58 replies to this topic

[Minisamwellen]

Not sure why there's no sound, saw this on TV the other day and thought I'd post it for the people who haven't seen it 

[CMcB]

you haven't said why it frustrates you

[creakyjaws5533]

Yeah same the main thing being the monstrosity that they are trying to sell and the new original thing really annoys me.

Edited by creakyjaws5533, 09 March 2014 - 02:49 PM.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Grow up - Topic closed. 

[Minisamwellen]

you haven't said why it frustrates you

 

 

Yeah same the main thing being the monstrosity that they are trying to sell and the new original thing really annoys me.

Its the way that they advertise the two Mini's as if they're the same car/brand which in my opinion they just aren't.

[AVV IT]

But from BMW's perspective (and the non classic mini enthusiasts/ car buying publics for that matter) they are the same brand and different generations of the same car. BMW did after all invest millions in buying Rover, essentially just in order to get their hands on what we now know as the classic mini, develop the concept and use the brand and styling to make the Bini the massive commercial success that it is.

I think we tend to forget that the rest of the world views the two cars very differently than what the majority of us classic mini geeks do.

[mini-geek]

Grow up - Topic closed. 

Still looks open to me...

[Archived1]

Rover team designed the" BMW MINI". The original that was unveiled years before the 2001 BMW launch was badged as a Rover.
 
One Mondeo to the next doesn't have to be exactly the same. The MK1 Fiesta and the last incarnation shared nothing other than a name.
 
I am a classic mini enthusiast but accept the MINI as the scenes future in one way or another. Maybe one day I will learn to love them and own one? who knows.
The do seem a bit 'BIG' to hold the mini name but they have been hugely successful so my view must me in a minority?

Edited by Elf is a mini, 09 March 2014 - 04:19 PM.

[Tamworthbay]

Rover team designed the" BMW MINI". The original that was unveiled years before the 2001 BMW launch was badged as a Rover.
 
One Mondeo to the next doesn't have to be exactly the same. The MK1 Fiesta and the last incarnation shared nothing other than a name.
 
I am a classic mini enthusiast but accept the MINI as the scenes future in one way or another. Maybe one day I will learn to love them and own one? who knows.
The do seem a bit 'BIG' to hold the mini name but they have been hugely successful so my view must me in a minority?

I don't think so as most people go on about the enormous size outside (the inside is somewhat more mini proportioned), but the mini thing is now just a marketing tool. Every PR/ advertising company looks for ways to sell the product as best they can. They don't let facts get in the way of a good story. So the fact that there is no direct lineage between the two makes no odds. They are not there to document motoring history, they are there to sell cars and feeding off the national love for the mini makes perfect sense for that reason. Is it a cynical way to sell cars? No more than most ways they sell cars.

[Archived1]

Exactly, Rover or BMW were in it to make money.

 

 

[Steely]

I like the idea of the advert, just not what pops out the other side.

[mab01uk]

 

you haven't said why it frustrates you

 

 

Yeah same the main thing being the monstrosity that they are trying to sell and the new original thing really annoys me.

Its the way that they advertise the two Mini's as if they're the same car/brand which in my opinion they just aren't.

 

 

Thats your opinion.......many car brands have different owners from their original founders, Rover had absolutely no connection to the original classic BMC Mini design as they did not join BL until 1968 and of course most cars change radically every 7 years or so......but in fact we should be proud the New MINI success story was originally developed and designed by Rover engineers at Gaydon and Longbridge......if things had gone to plan it would have come under the Rover brand as seen in the photos above, been built at Longbridge and sold in their showrooms. Sadly however it might not have sold quite so well worldwide (eg. USA is now the no.1 market for Mini sales) with Rover's somewhat patchy reputation on quality in export markets.....

 

New Mini (R50) Comes To Longbridge...........(R = Rover design project code)

http://www.theminifo...-to-longbridge/

 

Also see the interesting write up on the 'Austin Memories' website about the original plans for the new Mini production at the Longbridge factory:


First R50 Body Built in 1999 at Longbridge.....the new production line had also been installed but was later moved to Cowley Oxford after the Rover/BMW split and swapped over with the Rover 75 production line moved to Longbridge in exchange.


Early R50 Built at Longbridge (Methods Build 1999)

New MINI comes to Longbridge.
That was the Plan, although in the end it never happened........

The general BMW plan for the Rover Group was that Cowley, renamed Oxford would produce the large cars, with Longbridge, becoming Birmingham which would produce the small and medium.

Rover Birmingham (Longbridge) needed to undergo major restructuring to prepare for the launch of R50 (new Mini) in the year 2000. In order to create a world class manufacturing facility for the production of the new Mini, Rover needed to replace existing old buildings with new factories, designed to accommodate modern machinery and equipment.

More details of the original plans here:
http://www.austinmem...64/page164.html

 

John Cooper unveils the new MINI Cooper (Gaydon - August 1998)

 

New Rover MINI Prototype Launch 1997
Interviews with Nick Stephenson (Rover Group Design Director) and John Cooper at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show Preview of the New MINI. With BMW investment the MINI (R50) project was being designed and developed by Rover Engineers at Gaydon with production planned for the Longbridge factory.........

Edited by mab01uk, 09 March 2014 - 05:03 PM.

[creakyjaws5533]

the early ones dont look that bad but surely people cant like the countryman the new one and that stupid thing that looks like its been rolled in a car accident

[Tamworthbay]

the early ones dont look that bad but surely people cant like the countryman the new one and that stupid thing that looks like its been rolled in a car accident

that seems to be the fashion. Have you seen the latest fiat 500 seven seater? I was nearly sick the first time I saw it.

[HarrysMini]

If you are getting worked up about an advert, you really need to get out more.