Re: Mini Cooper fails to find niche; Beetle/Cruiser win sales race

I've never seen any of these supposed under $17K Mini's, and the idea of buying a special VW Golf, which seems purposely designed to prevent adults from sitting in back seems silly. For the 21+K that Mini's seem to go for out here, I could buy a real car, not a cute little thing that I don't really fit into.

The new T-Bird was not planned as a limited production vehicle to be dropped after five years. The T-Bird is being dropped because it has not sold as Ford hoped it would. The corporate hype of becoming a collector car is just that - hype!

"Eric Mitschke" in an extended posting wrote, among other things:

Chevy grills are not trademarked like Jeep grills.

I have no idea where you get your information, but it is incorrect. Ford dealers and stock holders where told that the new T-Bird would be a specialty car to help build floor traffic during an expect slow sales period. Introduction of the six new models throughout the Ford line would need to be pushed back to 2004 or 2005 to save capitol and build cash flow in the corporation, and would only be in production for four or five years depending on when the new Mustang, built on the same chassis, would be introduced.. The new Mustang comes out in mid 2004 as a four seat 2005 and the T-Bird production ends. The T-Bird as a convertible cost more to manufacture than the Lincoln LS, on which it is based, but was priced well below the LS V8, as a marketing strategy. Every year there is one model that will be built in that year only. Dealers were advised by Ford to sell the car at least five thousand over invoice and to sell to other dealer at MSRP. Many sold for as much as 10K over MSRP. The Neman Marcus addition sold out the first day at 50k.

mike hunt

RPhillips47 wrote:

Actually it was more a copy of the 39 Plymouth which was a copy of the 37 Ford. ;)

mike hunt

RPhillips47 wrote:

I doubt it. Foreigners would be unworthy.... Actually I wonder if they are prepared to ship to just another part of the country, or do they insist you collect, so that they can inspect you for suitability...?

Apparently the owner is quirky himself. Actually I was amazed to find that Bristol even had a website. I half-expected to find one from an owner's club only.

When they mention the lack of fashion in their car designs I am wondering who (which brand) they are aiming at. At a price of GBP 120 000 they are above Merc and BMW territory (you can have a top-of-the-line Merc S with all mod cons and enough change for another fairly decent car) and in Bentley range. Thus what GM, Ford, VW, Fiat et al do is immaterial.

Bentley (and Merc etc) has managed to change its shape every now and then yet retain its stateliness and a timeless elegance. The Bristol just looks dated in my eyes, with no charm even. Every now and then I see one on the street and marvel that such a thing exists as "new".

I guess exclusivity/rarity is the main attraction.

DAS

--

and they look like they got caught in a crusher...sideways

I was right there with you until you tipped off the edge of the planet at the end.

;])

I'm one of those SUV haters but it's not because of the psych profile you mention.

I won't get started on what will turn out to be thread drift but will get back on topic with this: Here in the SF Bay Area Minis seem to well represented, right along with (now discontinued) Firebird/Camero, Mustang, New Beetles, PT Cruisers, Subaru WRX and now STI, and to a certain degree the continuing Mazda Miatas, etc.

Of course this isn't the Midwest or Texas, or where ever so it's skewed as a favorable market for the sporty type car but I don't think Minis are in any trouble around here, at least right now.

TBerk wow, look at the x-posting, I removed air-cooled at least.

T Berk wrote:on. Here in the SF Bay Area Minis seem to well

Dunno what the sales figures are for the Mini-- but here in the middle of the country, they seem to be selling well! Pete

Go back to sleep, dearie. We're talking about the real world, not the never-never land that is San Francisco and vicinity, where the schools won't teach you how to write a complete sentence (viz. above) but they'll make sure you have good self-esteeeeeeeem.

DS

LOL. Real World?

This coming from a still-wet-behind-the-ears recent college grad from the Midwest?

That is priceless.

p.s. You might want to check your inaccurate quoting as well Einstein.

The point is if one does not like something they have the choice of NOT buying one of those. The SUV haters seem to object to others having a choice as to what THEY buy.. SUV haters are the trash spewers, they are so whacked out they are burning SUV's at new car dealerships. ;)

mike hunt

Brand>

Besides the fact that you don't seem to know what you're talking about it's awfully nit picky to slam me for missing a dropped BE in my sentence.

Why not stick to the subject at hand?

I don't see the Mini getting as much market share as the Miata did.

(See how easy that was?)

TBerk

I don't mean any slur towards differing parts of the country. And YES I have been most every state in the US except the deep south (I did lay over in Hotlanta for a few hours).

I haven't been in the middle since the Mini was introduced, that is more my point- I know my own area is all.

btw- we have people here just as real.

Doesn't it make sense Mini USA would see the SF Bay Area as a higher percentage market?

TBerk

Exactly what I did to the first dozen or two of them. But it doesn't seem to stop.

You see the newsgroups listed in teh "to" field of your message or something equivalent, depending on software you use. VERY easy to remove the groups that have nothing to do with the discussion. And you only need to do it ONCE, after that the next person to reply to the message thread will no longer see the removed group.

That is irrelevant, are you not famialiar with netiquette or newsgroup rules or just plain decent manners? You don't post OFF-TOPIC messages to ANY newsgroups, such behavior is ALWAYS frowned upon. I'm just trying to be nice and informative and kindly ask you (all) to remove one line from teh recipient list, because the content of these mesages do not belong there and are considered spam. Do you like to see Spam everywhere you go?

What about viruses? If you get them on your computer, do you just ignore them? Veeeery close to being exactly the same kind of thing. They don't belong, and hence the source should be blocked.

Well, if you decide to make an ass out of yourself, that is your business. But don't be surprised if you make a few hundred enemies by doing so. The majority of our group members are getting tired of this (to us) worthless drivel and would like it to stop. I, as an elected leader of the group, am speaking on behalf of my community.

Jan

Ok, got a grip. Now what do I do with this thing? ;)

No, that is not the way to deal with messages that are off-topic in newsgroups. First you try to inform teh involved parties about the situation and calmly and reasonably try to ask them to ONCE trim their settings. (it's all it takes and the thread will continue in the proper forums as before) Adults should be able to negotiate sucha minor detail without resorting to bitching and moaning and telling others to suck it in and tolerate all junk messages dumped in their front lawn. Do you people seriously just ignore all the spam that keeps pouring in to YOUR newsgroups? I can't believe it. Treat the cause, not the symptom!

I do not need help with newsgroup software. Obviously it is you and some of your friends who need help understaning Usenet newsgroup rules and proper netiquette. Educate yourselves.

I think this is just plain sad.

Jan

I don't see why, SF really isn't a "car town." The Mini's appeal isn't its size, its that its a fireball. SF seems like a place that would sell lots of Priuses, VW TDIs, and Insights, but not many PT Turbos or Mini Coopers.

Mike is a perfect example. He figures that anyone who says anything negative about an SUV must be jealous of them. There are also plenty of people who buy a car for the image that goes with it, instead of actually just enjoying the car.

I knew a guy who bought a 944 because when he went to a bar, he'd toss his keys on the bar and girls would see the Porsche key and figure he had money, thus was more interesting.

I also worked with a guy who got mugged outside of work. His comment was "This would never have happened if I had my Mustang". The sad thing was that his mustang was a 4 cyl.

I agree wholeheartedly with what you're saying.

Yeah, but you wouldn't feel like less of a man if you were stuck driving an Accord, would you? ;) Essentially, your car is reflecting your tastes, not defining your self image.