Daily Toggle Most liked posts in thread: MINI Officially Releases F54 Images, Brand Strategy Realignment

They want to move the up-market MINI even more up market.... When you do that you are selling to a completely different crowd... BMW did this years ago.... It's less about the "Bulldog stance"... It's less about "go kart" handling..... It's more about being connected, it's more about swirly lights on the dash.... It's more about content $$$'s per unit... They aren't selling to me anymore... Quirkiness is dead....

 

Yeah...

Now is like two MINI's approaching each other...

Both watching the other for the beginning of a wave...

Neither one making the move...

Don't want to be the one to make the wave and get none in return...

Both pass each other without the HI gesture... Total failure..

Whew.... Glad I didn't wave...




However... Last week I passed a cute blond in a MINI.... I threw her a wave..

I got a smile and a wave back.... So the "wave" is not totally broke...

 

Thumbs down for me. Reminds me of the Ford Flex.

 

Better than another SUV, to me.

I will miss the old Clubman, though.

 

I really don't get it. MINI is going for a more modern, contemporary look for the car, and goes with a more retro look for the logo.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Car sharing? Really? MINI: The Socialists' Dream. :nonod:

 

With the Clubman now having 4 full size doors, what is the purpose of having the Countryman, Paceman, and Clubman all be basically the size. Might as well add AWD option to the Clubman as well.. They are setting atleast one of them up to fail..

 

But being different offends people, and we can't have that!

 

I kinda dig this new clubman...

 

It's no secret I despise the dash layout of the F series-the loss of the center speedo, the JOKE of a tachometer, the ridiculous fuel gauge all piss me off.

THEN the unexcusable relocation of the window switches to the door-so we are now like every CHEVY built-piss me off so badly that I just spoke with my wallet-I LOVE MINI quirky and have built a life and business around it so obviously I should own one of the last of these to be built!

 

I got a very enthusiastic wave from another MINI at a stop light when I was driving the fiancée's MINI the other day. It restored my faith for a brief moment.

 

When the new MINI came out, it blew me away. The R56, I lamented the slightly larger size, and loss of the flow formed bonnet. In retrospect, I overreacted--in the end the R56 looks more like an R53 than it doesn't, the average person would be hard pressed to tell them apart unless they were parked side by side.

I would have liked to see the brand go in one of two ways: stay retro, with minor tweaks over the years, like Porsche did with the 911. Keep improving performance, don't do anything crazy with the looks. That would have been my preference, but the MINI isn't a Porsche, and I guess this is unrealistic.

If not that, then Stephenson's suggestion of a radical departure pushing the envelope would be my second choice. It's the opposite extreme, but it would have been interesting.

The option they chose--turning the car into a high priced premium compact front wheel drive BMW just completely lost me.

Still, there a people buying the F56 with being a part of the MINI community in mind, and that's cool. Yes, the hardcore enthusiasts have dropped in numbers (although still remain disproportionately vocal), but there are still people buying newer MINIs then joining up for drives and what not. Ten years from now, I wonder how much of that will still be going on.

 

Well, I plan on using my new job to push the enthusiast side of MINI ownership beyond just vinyl appliques and floormats.

 

I see MINIdaves "Buzz" made the press release.

 

Trying to visualize the difference in the logo...

old....


new...

 

I think that it will be more interesting to see the sales numbers between the F56 4dr and the Clubman. We already know that the Paceman is going away and I'm sure the Countryman will become larger, so will likely be targeted for a slightly different audience.

 

Just remember..... The more models there are, the more high priced JCW variants can be cranked out.....

 

The Countryman will be getting larger in its next iteration, and the Paceman will be gone. Then the MINI lineup will, uh, line up. :wink: