306 replies to this topic

[cagy]

the mini club i am in have been contemplating running a show and we all agreed that if people come in BINI's they will have to park with everyone else not with the mini's, however we may invite the Toyota IQ owners club as that is the car that has come closest to replicating the original mini in ethos and design. Not a BMW half series. have also noticed people mention that it was BMW that kept the car going from 1996 to 2001, funny that as they are some of the worst built examples of the marque, my friend has a 500 sport and its rotting worse than any 70's on strike friday afternoon bodged BL mini.

Shows how good the 70's lot were when they managed to have a spanner in their hands lol

[DowntonMini]

I aperciate that people have different opinions but why not keep them to yourselves knowing it cuases so much hurt and upset. THere are many classics I see at shows that I don't like but I don't start slagging them off and saying they shouldn't be at shows so why do people do it to MINI's As has been said by others I am glad the MINI name is still around if BMW hadn't have brought the name then it would be dead as even with the Mini brand Rover would still have gone under. And as for classic satus etc a lot of people class cars over 10 years old classics the earlist MINI's are 10 years old

[Scallywag630]

This whole subject seems to smack of desparation to be recognised by MINI owners. How does everyone feel about having the BMW one series enter shows. It is another smallish car made by BMW. The name mini was bought and is now being used purely for commercial gain with no regard for its heritage. Has anyone given a thought for the businesses sued by BMW as soon as they had the name, some of which were put out of business.

Yes EX Rover engineers had a hand in the design( being paid by BMW really makes them BMW engineers) and The Cooper family would be nuts not to endorse it as they get a royalty for every "Cooper" made.

We will all have to agree to disagree as the Bini is not a mini....just a BMW with a bought and paid for name.

[The_Mistro]

ok lets put it this way, Honda brought Ford while it was having a financial crisis, but Ford have a trick up their sleaves in the form of a new Mustang! ready to be launched in the next 5 years! yet Honda dont have a car that rivals the mustang and want a car in their range to fill that gap they have! so they take the designs, set up a sister company, as the mustang goes against their smaller capacity, high revving philosphy and start selling the lazy lower revving V8 muscle car under its own name, just MUSTANG!

the yanks would go mental and nobody over there would buy one!

its the same story with the MINI, BMW didnt have a car that was in their current range that was similar to the Mini, they dont believe in front wheel drive as its "the work of the devil" but what the heck, they went against their beliefs to make some more money! taking a British icon and making it German, who lets face it, Britian and Germany dont have the best of pasts together do they! a bit like Japan and America dont! so dont expect the great support from Britian as you do from anywhere else!

thats my view on it, i dont garnish all BINI owners under the same brush, some are friendly dont get me wrong, but some are arrogant and dont understand that their passion wouldnt exist if it wasnt for ours and because of that the Mini deserves a bit of respect! i have seen some threads on the MINI2 forum, accusing classic fans of stealing "shiney new MINI parts" from trade stands at shows! what use does a Mini owner have for them!? especially as our cars are "rusty old bags of ****"

[skaterava]

I have nothing against the MINI as a car, but i fail to see the similarities between it and the classic, bar a few retro styling cues.

If the new MINI had been designed with the same philosophy as, say, a Perodua Kelisa , or a Tata Nano , it would make a more fitting replacement, and wouldn't look so out of place with the classics.

[cagy]

I think you've hit the nail on the head Mistro

[mab01uk]

in 40 years time when the MINI has become a classic and therefore earned its name.

sorry

Does anybody seriously think this will happen ?

I probably wont be around in 40 years time but i dont !

Yes...........without a doubt the 2001-2007 Mk1 Supercharged MINI Cooper S will be the first New MINI to become a classic. Practical Performance Car magazine are about to run a feature on the early MCS now it is 10 years old and gaining a big following as a brilliant handling, fun to drive, relatively affordable performance car with loads of character. Just like the Mk2 VWGolf GTi 16V has it will become a modern classic sooner than you think.

A car does not have to wait to achieve official status as a classic to have an enthusiast following. Much of the 40+ years I have owned classic Mini's and attended shows the Mini was not considered a classic car, especially if it was not a Mk1 Cooper S.

[mab01uk]

the new mini isn't reveloutionary, hasn't changed anythig and will not be remembered for anything apart from casting a shadow over the real thing and being a bif fat wannabe

Just to add to what Stroker said, it's a bit like a lamb going into the wolves den and saying hey can't we just be friends, we all know it won't happen, it's worth a try but i think it's best to agree to disagree.

The New MINI is now being copied by Alfa, Fiat, Audi and Citroen over 10 years later so it has changed small car design and marketing.

You forget the New MINI in one form or another will be around long into the future throughout your lifetime, quite possibly for longer than the 41 years of the classic. No car company be it BMW or any future owner of Mini is going to let it die now.............BMW have proved that Mini is capable of being recognised the world over as an iconic brand and shape just like Coca-Cola for example. BMW recognised this Rover did not - end of story. The British have often failed to recognise or build on many of their great ideas and inventions into the future but have sat back and let them wither and die, the Mini was yet another example of this. Sales have gone from 20,000 a year and dropping, back up to the 1970's peak of 300,000+ a year and increasing since the MINI launched...........80% exported, says it all really!

