142 replies to this topic

[sheddd]

not much point really, only got like 200 members,a nd its funny to laugh at the patheticness lol

[analogue_radio]

[sazal]

Has anyone read the topic on totalMINI?

[Furio]

I love his reply to me...



Me:
Whilst I don't like the MINI as the mini's replacement. it is a good, well engineered car. and i'm sure that some of our suppliers for parts wouldn't be in business without the MINI trade. So to the creators of this group. GROW UP, enjoy your mini, and respect other peoples cars.


its not a mini its a bmw(him): shut up

Edited by Furio, 08 February 2010 - 12:47 PM.

[tahitigirl]

I love his reply to me...



Me:
Whilst I don't like the MINI as the mini's replacement. it is a good, well engineered car. and i'm sure that some of our suppliers for parts wouldn't be in business without the MINI trade. So to the creators of this group. GROW UP, enjoy your mini, and respect other peoples cars.


its not a mini its a bmw(him): shut up

I love it!

Man that guys really mature!

I wonder if you could achieve a biniminiroverbmw combination???

ooo New topic for me!

[Tomar2]

If you want my opinion It's just a name. Boohoo, they've changed the car to an almost unrecognisable extent but really? Is it that much of a burden to accept? And to go as far as vandalising... pfft. Pathetic.

The classic mini, nowadays, is unreliable, forever rusting, and a huge drain on funds and time. The new mini is a well designed car that has done very well for itself. Don't get me wrong i love my old mini as much as the next owner, but moaning and groaning about the bini has got to be more boring then reading another thread on how to repair rust.

The bini haters have got a lot of growing up to do. Stop crying about it not being the size of a shoe box. I know which car I'd rather rely on.

[analogue_radio]

Can someone please explain this then (and this isn't a dig or trying to stir things up) but one thing that's always got my annoyed is..



They aren't 50 years old, I don't understand why they claim they are?

[tuktuk]

driving my bini today i flashed a proper mini and she waved back lol !

as has been said, minority try to spoil it for everyone else...

[Trail of Dead]

The one thing about the Mini/Bini wars that confuses me is when people say the Bini doesn't capture the spirit of the Mini. How!? I look at a Bini and the first thing I see is Mini. It has all the styling cues, the retro tail lights, the hint of an A panel, the body line around the bottom half of the windows (the one on the shell) etc.... To me it is no different than when Ford redesigned the 2005 Mustang. It captured the spirit of the old 60's 'Stangs.

I know in the states there is a restriction to how small a wheelbase can be. BMW markets MINIs alot in the US so they couldn't have kept the wheelbase the size of the Classic Mini. Everyone is always trying to stuff a 16v lump in their classic but the Bini comes with one. The Bini is successful as a race car, sure it has never won Monte Carlo but still...it is a successful racer. People have complained saying that Bini owners don't own one for any other reason but "it's popular" or "it's a cute car". BUT the Classic Mini had a HUGE point in it's life when it was a SERIOUS "Fashion Icon" and people were merely buying them because they were "popular" or the "in" thing. I guarantee in 30 years the remaining Binis on the road will be regarded as "classics" and it will be much like the current Classic Mini. This whole Bini/Mini war is being seen through the eyes of an American here.....this war doesn't exist in the states so I am basically on the outside looking in. From where I am viewing.....it is ridiculous. You people that spew hatred for the Bini need to stop wasting your hate and direct it towards the rust bug in your classic!

[The_Mistro]

The one thing about the Mini/Bini wars that confuses me is when people say the Bini doesn't capture the spirit of the Mini. How!? I look at a Bini and the first thing I see is Mini. It has all the styling cues, the retro tail lights, the hint of an A panel, the body line around the bottom half of the windows (the one on the shell) etc.... To me it is no different than when Ford redesigned the 2005 Mustang. It captured the spirit of the old 60's 'Stangs.

the styling is representative of a mini, yes, but it if you look at the original design specs that issigonis worked too and the thinking behind his design, the MINI doesnt meet any of these! its cramped inside, its not small, its not cheap and it isnt a chore to drive!

