Bring on a separate new Mini forum??
Discussion
Sounds like a good idea - it seems there's very little overlap between 'classic'and New Mini owners... and it *would* be nice if one could post a question regarding BMW Mini's without the whole diehard little Englander 'real Mini' brigade hurling abuse at one 
.
Personally I think the two could and should co-exist alongside each other quite nicely. I do 30,000 business miles a year in my BMW MINI and sorry folks, I wouldn't entertain the the option of using a 'real' Mini for that instead. And given the choice between the MINI or a base Golf/Astra/307... I think the Mini traditionalists *might* agree that it makes sense...
In my situation the role of a toy/hobby car is already fulfilled to near-complete satisfaction by something else - but I agree if I was to have a Mini for that, it would have been a 'proper one'.
>> Edited by 900T-R on Friday 11th March 12:20
. Personally I think the two could and should co-exist alongside each other quite nicely. I do 30,000 business miles a year in my BMW MINI and sorry folks, I wouldn't entertain the the option of using a 'real' Mini for that instead. And given the choice between the MINI or a base Golf/Astra/307... I think the Mini traditionalists *might* agree that it makes sense...
In my situation the role of a toy/hobby car is already fulfilled to near-complete satisfaction by something else - but I agree if I was to have a Mini for that, it would have been a 'proper one'.
>> Edited by 900T-R on Friday 11th March 12:20
ahh!
but will there be a seperate forum for classic minis paid for by bmw money (i.e s.p.i and m.p.i)??
or classic minis fitted with parts from new bmws (i.e the supercharger)
its back to the old 'is the clubman a proper mini' debate
my opinion is a mini is a mini is a mini!!, if i had my own purist way, minis stopped in 1968 when the square mark 2 lights where fitted!!!!
rich
{ducks to avoid torrent of abuse!}
but will there be a seperate forum for classic minis paid for by bmw money (i.e s.p.i and m.p.i)??
or classic minis fitted with parts from new bmws (i.e the supercharger)
its back to the old 'is the clubman a proper mini' debate
my opinion is a mini is a mini is a mini!!, if i had my own purist way, minis stopped in 1968 when the square mark 2 lights where fitted!!!!
rich
{ducks to avoid torrent of abuse!}
Personally I don't have a problem with New Mini queries and questions in the Mini Forum. I'm not really qualified to answer any of them because I don't have any experience of them........
I can only appologise if people have been made to feel unwelcome here because they have the new car rather than the classic. I've endured similar feelings in the past from the MG fraternity when the MG Metro/Maestro/Monty came out. Like the MG Magnette and 1100/1300 weren't badge-engineered specials !!
I think New Mini is a great little car, but I do have my reservations about them. I've not actually driven one yet, although a friend of mine works for the local BM dealership............ Time for a test drive !!
Please don't feel you have to have a special place to talk about the new car because of some ill-judged comments, I'm sure they were meant in good spirt and not to be taken too seriously.
It's a Mini-harmony !!
Phil.
Edited to add : Ok, I see where this has come from now, having read the other thread........ Come on guys, we are all enthusiasts here, the site is called "PISTONHEADS" after all. Do the Jag guys bemoan the modern Ford-era Jags ?? Do the Porsche guys insist on an air-cooled 6 hung out the back ?? Please don't try to force your views or opinon on others who don't necessarily share those views.
>> Edited by phil hill on Friday 11th March 14:31
I can only appologise if people have been made to feel unwelcome here because they have the new car rather than the classic. I've endured similar feelings in the past from the MG fraternity when the MG Metro/Maestro/Monty came out. Like the MG Magnette and 1100/1300 weren't badge-engineered specials !!
I think New Mini is a great little car, but I do have my reservations about them. I've not actually driven one yet, although a friend of mine works for the local BM dealership............ Time for a test drive !!
Please don't feel you have to have a special place to talk about the new car because of some ill-judged comments, I'm sure they were meant in good spirt and not to be taken too seriously.
It's a Mini-harmony !!
Phil.
Edited to add : Ok, I see where this has come from now, having read the other thread........ Come on guys, we are all enthusiasts here, the site is called "PISTONHEADS" after all. Do the Jag guys bemoan the modern Ford-era Jags ?? Do the Porsche guys insist on an air-cooled 6 hung out the back ?? Please don't try to force your views or opinon on others who don't necessarily share those views.