Edited by mab01uk, 08 September 2010 - 01:53 PM.

[dave585]

Can I ask a simple question? If classic owners hate the MINI why are so many owners putting MINI parts on there cars? Such as rear lights cooper s bonnet scoop, bmw mini wings logo,seats etc seems ******* it off but ok To use it's parts. Plus how come many classic only clubs use the MINI wings logo in there club banners and not the classic wings logo? You can't have your cake and eat it can you?
Is this a case of pot kettle black?

[The_Mistro]

i dont know any classic owners who have done that to their cars!

some people arent bothered by it, or are uneducated about it, so dont have an opinion on it, and still think that MINI and Mini are the same thing!

some people will say my car is a BMW as its a later one built when BMW owned Rover, but i dont see it as that, yes the MPIs are as BMW developed the MPI system! but my mini still has side mounted rad and was engineered before BMW took over! but you wont see any BINI parts on my car!

[skaterava]

To be quite frank, putting BMW Mini exterior parts on a classic Mini isn't that pretty.

And there aren't that many Bini engine swapped Minis about either...

The most commonly used Bini part in the classic scene is the MINI winged badge, and that's not common.

[pikey7]

First off, marketing a vehicle as an old brand name was not the invention of the MINI. In fact the beetle did it in 1998... 3 years earlier than the Mini. And as the Germans cannot seen to be standing still, BMW were effectively forced to use their "ace", the Mini name they had bought in 1994 (7 years before the launch of the MINI), and using a concept that had been on the rover drawing boards since 1993 (and before the BMW takeover).

But at least that concept was actually compact... or "mini".

If the MINI is such a good car, then why does BMW not use it's own name, supposedly synonymous with quality, on the vehicle?

Going back to the new beetle for a second, it seems that not only to they attend classic dub shows (and from what I read, with the same distain that the MINI has), they also attend audi meets! Do any of the MINI owners go to BMW owners days?

Secondly, to the falling sales at the end of the Minis life... what do you expect? It was a small car, commanding a premium price, and yet averagely specced compared to the other superminis of the time. You could buy a Fiesta with aircon, leccy everything, and a more economical engine for the same money. Yes BMW "allowed" it to be revived, and we kind of thank them for that, but to expect them to sell at 300k+ units a year is just pie in the sky.

As for the MINI changing small car design... It's the size of a fiesta (introduced in 1976!) or Polo (introduced in 1975). Sure, compare one of the originals of those to a MINI, and they are outclassed. That's evolution. But the Fiesta and Polo are still going and have evolved into the same type and spec as the MINI. And I know what's coming here... "Isn't the MINI an evolution of the Mini?". for me, no. It doesn't live up to the same concept. The Fiat 500, and many other superminis have shown that a small safe car that meets todays safety standards can be smaller than the Mini. Even the new new MINI is smaller! So why wasn't that done in the first place?

Then there's marketing... Making a film using 3 MINIs running around LA... going rallying... I've never seen those original marketing concepts before... And does the treatment of the "trademark" count under marketing? Putting grannies out of business for making cushions... says it all to me about the corporate attitude of the owners of the name, and why most people here will never view the MINI in any sort of the same light as the original.

Sorry, but the Mini name is basically used by BMW as a commercial exercise. It uses the heritage, history and trust built up by the original (a fact even BMW acknowledges), and for me, and i guess many people here, is a purely cynical attempt to cash in. A BMW 0.5 would be the same car and treated with the same respect AS A PRODUCT. As a Mini, it fails.

As for the owners, I guess it's like any walk of life. People that are passionate about their MINIs, I have respect and time for. People that have a rude and arrogant attitude, know where they can go.

[jake cooper]

Can I ask a simple question? If classic owners hate the MINI why are so many owners putting MINI parts on there cars? Such as rear lights cooper s bonnet scoop, bmw mini wings logo,seats etc seems ******* it off but ok To use it's parts. Plus how come many classic only clubs use the MINI wings logo in there club banners and not the classic wings logo? You can't have your cake and eat it can you?
Is this a case of pot kettle black?

Not all classic owners hate the Bini. I've seen a few with Mini parts but not many. What classic only clubs are using the MINI wing logo ? Talk about tar us all with the same brush. I think your getting a little desperate.


This was said by mab01uk :
Note also the classic Mini involved was traded into the MINI Dealer by its owner for scrap as were hundreds and possibly thousands of other taxed and MOT'd Minis last year..........so not such an iconic car to those owners then!!

Not everyone that has a mini are into them for some it's just a car like for some the Bini is just a car. Can I ask were you got the information that 100s if not 1000s of mini's were scraped during the scrapage scheme.

Edited by jake cooper, 08 September 2010 - 01:14 PM.

[skaterava]

Are classic owners welcomed in the BMW MINI forums?

Also, i just noticed the MINI2 forums have a section for talking about BMW's.

[dave585]

Are classic owners welcomed in the BMW MINI forums?

Also, i just noticed the MINI2 forums have a section for talking about BMW's.

Classic owners are welcome to join Total mini which is a forum for both cars also your welcome to join yam mini forum or the notts mini forum. even MINI owners tend to stay away from MINI2