While i disagree with 4 out of the 5 suggested,i find it laughable that whoever compiled this joke of a list isn't even slightly aware of the 1275 GT,as if the were aware of it then it would be on the list
Odd list,clearly the moke shouldn't be on it at all. The original Mini was a good car in its day,the new Mini's are just shit & living off the back of the original & new Mini are generally bought by estate agents or people that have no clue about cars but think they're cool. I see nothing to celebrate here.
@layabout: I have no problem with someone decrying the supposition that there's a real link between the original Mini and the new Mini-- I agree that they've got little to do with each other. I'll even agree that the new doesn't measure up to the old.
But the new Mini is, on its own merits, a good car. The estate agents may just be getting lucky (first and second gen Miatas were bought by the boatload by people who had no clue about cars), but the new Mini is a better car than you're pretending.
@area_educator: Dont get me wrong, i dont hate the new Mini,it is a good car but to me the original is superior & has a shed load of racing history. Sadly (in the U.K. anyway) most new Mini owners buy them to be "cool" not because they're good cars to drive
Edited by GIC asks not for whom the bell tolls at 08/26/09 4:02 PM
GIC asks not for whom the bell tolls was starred
GIC asks not for whom the bell tolls was unstarred
My competition at the Autocross I was at this weekend was one of the JCW GP Minis. He beat me pretty good (by like 1.5 sec on 42 sec course).
From talking to him, the GP is pretty hardcore - Stiffer everything, no back seat, etc. He said only 1000 were made, with about 400 making it to the States. (Taking that with a grain of salt after reading this post). The carbon fiber rear wing on it is pretty awesome/flashy/wonderfully mechanical all at the same time too.
beercheck promoted this comment
Edited by CaptMatt15 loves the Zoom-Zoom at 08/26/09 3:57 PM
CaptMatt15 loves the Zoom-Zoom was starred
CaptMatt15 loves the Zoom-Zoom was unstarred
@ploopsy: Uh, no. It was made by the same company the entire time, but that company got bought-out / absorbed / incorporated / forcibly stuffed into various other companies, since the Mini was made for such a huge length of time. Austin, Rover, British Leyland... all the same companies from the bricks-and-mortar perspective, just under different supervision.
@CptSevere: Bantam deserves to be included. The Jeep was really their car first. They made about 2,600 BRC-40s that are pretty close in design to the Willys MA and Ford GP, which were both made based on Bantam's blueprints.
That's not entirely true. There were a lot of transformations, takeovers, and buyouts going on, but that doesn't account for all of the manufacturers. For example, Innocenti was an independent company but built Minis in Italy under license from BMC. Authi did the same thing in Spain. Along with other companies in Chile, South Africa, Brazil, etc. Both of mine, being an Austin and a Leyland were built directly under BMC, but not all Minis were.
So ploopsy was right in a way, not really a franchise, but BMC would sell you the rights of manufacture in order to have the Mini more effectively permeate the global market.
Pic 5 is a John Cooper Works GP, of which only 2000 were made but the standard JCW kit could be added to any standard Cooper S and still keep the factory warranty. The only way you'll spot one is via a couple of subtle oval badges and slighty wider twin pipes with the name engraved around the edge.
Generally the GP was considered to be vaguely pointless, as it had far too harsh a ride, looked a bit aftermarket, killed the back seats in favour of a rollbar and had an LSD which was harsh and robbed some of the steering feel. The JCW kit was far cheaper, steathier and just as fast in the real world.
@Kuang: thank you for making me feel better about not getting the limited edition model. I don't have my Cooper yet but was really disappointed when I realized I wouldn't be able to get the GP.
Seriously, thanks
@justsomereportingguy: Whichever one you get, you'll love it. The standard Cooper is extremely good but the 'S' is sublime - I took a few laps of a local racetrack in one shortly after it was released, and was astonished by the grip and feistiness. It's a proper little terrier, and hugely fast cross country. If you can find one with a JCW upgrade you'll never want to sell it.
@justsomereportingguy: My girlfriend bought a Mini with all the JCW options about a year ago. (Her idea, not mine!) I've driven an '06 S model, and the JCW blows it out of the water. Unbelievable car, just pure fun. It will frequently boggle your mind. And far more utility than the limited edition GP, which, as cool as it is, I really view as a collector's car.
Let me make the following three statements for record:
1) I love the original Minis.
2) I love Wagons.
3) I love Woodys, be they wagon, truck, or sedan.