>> Edited by phil hill on Friday 11th March 14:31
phil hill said:
Personally I don't have a problem with New Mini queries and questions in the Mini Forum. I'm not really qualified to answer any of them because I don't have any experience of them........
I can only appologise if people have been made to feel unwelcome here because they have the new car rather than the classic. I've endured similar feelings in the past from the MG fraternity when the MG Metro/Maestro/Monty came out. Like the MG Magnette and 1100/1300 weren't badge-engineered specials !!
I think New Mini is a great little car, but I do have my reservations about them. I've not actually driven one yet, although a friend of mine works for the local BM dealership............ Time for a test drive !!
Please don't feel you have to have a special place to talk about the new car because of some ill-judged comments, I'm sure they were meant in good spirt and not to be taken too seriously.
It's a Mini-harmony !!
Phil.
Edited to add : Ok, I see where this has come from now, having read the other thread........ Come on guys, we are all enthusiasts here, the site is called "PISTONHEADS" after all. Do the Jag guys bemoan the modern Ford-era Jags ?? Do the Porsche guys insist on an air-cooled 6 hung out the back ?? Please don't try to force your views or opinon on others who don't necessarily share those views.
>> Edited by phil hill on Friday 11th March 14:31
And there speaks the voice of reason - a new forum isn't needed, a new attitude from owners of "real" MINI's who's only contribution to a new mini thread is to slag them off (and by proxy their owners choice). Its funny how most the slag-off contingent seem to "have driven a mates one" or "spent time in one" and have created their opinion based on that (possibly fabricated?) experience. Perhaps when they have £15k or so to spend on a fun, practical new car they'd care to enlighten us as to what their breathtakingly original "not a new mini" choice is. But of course hell may freeze over whilst we wait 
>> Edited by TRACKDEMON on Friday 11th March 14:51
Driven a new mini and spent more on a classic mini than it costs to buy a new mini .
Classic mini continues on for me , in all shapes and modifications .
New Mini ...nice car , but I have no interest in it, partly because it is so very different . Would have the new VW Golf GTI if I was in the market for that type of motor "sporty hatchback " .
But I have no axe to grind with new mini owners as they must love their cars just as much ( I think ).
Leave forum as is , all infos extra knowledge and I'll trot off to a classic mini forum when I want just 'classic mini banter'. This is PISTONHEADS after all , so should cater for everyone , and lets face it , it does have the same name (mini ...MINI ).
Rog
Classic mini continues on for me , in all shapes and modifications .
New Mini ...nice car , but I have no interest in it, partly because it is so very different . Would have the new VW Golf GTI if I was in the market for that type of motor "sporty hatchback " .
But I have no axe to grind with new mini owners as they must love their cars just as much ( I think ).
Leave forum as is , all infos extra knowledge and I'll trot off to a classic mini forum when I want just 'classic mini banter'. This is PISTONHEADS after all , so should cater for everyone , and lets face it , it does have the same name (mini ...MINI ).
Rog
There can only be one forum because the Bini doesn't have enough of a following. the 2 ends of the continuum are as follows:-
a) The real mini bought tuning to the masses, sportscar performance on a budget and made a nation petrolheads and the new one is just a modern lump of transport with the badges bunged on.
or,
b) The new mini is a modern car with heated seats, air conditioning, drinks holders and was designed to be fresh, hip and funky. It is an infinite improvement on the rusty little noiseboxes produced by Leyland.
You are somewhere on that continuum or are indifferent. For me, minis are a religion, I used to think that they were shitty little boxes with an engine driving the wrong wheels, then I drove one. There is a whole faith of people bolting on bits and caining it around in the spirit which has been present from day one. You cannot compare the 2 cars, they are totally different, one is irrational, problematic, rusty, fun, quirky and the other is just a piece of bland transport.
Spiritually, the two sorts of owners are poles apart, nowhere on a Bini forum have I seen discussions of gear ratios or suspension geometry. It misses the point.
I suggest that Bini owners should post in the "Mundane Modern Transport for Girls" section, if you have one alongside all the other BMW's.
a) The real mini bought tuning to the masses, sportscar performance on a budget and made a nation petrolheads and the new one is just a modern lump of transport with the badges bunged on.
or,
b) The new mini is a modern car with heated seats, air conditioning, drinks holders and was designed to be fresh, hip and funky. It is an infinite improvement on the rusty little noiseboxes produced by Leyland.
