BMW mini cooper?

[Opossum]

Any thoughts on it? It comes out in the spring. I think it looks good my self.

MINI COOPER

 

[dakata24]

looks like a cross between a pt cruiser and civic hatchback .. it looks alright. at least looks nice than the pt cruiser

 

[bacillus]

thinking of getting one for the missus!

 

[Shantanu]

I've never heard of anyone referring to a Dodge Neon as a "Mercedes-Benz". Why is everyone referring to the Mini Cooper as a "BMW Mini Cooper" or "BMW's new Mini" or simply "the new Bimmer"?

 

[Opossum]

Maybe because it is being built by BMW.

 

[rootaxs]

exactly.

BMW bought the rights to the Mini a couple of years back and is reviving it. And no, it doesn't look like a cross between this and that. Why? Coz it's always looked like that even before the 70's.

 

[N8Magic]

They are being built by BMW, BMW bought the rights to the car a little while back...

 

[Shantanu]

Does that mean that post merger Dodge's can be referred to as "Mercedes"? I would like to see the kind of ridicule someone would endure for calling their Mini Cooper a "BMW" in the real world. Even on the website it is deliberatly not referred to as such to avoid diminishing the prestige of BMW's BMW line.

 

[Haircut]

Doesn't BMW also own and build Land Rovers now, how come they are still Land Rovers and not BMWs?

 

[N8Magic]

<< Does that mean that post merger Dodge's can be referred to as "Mercedes"? I would like to see the kind of ridicule someone would endure for calling their Mini Cooper a "BMW" in the real world. Even on the website it is deliberatly not referred to as such to avoid diminishing the prestige of BMW's BMW line. >>



So what are you going to call it then? "Mini"?

What happens when someone asks you, "Who is that car made by?"? You're going to say "BMW", because they built it.

 

[N8Magic]

<< Doesn't BMW also own and build Land Rovers now, how come they are still Land Rovers and not BMWs? >>



Ford owns Land Rover now. They're still called Land Rovers because Land Rover is a brand, and not a model. You have the Freelander, Discovery and the Range Rovers. All of these are models in the Land Rover brand.

The Mini name is tough, because you can't call it an Austin, or a Rover. It's a model without a brand in a sense. As much as BMW dealers will get all restless about it, it's still a BMW, and it's being sold at BMW dealers.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Actually, the MINI has the same rear-suspension as that found in the 3-Series. From what I've read, even though the car is FWD, it's almost impossible to induce understeer, and it simply handles like a champ. The only complaint is the low-powered engine, but the MINI Cooper S should fix that. It's also one of the few small cars, coming standard with ABS, head-, front-, and side-airbags.

 

[Shantanu]

Do you people not know jack fscking sh|t about the auto industry? Mercedes purchased the Chrysler group in 1998. All Chrysler property at that point became property of the German Daimler-Benz corporation, which was renamed "Daimler-Chrysler", but still remains a German company. All the big bosses at Chrysler are now Germans. And yet nobody refers to Jeeps as "Mercedes SUV's", and for good reason. I would like to see a response to my analogy (the 3rd time that I've made it).

And yes Haircut, you are correct. BMW purchased Land Rover and *did not* market Land Rovers as "BMW's". It has since sold Land Rover to another group (Ford, I believe). BMW now owns Rolls-Royce.



<< So what are you going to call it then? "Mini"? >>



"Mini" is the brand name. "Cooper" is the name of the model. What's this bullsh|t about, "you can't call Mini Coopers "mini's", they're BMW's man!"

 

[Haircut]

OK, well if it's Ford that owns Land Rover then why not have the Ford Freelander, Discovery etc.

Freelander is the model name same as Mini is the model name, so if BMW buy the Mini brand and it becomes the BWM Mini surely the same should happen with the various Land Rover model names.

 

[N8Magic]

<< Do you people not know jack fscking sh|t about the auto industry? Mercedes purchased the Chrysler group in 1998. All Chrysler property at that point became property of the German Daimler-Benz corporation, which was renamed "Daimler-Chrysler", but still remains a German company. All the big bosses at Chrysler are now Germans. And yet nobody refers to Jeeps as "Mercedes SUV's", and for good reason. I would like to see a response to my analogy (the 3rd time that I've made it).

