58 replies to this topic

[mimi the mini]

Some MINIs do look good. The chavvy ones ( for lack of a better word to describe them ) lol

[taffy1967]

If I had to travel long distances for work and needed an everyday modern car - I'd definitely have one - but the clubman as there's a tiny (and I mean tiny!!) bit more space for the dogs in the back and in their equivalent of OEW to match our Mini family

As it is, we need a vehicle to pull the caravan so we've got a Landrover SVX - which I love nearly as much as my Mini 'Ellie', Stephen's Morris Moke and Constance the Clubman - and Landrover owners nearly always flash at fellow Landy lovers, much like Mini owners

Embrace the new - you don't have to love it, but it's not going to go away any time soon

Why should we embrace it? The 1980 MiniMetro was originally developed to replace the Mini and thankfully it didn't otherwise this place would be called 'The Metro Forum' instead? Plus I was never a fan of Metro's either.

Even if the BINI was being produced at Longbridge and sold through Rover dealers, many would still class it as a replacement Metro and a fake Mini.

But each to their own and if you love your BINI then fine, but there are still lots of classic owners who have no interest in them.

uhDuhHW6mLE

zI_tebL4Des

Edited by taffy1967, 20 October 2009 - 11:16 PM.

[minisandpirate]

the classic gets lots of looks and thumbs up but the new mini is the one that bridges the gap between retro styling and the new gadget cars that all the kids and others love...i know alot of classic owners here in the states that also own the new mini's....many of whom first had the new one then wanted a classic...here is the other thing...here in the us we have really strict import laws governing foreign cars....for a car to be imported without having to be retrofitted to meet the stringent emission standards the car has to be 25 years or older....which up until recently the only mini's that ever saw the light of day was the 60's and 70's(well besides that brief period where they sold them here)...alot of importers will drop vin swap for the newer ones...here in the states up until 02 owning a classic mini was a very sparse market...after bmw came out with the new one and the huge marketing juggernaut that followed now its not uncommon to hear about new mini owners getting classic's...so alot of classics are now here...hell i go to the shop that does work on them and i see them being sold left and right...but that same shop is venturing into new mini repair because the market has gotten so huge its actually a wise investment to include work on them as well

[taffy1967]

the classic gets lots of looks and thumbs up but the new mini is the one that bridges the gap between retro styling and the new gadget cars that all the kids and others love...i know alot of classic owners here in the states that also own the new mini's....many of whom first had the new one then wanted a classic...here is the other thing...here in the us we have really strict import laws governing foreign cars....for a car to be imported without having to be retrofitted to meet the stringent emission standards the car has to be 25 years or older....which up until recently the only mini's that ever saw the light of day was the 60's and 70's(well besides that brief period where they sold them here)...alot of importers will drop vin swap for the newer ones...here in the states up until 02 owning a classic mini was a very sparse market...after bmw came out with the new one and the huge marketing juggernaut that followed now its not uncommon to hear about new mini owners getting classic's...so alot of classics are now here...hell i go to the shop that does work on them and i see them being sold left and right...but that same shop is venturing into new mini repair because the market has gotten so huge its actually a wise investment to include work on them as well

Yes most of us are aware of the dodgy dealings and fake vin numbers. But how come nobody has questioned why a supposedly 1960's British car comes equipped with a drivers air-bag?

And yes many a late model Mini (post 1996 Twin-Point with the added safety features) got exported to the USA with fake 1960's/1970's i.d's. It just amazes me how the penny never dropped?

Still it is nice to know there is an interest for all things Mini in the USA now, because apart from several past celebrity owners (like Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Mike Nesmith of The Monkees etc), it never took off and the VW Beetle with it's Hitler/Nazi origins captured the average Yanks heart instead.

But then the British Mini was never developed to be anything more than a means of offering us Brits a serious, better and safer alternative to the horrible micro bubble cars. Like the Issetta that BMW produced.



The fact it then got a bit too big for it's boots and won the Monte Carlo Rally 4 times outright (unlike Disney's fake Herbie movie drivel) and starred in a major feature film with Michael Caine is probably what helped seal it's long term cult status fate.

So we should all be happy, otherwise we wouldn't have The Mini Forum for starters.

Edited by taffy1967, 21 October 2009 - 02:18 PM.

[martin_stgeorge]

i passed my test 2 years ago in a bmw mini but it was a diesel. i originally was driving the new nissan micra and the instructor swaped it for a mini, i was most supprised when the instructor said that if i cared to look it had 6 gears not 5 and that i could change when i felt the need. it was because of this that i wanted a mini in the first place as i quite enjoyed it and wanted to see what the original was like.

[mab01uk]

i passed my test 2 years ago in a bmw mini but it was a diesel. i originally was driving the new nissan micra and the instructor swaped it for a mini, i was most supprised when the instructor said that if i cared to look it had 6 gears not 5 and that i could change when i felt the need. it was because of this that i wanted a mini in the first place as i quite enjoyed it and wanted to see what the original was like.