You are somewhere on that continuum or are indifferent. For me, minis are a religion, I used to think that they were shitty little boxes with an engine driving the wrong wheels, then I drove one. There is a whole faith of people bolting on bits and caining it around in the spirit which has been present from day one. You cannot compare the 2 cars, they are totally different, one is irrational, problematic, rusty, fun, quirky and the other is just a piece of bland transport.
Spiritually, the two sorts of owners are poles apart, nowhere on a Bini forum have I seen discussions of gear ratios or suspension geometry. It misses the point.
I suggest that Bini owners should post in the "Mundane Modern Transport for Girls" section, if you have one
alongside all the other BMW's. love machine said:
There can only be one forum because the Bini doesn't have enough of a following. the 2 ends of the continuum are as follows:-
a) The real mini bought tuning to the masses, sportscar performanceon a budget and made a nation petrolheads and the new one is just a modern lump of transport with the badges bunged on
or,
b) The new mini is a modern car with heated seats, air conditioning, drinks holders and was designed to be fresh, hip and funky. It is an infinite improvement on the rusty little noiseboxes produced by Leyland.
You are somewhere on that continuum or are indifferent. For me, minis are a religion, I used to think that they were shitty little boxes with an engine driving the wrong wheels, then I drove one. There is a whole faith of people bolting on bits and caining it around in the spirit which has been present from day one. You cannot compare the 2 cars, they are totally different, one is irrational, problematic, rusty, fun, quirky and the other is just a piece of bland transport.
Spiritually, the two sorts of owners are poles apart, nowhere on a Bini forum have I seen discussions of gear ratios or suspension geometry. It misses the point.
I suggest that Bini owners should post in the "Mundane Modern Transport for Girls" section, if you have one
And so it continues.....
:w*nkersmiley:love machine said:
Spiritually, the two sorts of owners are poles apart, nowhere on a Bini forum have I seen discussions of gear ratios or suspension geometry. It misses the point.
Have you seen my *other* car on my profile? Care to guess how many hours have been spent on suspension geometry of *that* with lots of input from race engineers?
love machine said:
I suggest that Bini owners should post in the "Mundane Modern Transport for Girls" section, if you have one
a) You might still consider the fact that given the choices I had for a company car, the MINI still is the least mundane choice of all. Or would you prefer the Golf 1.4 or the Peugeot 307 1.4 HDI?
b) The original Mini was by the admitttance of Issigonis and Daniels themselves designed as mundane, practical transport for the district nurse. It's when John Cooper got his hands on one that things got really interesting from a petrolhead point of view. It was BMWs desire to make the new MINI a small sporty car instead of an economy car, so in a way they ignored the design brief of the orignal to continue where Cooper was let off the case by BL beancounters in 1970. In a world packed to the gills with practical, safe, reliable, perfectly acceptasble economy cars this was IMO the right decision. Yes, it's gotten bigger and heavier than the original. Good thing, because at 6'3" and 80 kgs I'm somewhat larger than the average 1959 driver, too; traffic density and motorway speeds have risen significantly so a bit of crash protection would not go amiss; people tend to commute 70 miles rather than 7 miles nowadays, and the roads are chockful with vehicles that are significantly bigger and heavier than those in 1959, so something that makes you feel a bit less vulnerable is a viable proposition for a daily driver. If you throw that all out of the window - why then, would one choose a Mini at all instead of say a Caterfield?
3) People here who have seen me will undoubtedly testify that I'm not a girl
. 4) In my experience, the animosity against the MINI is almost purely a UK phenomenon. I'd say guys, grow over it. The Mini was great in its day but it was produced and almost killed off by virtue of no significant development by one of the most cynical, shambolic automotive manufacturers in history. IMO, BMW did a rather good job in translating the core values of the Mini as a sporty, fun little car to the 21st century whilst binning all the crap bits. It's more fun to drive than anything else in its price class offering the same kind of quality and usability. Period.
>> Edited by 900T-R on Friday 11th March 19:34
Ahhh, believe what you read, if I recall, Handley started racing minis in late 59 and my own chum Big Mike ran one in '60. They were giant killers then.
