BMW Sauber celebrate 50 years of the 'Mini' brand at Monaco

[Giuseppe F1]

http://www.sutton-images.com/previews/d09mon187.jpg

[wmcot]

A sign of things to come? If Max has his way all F1 cars will end up running Mini engines in the future.

[Dave B]

It's the b'stard son-of-Mini nowadays, a BMW 0.5 series.

I loved the original, the new version is an abomination.

[wmcot]

I wonder if Renault will celebrate the Smart For2 at the French GP? ;)

[AndyRAC]

It's the b'stard son-of-Mini nowadays, a BMW 0.5 series.

I loved the original, the new version is an abomination.

What an utter cheek!! What nerve, in Monte Carlo of all places.......


...somewhere the 'new MINI' will never win!

[Cooper_S]

It's the b'stard son-of-Mini nowadays, a BMW 0.5 series.

I loved the original, the new version is an abomination.

The stupidity of that statement is mind boggling...

It has to be accepted that some people have no ability to understand the concept of evolution when applied to automobiles... the only charm the 'classic' Mini had was as a reminder of better days the car itself was a dinosaur and killed of rightly so by modern crash testing and engine emission requirements...

Rather than resort to the tired out war cry 'It too big to be a Mini' try for once in your life to understand something before you slag it off.

The philosophy for the MINI was straight forward and in two parts... It was the state of Rover which forced BMW to rethink the MINI... it was intended to be sold and marketed under the Rover Marque (as was right and proper) but the abysmal state of Rover meant BMW acted to protect the only positive element at Rover... Launch MINI as a Marque in it's own right and not as a model to replace 'directly' the 'classic'... MINI had 'classic' Mini DNA in it for sure and the that is seen in the other philosophy of evolution... the MINI is bigger than the 'classic' in the same way the Mk.V Golf is significantly bigger than the Mk.I Golf... a trend repeated in just about all cars which have long production runs... Even the diminutive Fiat 500 'Nuevo' is a behemoth when parked next to the cute 1960's original...

BMW is in the market to sell cars that people want... people want safer cars with all the luxuries... that comes at a price... can you guess it.... Size

Now it is very Ironic that it was Rovers failure to make the 'classic' meet the mass market demands that ultimately killed it... If the Japanese had not taken them to heart the 'classic' Mini would never have made it into the 1990's

So take out your misplaced anger on BMW if you will but know you only show yourself to be uninformed by doing so..



I have owned the 'classic' Mini and I loved it... but also I would love a MINI Cooper S but big as it is it is still too small for my needs... and while I fully understand the difference in having MINI as a stand alone marque which will involve expanding the model variants the forthcoming SUV 'Crossman' is not to my liking but the larger 5-door 'Maxi' might be exactly right for my family needs.

[Dave B]

The stupidity of that statement is mind boggling...
Blummin' heck, someone needs to chill out! :eek:

You like the car, I think it's crap. Don't give yourself a heart attack over a lump of metal! :dozey:

[Cooper_S]

...they have sold many thousands, but it will never have the status it had years ago. (and thats a good thing IMO)...

fully concure with that except to say they sold their one millionth MINI last year...

[SGWilko]

Blummin' heck, someone needs to chill out! :eek:

You like the car, I think it's crap. Don't give yourself a heart attack over a lump of metal! :dozey:

Could I just pop in and say "look what fiat did with the new 500".......?

[Donney]

It's the b'stard son-of-Mini nowadays, a BMW 0.5 series.

I loved the original, the new version is an abomination.


I might be an idiot as it has been suggested in a previous post, but I fully agree with this statement.

[Cooper_S]

I might be an idiot as it has been suggested in a previous post, but I fully agree with this statement.


Q.E.D. ;)

[GridGirl]

It's not a Mini unless it's made it Birmingham. 'Nuff said. ;) :p

[Cooper_S]

It's not a Mini unless it's made it Birmingham. 'Nuff said. ;) :p


Nuff said about your knowledge more like... The Mini Classic was indeed made at Longbridge which is in Birmingham but it was also made in Cowley, which last time I looked was in Oxford... and of course it was also made in Pamplona (Spain), Seneffe (Belgium), Setúbal (Portugal), Zetland (NSW, Australia), Petone (New Zealand), Cape Town (South Africa) and Arica (Chile)

[christophulus]

Could I just pop in and say "look what fiat did with the new 500".......?