This is an important point for the future, youngsters will soon no longer be entering the Classic Mini scene by buying cheap, readily available everyday driver Minis because with nearly a decade since the end of production such cars are fast disappearing and any classic Mini is now a rare sight on the roads and becoming expensive to buy or in need of lots of expensive repair/restoration work. We should make those introduced to the Mini enthusiast scene by the rapidly becoming more affordable BMW MINI's welcome and encourage them to sample the original as well. I have seen this happening already in the new MINI enthusiast scene with owners who have bought a classic as a result of attending Mini events in their new MINI. As has already been mentioned in some countries like the USA this effect has already created an upsurge in interest for the classic Mini.
Without new young blood constantly entering the Mini scene as it has in the past (due to being visible and in production across several generations) in the longer term the Mini scene will stagnate and end up an 'old mans' hobby/interest rather like the Morris Minor, MG and many other obsolete classic car brands have become.

Edited by mab01uk, 21 October 2009 - 06:43 PM.

[taffy1967]

Without new young blood constantly entering the Mini scene as it has in the past (due to being visible and in production across several generations) in the longer term the Mini scene will stagnate and end up an 'old mans' hobby/interest rather like the Morris Minor, MG and many other obsolete classic car brands have become.

But you say that like it's a bad thing?

[dave585]

i passed my test 2 years ago in a bmw mini but it was a diesel. i originally was driving the new nissan micra and the instructor swaped it for a mini, i was most supprised when the instructor said that if i cared to look it had 6 gears not 5 and that i could change when i felt the need. it was because of this that i wanted a mini in the first place as i quite enjoyed it and wanted to see what the original was like.

This is an important point for the future, youngsters will soon no longer be entering the Classic Mini scene by buying cheap, readily available everyday driver Minis because with nearly a decade since the end of production such cars are fast disappearing and any classic Mini is now a rare sight on the roads and becoming expensive to buy or in need of lots of expensive repair/restoration work. We should make those introduced to the Mini enthusiast scene by the rapidly becoming more affordable BMW MINI's welcome and encourage them to sample the original as well. I have seen this happening already in the new MINI enthusiast scene with owners who have bought a classic as a result of attending Mini events in their new MINI. As has already been mentioned in some countries like the USA this effect has already created an upsurge in interest for the classic Mini.
Without new young blood constantly entering the Mini scene as it has in the past (due to being visible and in production across several generations) in the longer term the Mini scene will stagnate and end up an 'old mans' hobby/interest rather like the Morris Minor, MG and many other obsolete classic car brands have become.

You are totally right. I know loads of BMW MINI owners who used to drive classics, I myself did. But with jobs cost etc they had to get rid. But now they have brought the new version of the car it has rekindled there interest in the classic. Many therefore have gone out a got themselves one to do up and drive all be it a weekend blast or a track car which seems to be popular. What you have to think about is the the gen 1 MINI is now becoming affordable to the younger ones and they are buying it, then hopeful they might get a classic. With production of the mini ending nearly 10 years ago there are not that many to buy from garages etc and many what to buy from them, Yes you can buy them from mags etc but if i was that age again i would be looking a a new one and not a classic.
with out it the younger gen they would be buying VW,Vauxhall etc and the mini seen would become an old mans club. We need younger people to join to keep it going for many years of fun to come and therefore the MINI will help that to happen. if you dont like them then thats fine but think about the future and not yoursevels other wise we will lose the new ones coming through but with nasty attitudes we are likely to lose them, And i for one would like to be at mini 70 with classic and new side by side saying were here to stay no matter what.

[JimCooper]

I used to dislike the BINIS as having owned Minis since 2000 I never really saw them as a comparable car, I think the Ford Ka is a more realistic Mini replacement.

One day after my Cooper Spi expired I decided to test drive an R56 Cooper S and loved the fact that it actually went really well and had it's own character. Decided to order a new one with some nice add ons such as LSD and uprated springs & ARBs. It has had it's fair share of niggles in 18 months but I am still enjoying it daily. It's kept the Mini spirit alive and have now bought a Cooper Sport to have as a project/weekend car which I probably wouldn't have done if i'd gone for a focus/1 series etc.

I have learnt one thing though - some classic owners prefer to respond with a middle finger rather than a flash, so I don't bother unless I am in my classic - if only they knew!

Maybe I should get a window sticker for my BINI saying my other car's a PROPER Mini

[davethemini1293]

ive got a checkmate 's' as my daily......

[Ethel]

Mini


MINI

[captainjack15]

I don't see the difference Ethel :\

[tuktuk]

i love it how pepole get irate and a bit upset about the bmw mini situation

grow up

[davethemini1293]

I don't see the difference Ethel :\

the second has a camel toe...