I do apologise for being an offensive cock, but I would never drive a mundane or boring car. Life is too short. Having said, I have had a ride in a Bini S and it was less than impressive. If I had one, I would whack a Porsche Transaxle and RV8 in the back. The engine is in the wrong place, read car too heavy too much front/rear weight transfer resulting in useless wheelspin. I've seen them in action in motorsport and they are worse than useless, although I'm sure most women would love one.
Issigonis didn't envisage it being a successful competition car. I recall a 998 mini beating the fastest JC Works challenge car up Wiscombe hill. Pathetic.
Don't get me wrong, the BMW is an excellent car and the profits/sales show that, it just isn't really the stuff of petrolheads. Being a fully fledged petrolhead myself with an enviable plumage, I just can't see how mundane transport fits in with a website like this. For instance, I have had the use of a Peugoet 106 recently, I wouldn't entertain the thought about posting topics about it, it's just boring transport, sure, it can 4 wheel drift and go fast, it's just not the stuff of minis.
As the old surfers saying goes, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand". If you have driven a sorted mini, they are among the highlights of 4 wheels touching tarmac, the Bini is just another car.
The mini is more than just a car, it is the stuff of proper petrolheaded involvement, the sort of thing you can only achieve with a fantasic piece of magic. Pure involvement, the creation, the process, understanding and enjoyment, actual participation. The Bini is just a tool and not a very well balanced tool.
As I said, the mini/MINI debate is one where a lot of people get very emotional, (I know it's just a car, but then again, that is like saying 'a wife is just a piece of meat', true but missing the essence). I'm at this end of the spectrum due to my own findings.
If you want to convert to my way of thought, come and borrow my mini for a day or so
(All tongue in cheek, I'm just winding you lot up)
I do apologise for being an offensive cock, but I would never drive a mundane or boring car. Life is too short. Having said, I have had a ride in a Bini S and it was less than impressive. If I had one, I would whack a Porsche Transaxle and RV8 in the back. The engine is in the wrong place, read car too heavy too much front/rear weight transfer resulting in useless wheelspin. I've seen them in action in motorsport and they are worse than useless, although I'm sure most women would love one.
Issigonis didn't envisage it being a successful competition car. I recall a 998 mini beating the fastest JC Works challenge car up Wiscombe hill. Pathetic.
Don't get me wrong, the BMW is an excellent car and the profits/sales show that, it just isn't really the stuff of petrolheads. Being a fully fledged petrolhead myself with an enviable plumage, I just can't see how mundane transport fits in with a website like this. For instance, I have had the use of a Peugoet 106 recently, I wouldn't entertain the thought about posting topics about it, it's just boring transport, sure, it can 4 wheel drift and go fast, it's just not the stuff of minis.
As the old surfers saying goes, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand". If you have driven a sorted mini, they are among the highlights of 4 wheels touching tarmac, the Bini is just another car.
The mini is more than just a car, it is the stuff of proper petrolheaded involvement, the sort of thing you can only achieve with a fantasic piece of magic. Pure involvement, the creation, the process, understanding and enjoyment, actual participation. The Bini is just a tool and not a very well balanced tool.
As I said, the mini/MINI debate is one where a lot of people get very emotional, (I know it's just a car, but then again, that is like saying 'a wife is just a piece of meat', true but missing the essence). I'm at this end of the spectrum due to my own findings.
If you want to convert to my way of thought, come and borrow my mini for a day or so
(All tongue in cheek, I'm just winding you lot up)
TRACKDEMON said:
Personally I don't have a problem with New Mini queries and questions in the Mini Forum. I'm not really qualified to answer any of them because I don't have any experience of them........
I can only appologise if people have been made to feel unwelcome here because they have the new car rather than the classic. I've endured similar feelings in the past from the MG fraternity when the MG Metro/Maestro/Monty came out. Like the MG Magnette and 1100/1300 weren't badge-engineered specials !!
I think New Mini is a great little car, but I do have my reservations about them. I've not actually driven one yet, although a friend of mine works for the local BM dealership............ Time for a test drive !!
Please don't feel you have to have a special place to talk about the new car because of some ill-judged comments, I'm sure they were meant in good spirt and not to be taken too seriously.