That said, the Countryman Woody is veritable London Fog of Fail. I mean really: if someone took an xB or a Flex or modern Clubman... and proceeded to do nothing more than outline half of it with fifteen bucks' worth of furring strips, we'd probably immortalize their efforts with a LOLCAR award.
Heck, this same treatment is essentially how the last American woodies (Roadmaster, Caravan, et al) were done... except they outlined the whole car AND put simulated woodgrain inside... yet very few seem to wax poetic in tweed suits.
You want a "comfortable" and "rustic" woody? The 1948 Town & Country and innumerable others do a far better job.
@John Krewson: Hey, I didn't say those last ones were great themselves, mind you. I just said they at least put more effort - however misplaced or mishandled - toward evoking the true "woody spirit" (look at that '48 T&C again) than the Mini Countryman.
By your rationale, would the unlamentable woody Caravans, LeBarons and Roamasters be more acceptable if the contact paper was peeled off, leaving just the furring strips?
@GIC toasts the return of the old guard: Set me no false dichotomies! I merely think a little goes a long way, and is easier on the linseed-oil budget. Also, I take it back: That thing Skaycog posted is much more ostentatious and ghastly.
Thanks, John. That cheered me up a bit, after that stupid bastardized Mini coupe-thing wrecked my good mood. I needed that reminder that Mini used to make fantastic little cars.
08/27/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
But the new Mini is, on its own merits, a good car. The estate agents may just be getting lucky (first and second gen Miatas were bought by the boatload by people who had no clue about cars), but the new Mini is a better car than you're pretending.
08/27/09
They're good cars when they're not falling apart.
08/27/09
08/26/09
The only thing that could be better than the original Mini is a Mini with door lock improvement made by Mr. Bean
08/26/09
08/26/09
What about the Red Bull Mini?
08/26/09
EDIT: Boo, no more strikethroughs?
08/26/09
08/26/09
I used to have a MINI, it was shit.
08/26/09
Edit, well it didn't post so go check it out here: [www.lazareth.org]
08/26/09
From talking to him, the GP is pretty hardcore - Stiffer everything, no back seat, etc. He said only 1000 were made, with about 400 making it to the States. (Taking that with a grain of salt after reading this post). The carbon fiber rear wing on it is pretty awesome/flashy/wonderfully mechanical all at the same time too.
08/26/09
what about that mini pick up? I still find it absolutely hilarious that it exists!
08/26/09
I cant think of any other situation where a car has been made by more than 2 manufacturers.
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/27/09
08/27/09
That's not entirely true. There were a lot of transformations, takeovers, and buyouts going on, but that doesn't account for all of the manufacturers. For example, Innocenti was an independent company but built Minis in Italy under license from BMC. Authi did the same thing in Spain. Along with other companies in Chile, South Africa, Brazil, etc. Both of mine, being an Austin and a Leyland were built directly under BMC, but not all Minis were.
So ploopsy was right in a way, not really a franchise, but BMC would sell you the rights of manufacture in order to have the Mini more effectively permeate the global market.
08/26/09
Generally the GP was considered to be vaguely pointless, as it had far too harsh a ride, looked a bit aftermarket, killed the back seats in favour of a rollbar and had an LSD which was harsh and robbed some of the steering feel. The JCW kit was far cheaper, steathier and just as fast in the real world.
08/26/09
Seriously, thanks
08/26/09
08/27/09
08/26/09
After he retired, Mr. Hopkirk was still keeping up with the rally best as he drove the camera car for the Rally of Ireland...
08/26/09
08/26/09
'Any question' was answered quite adequately...
08/26/09
this is all
08/26/09
Let me make the following three statements for record:
1) I love the original Minis.
2) I love Wagons.
3) I love Woodys, be they wagon, truck, or sedan.
That said, the Countryman Woody is veritable London Fog of Fail. I mean really: if someone took an xB or a Flex or modern Clubman... and proceeded to do nothing more than outline half of it with fifteen bucks' worth of furring strips, we'd probably immortalize their efforts with a LOLCAR award.
Heck, this same treatment is essentially how the last American woodies (Roadmaster, Caravan, et al) were done... except they outlined the whole car AND put simulated woodgrain inside... yet very few seem to wax poetic in tweed suits.
You want a "comfortable" and "rustic" woody? The 1948 Town & Country and innumerable others do a far better job.
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
@skaycog-live,love,drink!:
08/26/09
By your rationale, would the unlamentable woody Caravans, LeBarons and Roamasters be more acceptable if the contact paper was peeled off, leaving just the furring strips?
08/26/09
Not sure I dig the wheels though. I appreciate and accept the intended sentiment, but man that's a lot of orange!
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09
08/26/09