100 replies to this topic

[MaxAndPaddy]

I thought it sounded a cool idea, until I heard the word 'mini sport', no way on earth I'd pay that much for what would be their stuff with the cooper name.

 

It will be interesting to know how much Mike has been involved in the sourcing of components or whether its just a PR front.

[Guess-Works.com]

Well the "Cooper Car company" is an off shoot of Minisport, so probably very little...

[Shifty]

 

I thought it sounded a cool idea, until I heard the word 'mini sport', no way on earth I'd pay that much for what would be their stuff with the cooper name.

 

It will be interesting to know how much Mike has been involved in the sourcing of components or whether its just a PR front.

 

 

 

PR stunt, if they are up to their usual standards, you'd only get 1/2 the kit sent to you as the rest would be out of stock.......

[MaxAndPaddy]

Well the "Cooper Car company" is an off shoot of Minisport, so probably very little...

 

might just stick to buying the key ring then....

[Shifty]

The fact that they have to go to these lengths to sell/rebrand/punt their stuff probably says it all.  They're a big and well known company, if they sold top class products then they shouldn't need to try and trade on other peoples names.

[sledgehammer]

Don't know if anyone has bothered to notice but...

Both the injection kits will fail the current MOT.... as the CAT is missing....

Little bit of a ooopsie on their behalf...

 

is the lambda sensor hole there as well ?

 

I can see a few arguments at MOT time

 

let the buyer beware ?

 

bet there is a disclaimer somewhere 

[MaxAndPaddy]

The fact that they have to go to these lengths to sell/rebrand/punt their stuff probably says it all.  They're a big and well known company, if they sold top class products then they shouldn't need to try and trade on other peoples names.

 

 

With the eye watering prices for the Paddy Hopkirk stuff, I guess its part of the strategy. I was told the original JCG 1.5 rockers were actually mini-spares sourced but I don't know if that's actually true.

[Guess-Works.com]

Well the "Cooper Car company" is an off shoot of Minisport, so probably very little...

 

Went and looked at companies house, although on the website is trades from the same address as Minisport, they do seem to have separate Directorships, being Cooper in name, however, one things did strike me as odd is the last Financial return which showed 0 Cash in the bank and only 15k in assets.... Does strike me as a company in name only...

 

http://companycheck....ancial-accounts

[jb93]

Cut the Cooper crap and marketing *******, I say sell good products for a good price.

[zinzan]

How much will they knock off the price of the spi kit if I already have the K&N filter and don't want the stickers and keychain?

[AVV IT]

Don't know if anyone has bothered to notice but... Both the injection kits will fail the current MOT.... as the CAT is missing.... Little bit of a ooopsie on their behalf...

Would they? I thought the MOT regs were that the car is tested to whichever is older for emissions purposes, (i.e either the car, or the engine) Wouldn't that mean that a carb car converted to fuel injection would still be a carb engine for emissions purposes? If only the fueling system has changed and not the actual engine, then surely it wouldn't be required to pass a full CAT emissions test, and therefore wouldn't require a CAT?

Very clever of Minisport to secure both Paddy Hopkirk and John Cooper's range of branded parts and accessories as part of their marketing strategy.I guess Minispares will need to do the same with perhaps something like 'Downton' and/or 'Richard Longman' branding for instance?

I don't think so. I'd like to think that minispares can rely on a good quality product range and decent customer service as their marketing strategy, not just shallow branding gimmicks.

[jaydee]

They'll probably include in the injection kit for free:

 

 

[dennismini93]

Seems to me minisport are getting desperate. I was so keen to get some cooper bits as I saw it as a sign of quality but now I'm not going anywhere near them

[corranga]

In fairness, this is different to JCG of old.

 

As you point out, Cooper were the masters of branding, but it was controlled from their end.  Going out and sourcing parts from others / outsourcing part manufacturing and possibly ideas is simply business.

The Cooper reputation was grown by being amongst the best, and by being linked directly to the manufacturer meaning it was likely easier to gain insurance, not void warranties etc.

 

The difference here is that a company that already produces conversion kits is re-branding their gear to gain sales / publicity / trade off the old reputation...

I'd bet that Mike Cooper was approached by MS rather than deciding to collaborate with them.

 

As a comparison, I'm also a Lotus Elise owner.  I own a non-standard Series 1 Lotus Elise.

I could source and fit all of the parts that would convert my car into the limited edition, more desirable, and quicker Sport 160 Elise - a car which I believe Janspeed also played a part in developing, or even Series 1 Exige BUT my car would never be worth the same as an original one, and that's where this falls apart.

 

An original Cooper S, whether it's a Mk1, or a late MPI will always be worth more than a replica one in the same condition, even if the replica has all the right bits sourced.

 

For me, the question is, do these new MiniSport based Cooper kits represent the same as buying an original Cooper S from JCG, or is it simply a marketing ploy to shift units.

Each of us will have a different thought on the answer, and value the new 'S' cars differently too - either way, they absolutely WILL sell kits!

 

Chris