It's a Mini-harmony !!
Phil.
Edited to add : Ok, I see where this has come from now, having read the other thread........ Come on guys, we are all enthusiasts here, the site is called "PISTONHEADS" after all. Do the Jag guys bemoan the modern Ford-era Jags ?? Do the Porsche guys insist on an air-cooled 6 hung out the back ?? Please don't try to force your views or opinon on others who don't necessarily share those views.
>> Edited by phil hill on Friday 11th March 14:31
>> Edited by TRACKDEMON on Friday 11th March 14:51
Seconded! Apologies if i pissed u off the other day trackdemon. Talking shit as ever i was....
OK, Love Machine, fair enough. All I'd like to state here that in the general world of pertolheads, four- and five-star evo cars are NOT being considered 'mundane transport'...
Oh - ever driven a Pug 106 GTI? It's flippin' brilliant as a driver's car. Shame about the cardboard box build...
Oh - ever driven a Pug 106 GTI? It's flippin' brilliant as a driver's car. Shame about the cardboard box build...
trackdemon said:
...Its funny how most the slag-off contingent seem to "have driven a mates one" or "spent time in one" and have created their opinion based on that (possibly fabricated?) experience...
love machine said:
....I have had a ride in a Bini S and it was less than impressive. If I had one....
How satisfying
I rest my case Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story/attempted wind up, eh? All together now...ssssshhhhhhBeen much more suitably named if it was called the new METRO , the similarities are there , where there are very few with the classic mini . Metro was a good car and a big seller wonder why they didn't call it the BMW METRO .
Be interesting to make a list of features on the new MINI that show how it evolved from the classic mini .
Still I have driven one and I liked it , just not for me .
Serious question ( cos I don't know the answer ) , is the New MINI likely to be used as a successful rally car ?
Be interesting to make a list of features on the new MINI that show how it evolved from the classic mini .
Still I have driven one and I liked it , just not for me .
Serious question ( cos I don't know the answer ) , is the New MINI likely to be used as a successful rally car ?
Having owned a Metro, a "real" mini and a BMW MINI I can catagorically say that the new MINI is far more redolent of the old Mini than a bl00dy Metro Could you imagine the marketing garb to promote a "new Metro"
I'm sure the MINI would be well suited to making a junior WRC car - perfect proportions with wheel at each corner, low CofG and of course the sophisticated multi-link suspension for ultimate wheel control. Perhaps the Chrysler/BMW engine isn't up to it, or maybe they just can't justify the costs with such a huge budget devoted to the F1 operation as well a strong presence in touring cars. Would be nice to see what it could do in rallying though....
Could you imagine the marketing garb to promote a "new Metro" I'm sure the MINI would be well suited to making a junior WRC car - perfect proportions with wheel at each corner, low CofG and of course the sophisticated multi-link suspension for ultimate wheel control. Perhaps the Chrysler/BMW engine isn't up to it, or maybe they just can't justify the costs with such a huge budget devoted to the F1 operation as well a strong presence in touring cars. Would be nice to see what it could do in rallying though....
Without wanting to inflame the debate, the suggestion that the BMW MINI is a bland-but worthy eurobox and not worth the attention of petrolheads is the most totally off the mark, ill-informed and frankly wrong comment i have read in years.
I have owned a lot of cars. And I did once own an original Mini.
But the Cooper S I drive as my daily hack has given me more smiles per mile than a Porsche 996 I also once owned.
Anyone who suggests that the new Mini ( even the One ) is not a petrolheads car has clearly never driven one for a good blat.
I don't think there is ANY new car less than £15k that offers the driving enthusiast the same degree of driver involvement as the new Mini. Its wheel - in -each corner handling and massive levels of grip, its playfullness when lifting off, and in its all round ability to make you smile, has no equal for a new car that is so cheap to run.
I am a huge fan of the Issigoni Mini, and recognise its ground breaking impact on car design.
Of course the new Mini does not represent such significant developments, but it is a very worthy car for petrolheads of all ages and experience, all budgets and incomes.
The new Mini is probably the most "class-less" new car on the market. Anyone can and does drive one, from the rich car collector to the new driver choosing their fist car.
I think thats quite an achievement. And funnily enough, if Issigonis was still around, I think he would probably approve.
