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Have you seen that 'fake Minis' advert on TV. I couldn't understand it at all when I first saw it, but now I'm assuming that they are taking a shot at the Suzuki Swift, which has similar styling elements to the Mini. Do you think I'm correct in this?
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I first saw this about 6 months ago in the USA and I hadn't thought of it like that. You may be right though, not specifically the Swift but there are various cars appearing (in the USA at least) with definite Mini styling cues.
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You might have a point there Aprilla, but I think the advertising for the car has come a long way downhill from the Martian Invasion - "It's a MINI adventure"
I've seen taxis bedecked with the colours of the campaign and at least one red lorry with the checked roof and front fogs, both of them at least a few months back.
I quite like the swift though, it's a clever design even if it has borrowed some styling cues...
Lee -- Without bills, magazines and junk mail, there is no mail
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Without bills, magazines and junk mail, there is nomail
No birthday cards, Xmas cards, wedding invitations etc?
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L\'escargot.
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>>Do you think I'm correct in this?
Yes.
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>>Without bills, magazines and junk mail, there is no mail
E-mail, telephones, fax machines. Fedex, telex, telegrams...
Lee -- Without bills, magazines and junk mail, there is no mail
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I was on the train yesterday and we pulled up at a local station. I swear a third of the cars in the car park (maybe out of 40) were MINIs. So the advertising has certainly worked, but with that sort of saturation the prices can't hold up much longer. I've always thought the MINI looked overweight and a bit daft, like Benny Hill in running shoes.
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MINI are subliminaly telling buyers, to customise their purchase - 'buy an overpriced car & spend another big lump of £$£$ to make it 'special'..'
Then you'll THINK you're getting a good return, come selling on time!!
VB
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What just like BMW who own them?
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And it works very well for BMW with punters spending fortune upspecing their cars.
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Having driven a Swift 1.5 (just a 20-min test drive) and Minis (for a lot longer), I know which I'd buy. In fact a relative of mine is getting a Swift and I've been trying to find a dealer who'll discount for her (finally managed it!).
The Mini has good handling, but that's about it. It has an absolutely dreadful ride and when they've clocked up a few miles then all the trim starts to rattle. Horrible car to travel a long distance in.
I reckon they must be worried by cars like the Swift - well, worried enough to put that ad out.
I also reckon that there is a fundamental flaw with the Mini (from BMW's perspective) in that how do they develop it now? The shape is essentially 'fixed'. So how can the next version look much different? Ditto the interior.
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The MINI is great to drive but is terrible to be a passenger in - we took ours to France from 'ere oop North and it wasn't too driving but wasn't any fun from the passenger seat. That I discovered it suddenly found a second wind at 100mph didn't help its cause either. Really, where would I need a surge of speed at 100mph?
The new one looks very like the current model with a few tweaks and a more modern interior. There's a few threads to it on the "future variants" part of the MINI2 website.
This one www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109435 has some decent photos.
After the convertible, the next variant will be a traveller; other changes include new engines, 6-speed Cooper (already 6 speed in the S) and some new hot versions. You'd need to be a MINI nerd to tell most of them apart mind.
In fairness to BMW though, ours didn't rattle even after 28k and two and bit years.
I do like the Swift, looks pretty good.
Lee -- Without bills, magazines and junk mail, there is no mail
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After the convertible, the next variant will be a traveller; other changes include new engines, 6-speed Cooper (already 6 speed in the S) and some new hot versions. You'd need to be a MINI nerd to tell most of them apart mind.
That's what I mean. There is lots of scope to play around with the engines, transmission etc., but the basic shape of the car (and presumably its interior) is going to stay the same. After a while its gooing to look stale and drop out of fashion - what do BMW do then. Maybe create a 'retro' Allegro....LOL!
In fairness to BMW though, ours didn't rattle even after 28k and two and bit years.
Its a good one then. I drove one that only had 12k on it (two years old, mind) and there were a lot of squeaks and rattles. Did 200 miles in it and felt shattered at the end.
I do like the Swift, looks pretty good.
Yes, cheaper, more comfortable and roomier. Performance is not quite as good as the 1.6 in the Mini and handling not quite as good - but overall ride/handling is much better for the average person (well, me anyway!). I noted it had a fairly high top gear (for a 1.5l car) of about 24mph/1000rpm which should make motorway cruising pretty refined.
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The Mini has good handling, but that's about it. It has an absolutely dreadful ride and when they've clocked up a few miles then all the trim starts to rattle. Horrible car to travel a long distance in.
Sounds like a real Mini. So ought to cost the same (£525 on the road in 1968, the same price I paid for my 14-year-old R Type Bentley in that year).
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The New Mini is a fake Mini! The real Mini was introduced in 1959 as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven (another spurious resurrection of an old name!).
As for the Suzuki Swift, it's better looking than the New Mini anyway. One thing the New mini does do well, to its credit, is to re-examine two-tone paintwork, set off by an attractive combination of black and chrome.
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I never thought about the advert that way
I just presumed it was trying to tell people that the proper (?) mini is the best.
To me, it's not focusing on anyone, merely saying how good and popular it is. I hate them anyway.
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