[Mr. Bridger]

Whilst I would never condone any of the actions (or words) of the people in this Facebook group, and I'm disappointed that MINI owners are maligned by some Mini owners, I can understand that some people might be annoyed at BMW's leadership of the MINI company and the product.

The BMW MINI trades on the Classic Mini's glory, and styling. It isn't a very small car, nor has it done anything revolutionary (or even inspiring). Maybe it didn't need to be revolutionary, but I would've preferred something a bit more interesting. Yes, BMW has kept a British manufacturing plant open and still uses British designers and engineers; I'm glad of that. And yes, the MINI is a perfectly good car; it's a fun little hatchback with cute styling. What might annoy people, though, is that lots of the MINI's parts are made in Germany, that the MINI doesn't seem to follow the rules which the Mini followed (as small a package as possible with as much space as possible), and that BMW sells the MINI by linking it to the Mini yet has been harsh on Mini-related products in terms of copyrighting/trademarks and has created products under the MINI name that aren't at all Mini (i.e. the upcoming 4x4).

Add all that to the fact that Ford was able to produce a car almost as small as the Mini, with fresh styling and good handling that sold extremely well (the Ka) and I can see that, amongst Mini owners (and the general British public), there could be some distrust of BMW MINIs.

I'm always happy to beep/flash/wave at a BMW MINI driver, and I'm always hoping they'll do it more often. Maybe one of the issues we have is that most Mini owners don't just think of their Mini as a car so there's a sense of camaraderie; conversely, lots of MINI owners do just see their MINI as a car and therefore don't engage in the beeping/flashing/waving which we all enjoy.

Like I said, I'm in full support of the BMW MINI and the Oxford plant and I accept the MINI as a Mini, even if I do think it could have been a better car; but I can also see that people who don't think things through very well might associate their disappointment in the MINI company with MINI owners. That's the situation I see this as, and it isn't a good one.

[crazycoleman118]

quite like the look of that MINI GP pickup! (waits to be slated)

But like everyones said, yes the new mini can never be a true replacement!, but to be fair its a damn good try to meet all new regulations, and the needs of todays societys so hats off for trying!, and slightly modified they look rather good!

[VicSkimmr]

To be fair, the MINI is one of the smallest cars in production today, and it's easily one of the smallest cars in the US (I realize it's very different where you guys are). I've certainly gotten plenty of remarks about how small mine is. I still hear lots of "I can fit that car in the back of my pickup" or "I can't believe you fit in that thing" or my favorite "Don't you feel unsafe driving in such a small car?"

So sure, compared to the Mini it's HUGE, but compared to most of the other cars on the road today it's still pretty small (again I'm only speaking about cars in the USA).

That being said, I'm selling my MINI and keeping my Mini, so I guess that sums up my opinion about which I like better (though I could never rely on my Mini as a daily driver, it doesn't even have airbags).

Edited by VicSkimmr, 08 February 2010 - 05:42 PM.

[Trail of Dead]

To be fair, the MINI is one of the smallest cars in production today, and it's easily one of the smallest cars in the US (I realize it's very different where you guys are). I've certainly gotten plenty of remarks about how small mine is. I still hear lots of "I can fit that car in the back of my pickup" or "I can't believe you fit in that thing" or my favorite "Don't you feel unsafe driving in such a small car?"

So sure, compared to the Mini it's HUGE, but compared to most of the other cars on the road today it's still pretty small (again I'm only speaking about cars in the USA).

That being said, I'm selling my MINI and keeping my Mini, so I guess that sums up my opinion about which I like better (though I could never rely on my Mini as a daily driver, it doesn't even have airbags).