>> Edited by toppstuff on Sunday 13th March 17:15
I have owned a lot of cars. And I did once own an original Mini.
But the Cooper S I drive as my daily hack has given me more smiles per mile than a Porsche 996 I also once owned.
Anyone who suggests that the new Mini ( even the One ) is not a petrolheads car has clearly never driven one for a good blat.
I don't think there is ANY new car less than £15k that offers the driving enthusiast the same degree of driver involvement as the new Mini. Its wheel - in -each corner handling and massive levels of grip, its playfullness when lifting off, and in its all round ability to make you smile, has no equal for a new car that is so cheap to run.
I am a huge fan of the Issigoni Mini, and recognise its ground breaking impact on car design.
Of course the new Mini does not represent such significant developments, but it is a very worthy car for petrolheads of all ages and experience, all budgets and incomes.
The new Mini is probably the most "class-less" new car on the market. Anyone can and does drive one, from the rich car collector to the new driver choosing their fist car.
I think thats quite an achievement. And funnily enough, if Issigonis was still around, I think he would probably approve.
>> Edited by toppstuff on Sunday 13th March 17:15
"But the Cooper S I drive as my daily hack has given me more smiles per mile than a Porsche 996 I also once owned. "
As a classic mini and 996 owner I don't agree with that , but thats my opinion .
And also being an ex 7 series owner BMW were insistent I had a MINI Cooper S for a day ,so I did and as I said before nice car, it didn't make me want one though .
"!Could you imagine the marketing garb to promote a "new Metro" " ...exactly using the word MINI was just that 'Marketing' . Not that interested in the classic mini now though are they ??
Good bit of banter this
As a classic mini and 996 owner I don't agree with that , but thats my opinion .
And also being an ex 7 series owner BMW were insistent I had a MINI Cooper S for a day ,so I did and as I said before nice car, it didn't make me want one though .
"!Could you imagine the marketing garb to promote a "new Metro" " ...exactly using the word MINI was just that 'Marketing' . Not that interested in the classic mini now though are they ??
Good bit of banter this
I reckon you can have fun in every vehicle. I used to regularly get the arse out in my van or drift the diesel pug.
You can do 99% of the road performance of a Bini S super duper works blah blah in a diesel mondeo estate (driven one of those?) they are a lot better than a lot of cars, but "just transport". The mini isn't just transport it is a proper motoring experience at it's rawest purity. My mums Saxo probably handles better, goes faster but it is just mundane. Even the metros have that earthy organic motorcar feel about them, I like metros and would rather have a 200hp metro than a 200hp Bini.
I've driven a lot of interesting cars which are modern and wonderful, they just don't grab you by the balls like a proper car. If you argue the former, you obviously haven't had the whole 'man and machine' experience. My favourite vehicle I have driven for sheer motoring madness was a 1968 TVR vixen. It was like a bullet and was just incredible. Everytime I drove it I shook afterwards, it was the biggest buzz possible. Probably not as fast as my mates diesel mondeo, but much more fun and a crazy vehicle. The whole thing used to vibrate, the engine note was screaming, the webers roaring, the scenery flashing by, I overtook cars 6 at a time and could feel every stone and imperfection of the road through the steering wheel and the seat of my trousers, I could smell racing oil and my heart beat it's fastest, it was frenzied and one of the most intense experiences of my life. That is motoring for me and modern cars are just transport. My concept of petrolheadism doesn't contain cars which are "just transport". By all means put the Bini in the same category as a mini, but it will never be even remotely like my mates TVR, the very essence of british motoring. My mini is pretty much that crazy but the TVR is claustrophobic and tiny, it's like being a mini but lying down.
I have 2 words for you inclusive people which are the equivalent of having a penis in a womans swimming team. McPherson Struts
>> Edited by love machine on Sunday 13th March 20:34
You can do 99% of the road performance of a Bini S super duper works blah blah in a diesel mondeo estate (driven one of those?) they are a lot better than a lot of cars, but "just transport". The mini isn't just transport it is a proper motoring experience at it's rawest purity. My mums Saxo probably handles better, goes faster but it is just mundane. Even the metros have that earthy organic motorcar feel about them, I like metros and would rather have a 200hp metro than a 200hp Bini.
