It’s not exactly a replicator you can just look at and yell: “Floor mats. Mini. Make them say that ‘gas, grass, or ass’ thing” and out spits some very classy floor mats for your Mini, but this is pretty close. Mini is now offering a service called Mini Yours Customized that will let Mini owners order custom, 3D printed and laser-etched parts.
Initially the service will just be for European markets, but will expand to more afterwards. There’s a decent number of customizable acessories available, including illuminated LED door sills, side indicator repeater housings, interior dash trim, and, maybe the coolest one, custom scrims for the mirror-mounted puddle lights.
There’s no question this is very cool, and likely is a taste of the future for many auto parts. The idea that you’ll be able to download and print car parts that you’ll need is something we’ve been speculating about for a long time, and it’s exciting to see it happening in a mainstream way, even just for arguably silly trim bits with your embarrassing nicknames on them.
One thought, though: I don’t usually think about resale value when I buy a car, but that could be an issue here; if people are squeamish about interesting colors, how will they feel about a car with their name slathered all over it?
I mean, if you find someone with your same name, that’s pretty much a guaranteed sale, right?
I guess if the deal on that Mini is good enough, I could change my name to Lian and start calling my wife Emile. I’ve done weirder things for a deal on a car.