I dread hearing those remarks from people when I get my Mini back in the states....I'll probably hear those comments a MILLION times! It's about as annoying as when people have derogatory things to say about small pickups in the states "That's NOT a truck! Trucks have 8 foot beds and 4x4!". I feel if it has a bed and a cab than it is a truck....even if the cab is shaped like a Van! Yeah, the MINI is huge compared to the Mini but the MINI isn't the smallest production car in the states. I'm not sure which one is but I know the Chevy Aveo is TINY! Also, Smart cars are available for sale in the states now too. WHen we bought our Ford "Eddie Bauer" Expedition the VW/Subaru dealership (Pipkins in Valdosta,Georgia) had Smart cars for sale there and that was way back in early 2008.

Mr. Bridger cited the example of a good portion of MINIs parts being made in Germany and that BMW have drawn some unwanted attention to themselves....mostly by the way they have treated Mini parts suppliers/manufacturers. THIS I can understand as the whole point of the Mini (besides Sir Alec's design) was to be a serious contender with the "bubble cars" coming from Germany. Now that Germany basically owns all things Mini I can see this being an issue. It is kinda like how the Chinese now own "Hummer".....this bugs the HECK out of me! So, yeah I can understand the core gripes about the Bini...I just think the silly gripes are well.....silly and uncalled for! So what if someone drives a Bini and only thinks of it as a car.....they were dumb enough to pay the huge pricetag for it so I assume that entitles them the right to drive it as just a "car". Luckily in the states a used Bini is WAY cheaper than a used Bini over here.

[taffy1967]

To be fair, the MINI is one of the smallest cars in production today, and it's easily one of the smallest cars in the US (I realize it's very different where you guys are). I've certainly gotten plenty of remarks about how small mine is. I still hear lots of "I can fit that car in the back of my pickup" or "I can't believe you fit in that thing" or my favorite "Don't you feel unsafe driving in such a small car?"

So sure, compared to the Mini it's HUGE, but compared to most of the other cars on the road today it's still pretty small (again I'm only speaking about cars in the USA).

That being said, I'm selling my MINI and keeping my Mini, so I guess that sums up my opinion about which I like better (though I could never rely on my Mini as a daily driver, it doesn't even have airbags).

I dread hearing those remarks from people when I get my Mini back in the states....I'll probably hear those comments a MILLION times! It's about as annoying as when people have derogatory things to say about small pickups in the states "That's NOT a truck! Trucks have 8 foot beds and 4x4!". I feel if it has a bed and a cab than it is a truck....even if the cab is shaped like a Van! Yeah, the MINI is huge compared to the Mini but the MINI isn't the smallest production car in the states. I'm not sure which one is but I know the Chevy Aveo is TINY! Also, Smart cars are available for sale in the states now too. WHen we bought our Ford "Eddie Bauer" Expedition the VW/Subaru dealership (Pipkins in Valdosta,Georgia) had Smart cars for sale there and that was way back in early 2008.

Mr. Bridger cited the example of a good portion of MINIs parts being made in Germany and that BMW have drawn some unwanted attention to themselves....mostly by the way they have treated Mini parts suppliers/manufacturers. THIS I can understand as the whole point of the Mini (besides Sir Alec's design) was to be a serious contender with the "bubble cars" coming from Germany. Now that Germany basically owns all things Mini I can see this being an issue. It is kinda like how the Chinese now own "Hummer".....this bugs the HECK out of me! So, yeah I can understand the core gripes about the Bini...I just think the silly gripes are well.....silly and uncalled for! So what if someone drives a Bini and only thinks of it as a car.....they were dumb enough to pay the huge pricetag for it so I assume that entitles them the right to drive it as just a "car". Luckily in the states a used Bini is WAY cheaper than a used Bini over here.

Exactly, BMW *drunk* lots of Mini enthusiasts off and they will never forgive them or consider the BINI to be a proper Mini full stop. I don't agree with anyone's cars being damaged, but I see the BINI as a replacement Metro (well that was axed around the time the BINI was first shown to the press) and not a real Mini.

Sir Alec Issigonis had nothing to do with it for a start. But live and let live and each to their own. If it makes the owners happy then good for them. Just don't try ramming it down my throat thanks.

As for no air-bags? I thought all the recently imported classic Minis in the USA had a drivers air-bag? They may have come with 1960's/1970's paperwork, but they were all ringers.