I've driven a lot of interesting cars which are modern and wonderful, they just don't grab you by the balls like a proper car. If you argue the former, you obviously haven't had the whole 'man and machine' experience. My favourite vehicle I have driven for sheer motoring madness was a 1968 TVR vixen. It was like a bullet and was just incredible. Everytime I drove it I shook afterwards, it was the biggest buzz possible. Probably not as fast as my mates diesel mondeo, but much more fun and a crazy vehicle. The whole thing used to vibrate, the engine note was screaming, the webers roaring, the scenery flashing by, I overtook cars 6 at a time and could feel every stone and imperfection of the road through the steering wheel and the seat of my trousers, I could smell racing oil and my heart beat it's fastest, it was frenzied and one of the most intense experiences of my life. That is motoring for me and modern cars are just transport. My concept of petrolheadism doesn't contain cars which are "just transport". By all means put the Bini in the same category as a mini, but it will never be even remotely like my mates TVR, the very essence of british motoring. My mini is pretty much that crazy but the TVR is claustrophobic and tiny, it's like being a mini but lying down.
I have 2 words for you inclusive people which are the equivalent of having a penis in a womans swimming team. McPherson Struts
>> Edited by love machine on Sunday 13th March 20:34
All I know is that I will always own a BMW Mini Cooper S.
The one I have now I have decided will not be sold, and will stay with me as a general tooling around, park it anywhere piece of playfullness.
My dream garage would include stuff as diverse as a Dino 246, maybe a GT3 or even a Zonda. But it would also include a BMW Cooper S works. I adore older stuff like DB4's and one of my favourites is the Alfa Junior in the 105 body. I just love all cars, and I have been lucky enough to have driven a lot of interesting cars and owned a few.
I have now done 20,000 miles in the Cooper S. As I have gotten to know the car and trust it, I have developed enormous respect for it. It is truly a remarkable car with surprising abilities, that reveals more the longer you own it.
My most loved car of all time is a 911 (993) C2 I owned a few years back. One day soon I hope to get another one. But the Cooper S stays. On many a cross-country hoon it has surprised and amazed me. It has earned the right to be respected AFAIK.
I find it interesting that every long term test I read such as the long-termer in EVO, they come to the same conclusion as me.
Its not a conspiracy. Its not a bandwagon. The BMW Mini is just a damn good car. It is in a different class in engineering standards and handling to something like a Saxo, and to compare it is to completely miss the point.
The BMW Mini was not built down to a price. It is ludicrously over-engineered for it market price segment ( something that BMW intend to fix for the replacement sadly ) and is frankly not priced expensively enough.
Simply cracking little cars. Great dealer service too, and with TLC cheap as chips to run. And the residuals are good...
It can't really get any better !
Jeez, some people cannot see what is plainly obvious !
The one I have now I have decided will not be sold, and will stay with me as a general tooling around, park it anywhere piece of playfullness.
My dream garage would include stuff as diverse as a Dino 246, maybe a GT3 or even a Zonda. But it would also include a BMW Cooper S works. I adore older stuff like DB4's and one of my favourites is the Alfa Junior in the 105 body. I just love all cars, and I have been lucky enough to have driven a lot of interesting cars and owned a few.
I have now done 20,000 miles in the Cooper S. As I have gotten to know the car and trust it, I have developed enormous respect for it. It is truly a remarkable car with surprising abilities, that reveals more the longer you own it.
My most loved car of all time is a 911 (993) C2 I owned a few years back. One day soon I hope to get another one. But the Cooper S stays. On many a cross-country hoon it has surprised and amazed me. It has earned the right to be respected AFAIK.
I find it interesting that every long term test I read such as the long-termer in EVO, they come to the same conclusion as me.
Its not a conspiracy. Its not a bandwagon. The BMW Mini is just a damn good car. It is in a different class in engineering standards and handling to something like a Saxo, and to compare it is to completely miss the point.
The BMW Mini was not built down to a price. It is ludicrously over-engineered for it market price segment ( something that BMW intend to fix for the replacement sadly ) and is frankly not priced expensively enough.
Simply cracking little cars. Great dealer service too, and with TLC cheap as chips to run. And the residuals are good...
It can't really get any better !
Jeez, some people cannot see what is plainly obvious !
Gassing Station | Classic Minis | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff