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.
Thats a good point Nathan. But I can't help think(wish) that if they stick to the original Mini philosophy that they would do ok. Have some models that have all that crap in it but maybe keep the hatch simple. If they are going to put gadgets in it they should aid in driving. Things like built in Radar detectors and blinders front and rear. Now that would be the cats meow! I'm must be getting old(but not slow)
And in following trends, instead of setting them, they will lose their identity.... and customer loyalty.
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.
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)
Very true. I would love to have a classic JCW, red with white stripes of course. Or What about a classic with a R53 engine instead of the V-Tech. :arf:
I was trying not to insert an I in Dave.O statement above, just could not not get it done! For some reason, I don't think I can see our guy in a classic, he is a blue to the core R53 type of guy. Don I washed Scooter, got rained on, washed again, got rained on again, I give up until Thursday then I will wash before I go to the track for the day.
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.
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.