I like the new 500 but I don't like the new Mini/0-Series all that much. To me it seems too much of a status symbol, just like many other BMWs.

Besides, it's not like BMW are really doing the Mini much of a service. A blown engine and a massively slow F1 car..

[Cooper_S]

Amadáns seem to hunt in packs....

[BDunnell]

The philosophy for the MINI was straight forward and in two parts... It was the state of Rover which forced BMW to rethink the MINI... it was intended to be sold and marketed under the Rover Marque (as was right and proper) but the abysmal state of Rover meant BMW acted to protect the only positive element at Rover... Launch MINI as a Marque in it's own right and not as a model to replace 'directly' the 'classic'... MINI had 'classic' Mini DNA in it for sure and the that is seen in the other philosophy of evolution... the MINI is bigger than the 'classic' in the same way the Mk.V Golf is significantly bigger than the Mk.I Golf...

Yes, it may be bigger, but does that mean its name has to be written in capital letters?

[christophulus]

Amadáns seem to hunt in packs....

Amadán - (AHM-uh-don) a fool or an idiot

Have I got the right translation there? :p

[Cooper_S]

Yes, it may be bigger, but does that mean its name has to be written in capital letters?

LOL, Actually yes... although used as much for marketing and to emphasise that the new car is a Marque and not just a model, Mini refers in all BMW publications to the 'classic' icon and MINI refers to the new Marque... with One, Cooper and Cooper S being the models, and Clubman and Crossman as variants

[Cooper_S]

Amadán - (AHM-uh-don) a fool or an idiot

Have I got the right translation there? :p


Gotta love google :p

[BDunnell]

LOL, Actually yes... although used as much for marketing and to emphasise that the new car is a Marque and not just a model, Mini refers in all BMW publications to the 'classic' icon and MINI refers to the new Marque... with One, Cooper and Cooper S being the models, and Clubman and Crossman as variants

Well, I'm afraid I will happily carry on referring to both as Mini, on the grounds that it's not an acronym, just as I refuse to style BAE Systems as BAE SYSTEMS, that company's shouty way of referring to itself.

[christophulus]

Gotta love google :p

Yep. Figured it was that rather than an Oregon Celtic punk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadan) band :p

[Rollo]

What an utter cheek!! What nerve, in Monte Carlo of all places...

We can but hope that the cars will refuse to start eh? ;)

[V12]

I read somewhere ages ago that the reason that the Cooper F1 team didn't switch to the Ford Cosworth DFV was because of their BMC/Mini links - their inability to source a competitive engine (their aborted 1969 racer was to use a sportscar Alfa V8) must surely have played some part in their demise?

Maybe somewhere in a parallel universe a pair of Cooper-BMWs took to the track at Monaco this weekend.

I've just read that back to myself and it makes no sense at all, but what the hell :)

[Cooper_S]

Well, I'm afraid I will happily carry on referring to both as Mini.

go for it....

[Cooper_S]

I read somewhere ages ago that the reason that the Cooper F1 team didn't switch to the Ford Cosworth DFV was because of their BMC/Mini links - their inability to source a competitive engine (their aborted 1969 racer was to use a sportscar Alfa V8) must surely have played some part in their demise?

Maybe somewhere in a parallel universe a pair of Cooper-BMWs took to the track at Monaco this weekend.

I've just read that back to myself and it makes no sense at all, but what the hell :)


Geez, that is some link... many thanks for getting the thread back on topic BTW

BMW may well follow the Cooper F1 team right out of F1, the whole point of the message on the engine covers this weekend is simply to coincide with the Mini 50th year celebrations at Silverstone over this weekend.

[AndyRAC]

Geez, that is some link... many thanks for getting the thread back on topic BTW

BMW may well follow the Cooper F1 team right out of F1, the whole point of the message on the engine covers this weekend is simply to coincide with the Mini 50th year celebrations at Silverstone over this weekend.

