180 replies to this topic

[sledgehammer]

I wish the Bini was smaller , lighter, and was cheaper

 

I wish they would make a pickup that could be used by small business

 

and had small engines

 

someone in the UK needs to start producing a cheap no frills car

 

that people could buy run & repair easily

 

but it won't happen - sadly

 

what is the nearest car to the dimensions , weight & engine of a classic mini ?

Edited by sledgehammer, 05 April 2014 - 03:38 PM.

[dave585]

 Mini-City-articleTitle-f1256fb9-423292.jpg   55.41K   25 downloads

This was an idea for a small hatch.

 images (1).jpg   6.23K   10 downloads

This is the Rocket man, this would be only slightly bigger than the mini.

Edited by dave585, 05 April 2014 - 03:52 PM.

[sledgehammer]

I like them both - wonder how much ?

[dave585]

At this time there are no dates on when it will be made. When I was at the factory it was dropped out that one production line was for a smaller car. There is an aprox price for the Rocketman-
Rone would start at £9450
Rcooper would start at £10450
Rcooper S would start at £12450
And the JCW would start. £13450
This was on an email I saw at a dealer last year when I was looking at the Paceman.

[mab01uk]

I wish the Bini was smaller , lighter, and was cheaper

 

I wish they would make a pickup that could be used by small business

 

and had small engines

 

someone in the UK needs to start producing a cheap no frills car

 

that people could buy run & repair easily

 

but it won't happen - sadly

 

what is the nearest car to the dimensions , weight & engine of a classic mini ?

 

There are plenty of cheap no frills small cars on the market and they are all built in low wage economy countries (most are also rather dull and boring).....It does not cost that much less to bulld a small no frills car than a large luxury car with lots of options fitted but the price you can charge for the large car and options means the profit margins are much greater.

 

The reason BL and Rover never replaced the classic Mini as sales dropped over the years was because the investment required for producing a new small cheap economy car with low profit margins and a high wage UK workforce mean't the sums did not add up....so they spent their new model investment money on their medium and large cars which made much bigger profits.

 

It was not until BMW came along in 1994 and showed Rover how to make money out of the classic Mini by moving it upmarket and selling lots of customer options with the MPi models at a much higher price. The New R50 MINI in 2001 continued the theme marketed as a prestige small car at a higher price with lots of options to choose from.......the experiment worked (Mini sales went from around 10,000 a year back to their 1971 300,000 peak with the MINI), so the MINI is a big success and now all the other manufacturers are copying......Vauxhall/Opel being the latest with their new Adam !

 

eg. The Mk7 Fiesta image is stylish and sporting, ie. completely different to the Mk6 Fiesta because Ford marketing research at the time showed most Mk6 Fiesta customers would much rather have bought a new MINI if they had the extra budget to choose....rather than their rather dull boring but practical Mk6 Fiesta.......!

 

It has also been proved that even though a MINI or Audi A1 cost more to buy than a "run of the mill discounted sell 'em cheap small car", they are cheaper to own in the long run because they retain their value much longer with low depreciation and solid residuals when you come to sell on.

Edited by mab01uk, 05 April 2014 - 07:06 PM.

[Shep76S]

Would love a Rocketman but I thought they were shelved?
No profit in small British built cars!

Would I wave at a Bini? Well, having had one since 2002, not yet.

[RobbieP]

I think we can all agree that the correct answer to the posted question is.... knockers. 

[A44blinkin]

I wave back at anyone who waves at me first, doesn't matter what car they are in, i just take it as they are admiring my mini. 

However when another classic mini driver waves at me i wave back a bit more enthusiastically, its not a choice its just something that comes over me whenever I'm driving and i see another mini i get excited. The reason i think this happens can be answered from another thread, has anyone else read the 'life of a mini owner' thread. the excitement comes from being able to relate to everything in that thread. its stuff that only mini owners can relate to. 

 

As for the BINI, they're nice cars, the only thing i dislike about them is, well the only way i can describe it is imagine that the BINI ' is that friend that everyone has that nobody really likes because they have nothing in common with anyone else in the group of friends but always wants to be involved with everything. and you just find them to be annoying and wish they'd go away.'

But other than that they are good cars.(well as good as modern cars can be-which in my opinion is not great)

I don't think they'll ever become a classic car, i couldn't  see anyone buying a BINI in 30 years time as a restoration project.

[madaboutcherry]

if you see a BINI driver in a car park ask then how long it took them to restore it, can you still get parts for it,is it tax exempt etc.

[megamini_jb]

Mini-City-articleTitle-f1256fb9-423292.jpg
This was an idea for a small hatch.

That's well cute I want it! Lol

[mab01uk]

if you see a BINI driver in a car park ask then how long it took them to restore it, can you still get parts for it,is it tax exempt etc.

 

There are plenty of cheap early R50/53 MINI's on sale which are in need of some attention (there are always owners who neglect cars or have high mileage, whether new or classic). ........believe it or not some genuine parts for early Mk1 MINI's are already hard to find,........with the new rolling tax exemption the first 2001 MINI's will become tax exempt only a year after the last year 2000 classic Mini MPi's.

Or of course if you buy a MINI One D or Cooper D they are already 'tax exempt' (Band A = £0) from brand new.

http://www.nextgreen...del/MINI/Hatch/

Edited by mab01uk, 06 April 2014 - 02:05 PM.

[megamini_jb]

I can't wait to get a R50. I've viewed 2 at the moment. One of them I really liked, but sold the day I was going to view. And it had a glass roof which I'd love!

Edited by megamini_jb, 06 April 2014 - 02:07 PM.

[Chance]

What is the difference between R50 and R53?

[Tamworthbay]

What is the difference between R50 and R53?

3 (sorry couldn't resist)

[HarrysMini]

What is the difference between R50 and R53?

R53 is the S (supercharged version)