny thing is... for all the complaining I read, you'd think that MINIs are now the size of Ford Excursions. Truth is, the F56S is really not all that much bigger than the R53.

Only place it's seen any significant growth is length (143.9" vs 151.9"), a nominal growth of 8", most of which is in the front, due to the new platform and protruding chin on the S models.

Wheelbase has grown 1.1" (97.1" to 98.2"), width 1.5" (66.5" to 68"), and curb weight has only gone up 81 lbs (2679 to 2760).

Yes, it carries a bit more visual mass. Yes it's a little chunky looking. But it's still a fantastic exercise in efficiency and use of space, it's still smaller than the vast majority of other cars on the road, and it's still fun to drive (although the clutch pedal is a bit flaccid). Also, the stock sport seats are fantastic, and the F56 is a lot safer than the R53.

I hate change too. But without change, there's no progress, and without progress, we'd live in a pretty boring world.

 

What car that has been in production for 12+ years (or at least had multiple generations) hasn't grown in size/weight from when it first came out?

 

Here's a clue....:ihih:

Single fent.... And Fents

 

Too late it's been a fad for years already.

 

Those extra 8'' makes it right at the size of the original Clubman that was touted as BIG and can carry full size adults in the back seats... Now the Cooper is big and still can't carry full size adults in the back seat.. It's those 8'' everybody here wishes they'd take out of the Cooper. This is what the Clubman, Countryman, Paceman, were produced for..

 

All this talk about an extra 8"... Honestly, i wouldn't know what to do with an extra 8", but there are people out there somewhere that would probably love to give it a try. [emoji51]

 

This could go south in a hurry... :blush2: :lol:

 

That guy went full retard... Never go full retard.

 

I totally agree about needing someone to care about marketing. MINI spent the first half of it's life without a focus on marketing because it was a unique design with little to no competition. Now it needs marketiing because it has loss that wow factor after being around for 13 years and it has some competition in it's segment (that are mostly less expensive).

 

^^^ I agree....

 

For me, what's missing is the mystique and practicality that was Mini in the first place. Clearly the Issigonis design was a revolution in the auto world. Very simple and practical. Since that introduction, many auto manufacturers developed vehicles that provided formatible competition. But it was Mini that remained the most popular of the lot. When the new BMW MINI was introduced, they were re-engineering an iconic automobile that was no longer safety compliant, in order to make it so, with the intent of replacing a missing piece of history within the worldwide marketplace. Since the MINI was introduced, nearly 14 years ago now, the struggles to identify with an ever changing consumer demand for gadgetry and luxury in the compact and subcompact market has taken BMW down a path many of us don't care for. I understand what they're trying to accomplish with MINI in an attempt to reach the widest variety of consumer attention with the varied models, much like the original Mini product did. In many ways, they've done exactly that. Sadly though, as safety regulation requirements have changed, so has the MINI. The car is larger and less agile in many cases and there's not much we can do about that...

Hopefully, the trend at MINI will be to revert to the continued development of a vehicle that is more along the lines of the original R Series cars and parent company BMW will recognize the value of separating the two Marques. Time will tell.

 

That's because they prefer the looks of the Lifan 320 to the F56?

 

It has always been a fad.

 

It's already been said, and everyone here knows it. They're not looking to be unique, they're looking to be mainstream. If I wanted a car that was wide and long I wouldn't buy a MINI. If I wanted a car with 4-doors I'd buy a Honda. My current MINI will probably be my last MINI.

 

In this example either 2934 lbs or 3086 lbs depending on the year of the crub. :biggrin5:

 

OK, so why is it such a small percentage of Gen 1 buyers like the Gen 2 cars, and even fewer like the Gen 3 cars?

What has MINI done to alienate those folks?

And for you Classic buffs, there are bigger classics too - my Clubby is both longer in wheelbase and longer in body than the hatch - about 8" overall.

However, the original Mini stayed the same size it's entire production life.

Just sayin.....