Last week Auto Express published the first images of the F56 MINI’s interior striped (if just partially) of its camouflage. What we saw both raised some questions and confirmed most of what we had gathered from sources. And now that the images have gone live, we can tell you a bit more about what we [...] (visit MotoringFile for the full article) More...
^^I agree. Lights swirling around the center stack and the start/stop button pulsing, is a bit too much for me. I guess WMW will be spending a lot of time deactivating that crap. Jim
Since 2002 (heck, since 1959) you could have a blindfold removed while sitting in the cockpit and immediately know you were in a MINI. Based on what I've seen with the F56, I'm not sure that's going to be true anymore...
"First MINI has taken hit after hit in consumer surveys with the main speedometer being located in the center of the car and wants to listen to that sentiment." Are those people who have bought a MINI or people who ended up buying a damned Honda? This is what kills me about "modernization." It means you "listen" to EVERYONE and end up with gray wallpaper. Bleh for now.
....and foresake everything that made it the unexpected and astounding success it was in the beginning.
I don't agree with this, but this was Steve Jobs view of things: “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.†Maybe BMW is following this thought process. Changing to the an existing BMW chassis, will, sooner of later, kill work done on the 1st & 2nd gen cars to make them look like a Mini. On the other hand that MIGHT make them more reliable and less costly. Another thought is that not all folks want a retro looking car. Most of us here do, but other people might not and expect the car to change with time. If and when the MINI starts to look like a BMW, I'm gone. Jim
You'd think that it would be cheaper and they would have more success, by incrementally improving the design over the long run, like the original Mini and the VW beetle, than by completely changing everything every seven years. Dave
Did anyone else notice the air vents on either side of the center speedo? Look at that zoom in pic... they aren't round!
Looks like they are trying to reduce unique parts in order to reduce costs. Only think I hope for is that there will be a 4 cyl option even if it's the n18
True!! ..but if they have completely different motors, that could be very expensive and something that has not escaped the powers at be in BMW.