Why at Silverstone?? The Mini's most famous win/wins were probably in Monte Carlo......

[Cooper_S]

a) because they are celebrating the 50 years of the Mini car and not just the Coopers rally success between 1964 and 1968 (fantastic achievement as it was)

b) it is in the UK home of the Mini.

c) with several thousand enthusiasts expected to attend from from all round the globe, I would say space was a consideration... Monaco is tight for space at the best of times let alone on a GP weekend.

[ShiftingGears]

Why at Silverstone?? The Mini's most famous win/wins were probably in Monte Carlo......

:up:

[Cooper_S]

I wonder if Renault will celebrate the Smart For2 at the French GP? ;)


Why....? it is neither French or a Renault and the Smart For2 is not celebrating 50 years of production.

You may have been nearer to an analogy if you had said 'Ferrari celebrate The Fiat 500 at the Italian GP'

[GridGirl]

Nuff said about your knowledge more like... The Mini Classic was indeed made at Longbridge which is in Birmingham but it was also made in Cowley, which last time I looked was in Oxford... and of course it was also made in Pamplona (Spain), Seneffe (Belgium), Setúbal (Portugal), Zetland (NSW, Australia), Petone (New Zealand), Cape Town (South Africa) and Arica (Chile)

My comment that a Mini isn't a Mini unless it's made in Birmingham was a joke that obviously when straight over your head. :rolleyes: It's odd though because I was driving north last Friday night and there must of been a Mini birthday meeting on somewhere because old school Mini's were everywhere. A considerable number of them had stickers in the window saying 'True Brit, not German' which is what prompted me to make my original post.

[Cooper_S]

My comment that a Mini isn't a Mini unless it's made in Birmingham was a joke...

Sorry but I disagree... it may well have been intended as a humorous anecdote to provoke laughter... however the inclusion of the 'Nuff Said' nonsense at the end turned it into a statement.... and an erroneous one at that hence my correction.


As for the infantile car stickers on some Mini's, well it shows the owners to be ignorant of the fact that the Classic Mini was produced under German ownership so some Mini's at least are part German.

I find this misplaced hostility to German ownership of MINI a mystery... I rarely if ever see such xenophobic rubbish directed at German ownership of Bentley, or Indian ownership of Land Rover and Jaguar or Malaysian owner of Lotus or American ownership of Vauxhall

[wmcot]

I read somewhere ages ago that the reason that the Cooper F1 team didn't switch to the Ford Cosworth DFV was because of their BMC/Mini links - their inability to source a competitive engine (their aborted 1969 racer was to use a sportscar Alfa V8) must surely have played some part in their demise?

Maybe somewhere in a parallel universe a pair of Cooper-BMWs took to the track at Monaco this weekend.

I've just read that back to myself and it makes no sense at all, but what the hell :)

Careful - it's thinking like that that got Max to where he is today! ;)

[wmcot]

Why....? it is neither French or a Renault and the Smart For2 is not celebrating 50 years of production.

You may have been nearer to an analogy if you had said 'Ferrari celebrate The Fiat 500 at the Italian GP'

Oops, wrong eco-car. And the 50 year thing was just a joke.

[Dave B]

I find this misplaced hostility to German ownership of MINI a mystery... I rarely if ever see such xenophobic rubbish directed at German ownership of Bentley, or Indian ownership of Land Rover and Jaguar or Malaysian owner of Lotus or American ownership of Vauxhall
Who says it's hostility to BMW? I personally don't like the car, and that wouldn't change if my favourite uncle had hand crafted it. The Germans make some fine cars which I happen to like, they also make the occasional dog.

I understand you really love the Mini, your user name is proof enough, but don't lable those who disagree as xenophobic, infantile, angry or uninformed as you have done in this thread.

[Cooper_S]

what






































ever

[BDunnell]

I find the opprobrium being directed here at anyone who dares to criticise the new Mini really quite amazing. It's merely an opinion about a car. What's the problem?