If anybody is surprised I will be shocked... Both from a pure logistical standpoint of ending gen2 derivatives, and the ending of a seemingly failed car from a pure volume standpoint. Yes, it will be missed by many, but like many cars built on a mildly modified chasis of a bigger brother, they were flawed due to compromises made, mostly around keeping a high enough parts commonality to allow them to be built on the same production line with the lowest development costs possible.... Besides...they need showroom space for the new MINI...it is...er..."large and in charge!!" I just hope the next car, after the 5 door, is not the MINI VAN, sold in two lengths, naturally, MAXI and mini....
In the future any one liking or wanting a good handling two seat coupe or roadster will just have to check out the Miata.
I'd consider one if it was on a GEN 1 chassis.... Size DOES matter...at least to me, and MINI just seems to be getting bigger and bigger as well as less popular.
" McKenna didn't have much to say about their deaths but noted both models have run their lifecycles. He added their elimination is part of the company's new “superhero strategy" which plans to put a greater emphasis on high volume models. McKenna declined to say whether or not we could eventually see a successor but previous reports have suggested the company is considering a production version of the stylish Superleggera Vision concept." Ok, I am not the fastest Hotwheels on the track but don't these two paragraphs seem, I don’t know, CONTRADICTING!:mad2::mad2::mad2: Don’t get me wrong I for one would like to see the Superleggera hit the streets, right behind the Rocketman. What does MINI see in the Superleggera that makes it a possible high volume model? It can’t be the minimalist approach used on the concept, which contradicts everything the "in crowd" is looking for. Not big enough for Soccer Moms and it sure don’t babysit the kids or call the hubby and every other person on her contact list. Why, because it is a two seater and it didnt have a “In-Car Entertainment System†either.
Collector Model Looks like I have a collector model, which others will die for! Even Dave.O likes it. Wow.
MINI started NOT caring about the "In Crowd" and did it's own thing and they became popular over time. They filled a need for a Low Cost mode of transportation. Now they are even considered a "timeless classic". Now BMiniW is just trying to hold on to what they have already started to ruin. :frown2: Oh and I do not see the "Superleggera" being a Home Run High volume at all for MINI because others like Mazda have perfected a little car like little Miata. The Miata is very well built and will last forever unlike a mini / or even a BMW built MINI. If you want a MINI 2 seat convertible like the "Superleggera" buy a Z4 and see how well they hold up at the starting price or $49,500. :lol:
Hey!! My MINI mechanics second car is a Z4!!! And if you think mini parts are $$$...Then wait till you must buy Z4 parts (care to guess how much a liner motor for the roof actuator costs? Neat technology, but $$$ for seemingly minor stuff that cost $$$ to fix)!! Talking to him, he seemed fearful of non-warrenty repairs!! This coming from a guy that buys a "basket case" mini every years or so and rebuilds it into a daily driver....with most everything inside ported and polished.... Yeah...Mazda has the "classic" cabrio roadster nailed IMO... My gut says if you want to sell a low volume cabrio, might as well be RWD, cause for most it will be a 3rd car for weekend/fairweather use..... Cutting the top off a mini and making it look a bit odd to make a SHORT, FATTER, LESS SEXY fwd roadster.... Not sure folks are ever gonna buy many...just too many SEXY cars in the segment.... MINI says alot...but usually fun, smile, happy, but not the same feelings as looking at a z4 or the Mazda....both of which has a cult of lovers that repurposed older cars as track cars cause the rwd...sure..the mini buyer might be a different buyer....but loosing the roof, and the rear seats puts the roadster in a different class..harder to justify ANYTHING that is not extreme...let's face it...it is more of a status symbol, and thus status matters...so rwd, and sexyness, etc are all check boxes...guess "aww...cute" is good...but folks are less likely to spend $$$ for cute as opposed to "holey crap!!".... And the postionig of the mini brand with the realitve rarity of a REAL JCW proves this... Special car, for a special person willing to spend $$....and in a roadster...much narrower...
Oh my friend had a BMW Z4 I know how much parts and labor are. They are crazy expensive to maintain. An arm and a leg and your first born will not even cover a brake job. Those cars cost more to maintain an Ex with 3 Kids.
That's WHY Porsche and BMW made the boxster (and now the Cayenne) and Z4... CHEAPER to get the wife a sexy car when she catches you in the sack with her "best" friend than to say "sorry" than getting a divorce..... I'm only half kidding....:ihih: worked with a guy who....
See a lot yeah but more then the standard 3 door hatch not hardly. I would say if you added up all the Coupes, Roadsters, CM's and Clubmans the 3 door hatch would still out numbers them all. (R53,R56 and the two aweful F56 demos they had last year)
I'm surprised by the roadster, which I thought would do well, on the other hand, I've always felt the coupe was a great idea poorly implemented.
I built my 2012 Coupe on-line in 2011 after having seen a commercial on Mini USA. Who knew I'd own a classic? Not me. Oh well, I love my MINI just the same.
That would seem logical, that being the migration spot for MINIs. In my hunting area I can only tell you of one, maybe two, but i think that one has flown the coop.
If MINI wants to make a replacement for the coupe and roadster it should be one car with a retractable hard top. This last gen Miata had a 60% take on the version. Plus it's cheaper to make one car to do both things.
Bottom line, there is no large market for 2 seaters, it's nothing new and that doesn't mean they don't exist or don't have a purpose . . . which makes a lot of people jealous :cornut: But who cares how many you sale. These are great cars and as derivative of common chassis didn't cost nearly as much to develop as the bread and butter segment. They should be considered cherry on the cake because of it. Logics says get read of the low selling quantity models first. But in this case I say keep those until you've significantly cut down on the bread and butter of same species. If you don't sell a lot of them you probably aren't going to help your finances by that much anyway and you are probably not hurting that badly from them. They were the latest model variant made. They should be the latest taken out or at least once the more popular platforms are canceled. But whatever, decision has been made... I'm so glad we got ours on time and I'll be sad not to see it in the MINI product line for a long time. ps: Z4 is too expensive. The coming Z2 concept a bit ugly (talk about a Miata want to be, strange for BMW), and the Miata is too cheap, unrefined, and cramped for daily use. MINI roadster was the perfect balance for us. But I guess not the most popular segment either :nonod: Lastly weather shouldn't be that much a factor. We live in the north east. It get's quite cold and snowy in the winter and we drove 60% of the time top down last year. We had a blast. Two seats is really the part people can't justify. It's that simple and understandable. My suggestion for the next one would be, make it an hybrid. Build a convertible that has roadster qualities but can be quickly reconfigured into a 4/5 seater for occasional use. Let's face it. Most convertible I see around are rarely filled with many passengers. It happens and is a need but most of the year back seats are for bags. Meanwhile trunk space is an everyday necessity. My 2ç