And yes Haircut, you are correct. BMW purchased Land Rover and *did not* market Land Rovers as "BMW's". It has since sold Land Rover to another group (Ford, I believe). BMW now owns Rolls-Royce. >>



So you're saying i'm wrong?

And theres no need to swear to get your point across.

 

[N8Magic]

<< OK, well if it's Ford that owns Land Rover then why not have the Ford Freelander, Discovery etc.

Freelander is the model name same as Mini is the model name, so if BMW buy the Mini brand and it becomes the BWM Mini surely the same should happen with the various Land Rover model names. >>



Did you not read my message? The only reason I said the Mini will likely be lumped in with BMW's is because the Mini does not have a brand of it's own.

What are you going to call the Mini? Just Mini? An Austin Mini?

 

[GTaudiophile]

BMW bought the Rover Group back in the early-90s. The Rover Group included Rover, Land Rover, MINI, and MG. BMW poured billions into the group, but failed to turn a profit. In 1999, BMW sold the Rover Group with the exception of Land Rover to the Phoenix Consortium, a group of British venture capitalists. Since Land Rover was considered the "crown jewel" of the Group, BMW sold it for more money to the Ford Motor Company. Land Rover is now part of Ford's Premier Luxury Group, which also includes Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Volvo. The CEO of Ford's PLG is Wolfgang Reitzle, former VP at BMW. BMW had so much R&D in the New MINI when it sold the Rover Group, that it kept this portion. BMW also took Land Rover's Hill Decent Control.

At about the same time all this was going on, BMW tried to buy Rolls-Royce and Bently. Volks-Wagon offered more for the companies, but BMW was sneaky, and instead of allowing VW to take the whole cake, BMW bought the name "Rolls-Royce." BMW will begin offering cars under the brand in January 2003, and BMW owns a large portion of aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce PLC.

N8Magic: MINI is actually its own brand. BMW wants to keep them separate if MINI is a failure, but to boost the perception of quality and performance, most people, like car magazines, tie the brands together.

 

[samgau]

Minis are fun cars to drive and its amazing the number of people that can fit in such a small car...

 

[GTaudiophile]

Here's MINI's official position:

MINI is an independent brand within the BMW Group and, alongside BMW, forms the second major pillar in its premium brand strategy.

The MINI brand allows the BMW Group to expand its world-wide market presence as it appeals to a new group of customers. It provides the BMW Group with a quality product in the small car sector, offering customers premium levels of design, engineering, build and service, with an unmatched emotional appeal.

In addition, the MINI brand will help the BMW Group to reduce its CO2 emissions under the European automotive industry?s voluntary obligation to reduce total CO2 emissions by 25 per cent between 1995 to 2008.

MINI Cooper and MINI One, which will be available for purchase from Summer 2001 onwards, will be sold worldwide through selected BMW Group dealers and will be displayed seperately within the dealer?s showrooms, apart from the BMW brand. MINI Cooper S, with 115 kW and 163 bhp will be launched later.

The MINI brand products were mainly developed in the BMW Group?s British offices by an international MINI project team.

The MINI is produced at the BMW Group?s Oxford factory in the UK, applying the principles of BMW Group manufacturing and BMW quality standards.

For the first time, MINI will be sold worldwide.

 

[DSTA]

MINI is actually its own brand. BMW wants to keep them separate if MINI is a failure

Part of it. But IMO it's really more that they want something appealing to another market. From what I've seen, the advertisement is aimed at people who would not buy a BMW because that brand is too conservative etc.

As for the car itself, I don't like it at all: 2700+ lbs for a 12 feet car? They must be joking. And they got the gearing all wrong, makes the 90 hp version even more of a slouch. I haven't driven the Cooper, but I doubt it's even close to other compacts with 160+ hp. Handling is surprisingly good for someting so grossly overweight though.

 

[yakko]

I want one.

 

[Stifko]

I want one too.

 

[Flat]

THESE THINGS ARE PERFECT I LOVE THEM, TRUST ME INCREDIBLE CARS!

Edit: If anyone has specific questions about the Mini ask away, two of my friends are driving these right now, and I traded my car for one for a week.

 

[MustPost]

one of my teachers used to have a mini cooper S.
She's thinking of buying the new one in a couple of years.