Mini News Most liked posts in thread: MINI Vision. An exclusive look at MINI design of tomorrow.

A mini started out as small and minimal car. I think BMW is ruining it by adding too much technology and trying to make every new one look like a small spaceship.

Make the Mini minimal again, no automatics, Bluetooth, GPS, LEDs, Run Rocks with All wheel Drive. Just make a minimal car where the driver is connected to the driving experience and not everything else.

 

My .02 is that they should have left the original R53 alone and just made subtle changes to it like they did the classic for all those years. That is why it is the classic.. If they wanted to make all these other models go for it, I know they need to sell more cars to make money but let the Cooper be the FUN, buy a new one every 5 years and it be just like your old one kind a thing.. I think they would have actually gotten more return business that way.. It is the main reason I still have my R52 justa, and alot of others claim to be keeping their R53's for the same reasons... We've all heard stories of people trading their R53 for an R56 and then going back a year or two later and getting another R53, so just think if you could still buy a new R53!!!

 

And in following trends, instead of setting them, they will lose their identity.... and customer loyalty.

 

I agree Dave O. (Did I just say that?)That is why I like my GP. It has no cruise, no GPS, no controls on the steering wheel. It does have BT which I like and works great for hands free talking. Reminds me of when I grew up driving my Chevy Luv, no fancy stuff, but you had to pay attention and drive.

 

The thing is that many of us on a site such as this are looking at the driving experience. We make up a very small set of MINIs marketing reach these days. If we look at the trends with cars these days they are becoming rolling entertainment devices that one just happens to be able to drive too.

As much as I hate these facts it is the cold reality of the car business now. There are just not enough of us enthusiasts to sustain a brand like MINI. They need to reach the people that see it as JustAnotherCar to keep the sales numbers high enough to justify being in business.

 

I can hardly wait until I too can deride all the owners of the new model for their poor choice. Image the endless possibilities with the new and improved "my model is better than your model" game!
R56 owners, our turn has come.

:laugh: :laugh:

Whenever the F56 owners join MA, and they will....lets try to be supportive and not divisive. Remember our common ground. ...The love of driving our cars.

 

I agree with the idea of keeping MINI as a driver's car. All of the added "features" ... MINI Connected...(call that MINI Distracted) ....self parking.... Blah blah... make it more of a video game and less like a driver's machine. Sadly, MINI has bowed to the market forces and piled on the junk features. It can certainly be said that a stagnant design (like maintaining the R53 or R56 platforms) will be perceived as falling behind. MINI is simply following the long parade of other manufacturers by adding the techno-junk. Fortunately most of these features will be options..so true driving enthusiasts can avoid them..and save some $$$ that could be better spent on mods. I'm not a fan of the looks of the new F body, but I'll reserve some hope the performance will be good.

 

I like the look and do hope this is a direction MINI is headed in. I also intend on holding onto my R53 for a good long long time.

 

I'm just very happy to have bought an R53. Hope it lasts a very very long time.

 

:cornut: WOW! Those are pretty big jugs. :yikes::drool:arf::devil:

Jason

 

But us R53 owners get to have the last laugh.:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Unless a classic owner starts busting my stones for owning a R53.

I bow down to them because I would trade my R53 for a classic in a heartbeat. (No lie)

 

I like the this front end better than the one that's coming out. Maybe someone will make it as an option.

I agree the interiors have gone too far. I like the level of "premium" I have now. MINIs that park themselves and have all the other nannies are not real MINIs. I understand they can lots of electronics and get a bunch of perceived value for very little cost. But just because you can doesn't mean you should.

They keep adding distractions despite the cries about distracted driving. Then they need to and the nannies to keep the distracted from crashing. Every time I see that MB commercial where they say my merc saved me I want to scream.

 

And I like my 07 R56, it will do for a few more years. As a concept, it is interesting, some are almost keepers, but most will not make production anyway!

Now the F56, we shall see, I really would like to try that 3 cyl. see if it revs and sounds good. 100HP per jug, think it can be done?

Don

 

MINI's new marketing slogan......Bloated Motoring

I own an R53 race it, love it. But I am not that much of a fan boy to see that at the current price point for a decently equipped Cooper S there are other cars out there that are just as good if not better. Fiesta ST, Toyota/Subaru FRS/BRZ to name a few......MINI is pricing themselves right out of the niche the MINI was made for. Since when has the MINI driving experience been based on the amount of gadgets inside the car rather than the amount of engineering to make a great drivers car.

 

Certainly preferable to what I've seen of the F56 so far.

 

I would agree it looks much better the F56 but it is still stretched out too much. The brake lights look like they need to be on a HUMVEE. There are a few things I like though. I like the spoiler. I think the interior looks pretty good, the webbing in the door is a pretty cool idea and the seats don't look to bad. There might be some techie stuff in the dash but there is less dash and down tubes than what is in a R53. From the pictures the dash looks like it has been pushed up closer to the windscreen, a little more room. I like the headlights and the lower portion of the front bumper; the lines for the air ducts are pretty nice.
Is it a R53, no. :cryin: If they made it a little “stubbier†I could live with it. I‘ll keep my R53 though, as long as possible. :cornut:

 

They are a business... They follow market trends...