Maybe a little. I'm more bothered by vendors who treat a forum like their personal SEO optimization tool, splattering every thread with a formulaic image and link to their site. Obviously, I'm talking primarily about ECS, a company that was recently purchased by a private equity firm, and has over 100 employees. They have dedicated staff whose job it is to post basically the same thing in every thread. This model works, but it's detrimental to the MINI community: they are dominating the eCommerce space over companies that bring unique value to the forums.
Welcome to the new home of MINI forums. A ton of us (By volume, not specifically weight) are like you, we've been here for a LONG time, we see the changes, and we dont like it!
The active groups are out there (for some areas now more than ever) you just have to know where to look. Just go to the Dragon, you'll see just how active we are.
Youll fit in here, just watch who you tell to "M.O."...
Welcome to the party! As for the "why" of what's changed, I think it's pretty simple: The novelty of MINIs has worn off since the early days, and MINI's No. 1 goal today is to sell more cars.
I said Motor On at the end of a post about two years ago. There was a collective grown from everyone. After several post about it I had to ask and it was explained to me. So that year Nathan made some MA shirts with Motor On on the back. Several of us wore them to the Dragon. I still have several Motor on stickers.
Welcome Joey! I do remember you from that other place. It does seem like there have been a lot of changes since the early days. Back then, most MINI owners were enthusiasts to some degree. We waved, we talked, we met at the dealership for workshops. There are still some of us around!
I wish...I hope..
I do miss my MINI... I still toy with getting a basket case MINI cheap for fun....but....
Steering u-joint for gen1 us cars are NLA...
Ones for British cars can be used with a few changes...
Some parts cannot be reworked, and must be new...others are only good for a couple rebuilds...
The value of a SC has gone up...
Sure you can get parts...
It's great to have another "inside" person...
Ahh...back in the day...
2004-2005...when MINI sold cars with 6 month waiting lists, and used cars were the only cars sitting in the showroom....full retail or more was the norm and sales Staff KNEW the cars, cause THEY WERE MINI FOLKS...
Very different MINI now...lease deals, and sales folks who barely know the cars, just doing a job...
Welcome Joey: Your perspective on the arc of MINI from the 'inside' is illuminating. Being a vendor, I'm interested in your reaction to NAM: is it the banner ads that turn you off or is it that the likes of ECS are vomiting all over every thread?
LMAO--"motor on" has an altogether different meaning here, switch the "on" to an "off", use your imagination on what to replace the "motor" with, but you get the picture. Very interesting post, coming from the service side of things--kind of reenforces what many of us believe. Stick around though, I think many of us will be interested in your thoughts/ observations.
Thanks for the headsup, needless to say Savvy pm'd me regarding the "Motor On" reference. Sorry I had no idea :crazy::blush2::blush2:
And before anyone gets upset with my comments, you need to remember that I've been doing this everyday for the last 10+ years and I have seen the changes within the cars, owners, dealer and the brand. Some things are much, much better, but others not so much. This is not a personal attack on anyone, just my simple observations.
Yes, the 1320 is the foot equivalent of te quarter mile. This has been my handle since my early days of forums and back then I was into going to the local tracks and racing. I built a few fun cars and it was great to be out with my brothers and friends on the weekends, all enjoying the racing :wink:
Now that I'm a little bit older, I'm more into cruising and building fun, but more importantly reliable cars (I'm rebuilding a 2000 Honda Civic SI). I have also shifted towards my childhood passion of late 80's/early 90's bmx/freestyle bikes and my new hobby motorbicycles.
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