Yes, I understand and agree. I also know how frustrating it can be to have someone abusing the NG for no reason other than to cause trouble. I've been lurking for a while and have read the postings that were causing a lot of the grief. Believe me, I'm not that way.
I admit I'm somewhat ignorant about the original Mini. Not totally ignorant... I mean, I've never owned one, but I have owned several "niche" cars in the past. The problem with most of the cars I've owned is that there are not enough of them (at least in the U.S.) to form, let alone maintain, a club. In the past I've had to resort to joining clubs like the Micro/Mini Car Club of Orlando (mini as in 'small', not the make of car). That was a club that welcomed me and my 4CV, as well as Fiat 600's, Multiplas, Isettas... in fact there were even a couple of Minis in there! :)
Mini owners are fortunate to have the numbers behind them to maintain a "pure" bloodline in their groups. I understand that's what you are trying to do in this NG. The club I've just joined, Sunshine Minis, is a mix of the original and the new (BINIs as you call them). There is plenty of room for both, and I don't see a lot of bickering over which is superior (other than some good natured joking).
So it was from this mindset that I wandered into your group. Certainly not to cause trouble, and certainly not to argue the merits of the new Mini versus the original, or to play semantics (i.e. Mini vs. MINI vs. BINI).
Fair enough but you can see from my website on the history of the little marvel that it did achieve rather a lot and had and still has a lasting appeal and it really does deserve a club or newsgroup all of it's own. I mean why should a 47 year old British icon have to share space with a German Hatchback after all?
I don't think they have to share space at all. They are two different cars, with two different personalities. 50 years after the first Ford Model T hit the market, the Mini was introduced. It was enormously popular, just as the Model T was. Both of these cars were right for the times they were "born" in. People from a hundred years ago might argue that the Mini was not what a true car should be... too "plush", too many new-fangled gee-gaws . And who knows what your grandchildren will be saying about the MINI 50 years from now?
The German engineering shouldn't cause you any concern. After all, hasn't BMW owned Mini since the early 90's? I mean, people have different tastes. I prefer the "C3" Corvette Stingray to the currently produced model. And is the Corvette a truly American car anymore? More and more, this is a global economy we live in. The classic Mini was built and sold in how many different countries and by how many corporations over the years? So maybe the MINI is just a paradigm shift in the evolution of a great car with a colorful history.
But you are right... no car can share space with the Mini. It's one of a kind, like the Model T... and the MINI.
Sorry if I'm rambling. It's late here and I have to get up early! :)
"dauph59" wrote in message news:qhU7g.8512$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
Well the real Mini has been immortalised forever in the classic Michael Caine movie "The Italian Job" (1969) and this gets shown on TV at prime time every Christmas on BBC1 and everyone in Britain knows the famous line "Your Only Supposed To Blow The Bloody Doors Off" and although I've seen this film hundreds of times since I was 5 or 6, the getaway with the Mini Cooper S never fails to blow me away, I mean the stunts are exceptional and the Mini's just look so damned awesome and appealing that even in centuries time, people are going to say how amazing the Mini was and so was 1960's culture in Great Britain. After all we had it all back then and it's all in the film, we had the greatest cars like the Aston Martin, the E-Type Jaguar and of course the Mini Cooper S (well the Mini changed the face of motoring forever as it was revolutionary, was the first truly classless car and most cars today are based on it's technology and we took on the world and won in Motorsport with the Mini Cooper S), our music was changing the world with great bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and The Pink Floyd etc etc (I apologize if I forgot any others, but there are so many!) and we had the best fashions too with the Mini-Skirt which was created by Mary Quant who had a Mini car too and there was a Mini Designer Limited Edition named after her and there was Carnaby Street fashions which most youngsters wore around the world back then too!
So yes the real Mini will be remembered and celebrated for it's greatness too and today there are so many hatchbacks on the road which try to emulate the real Mini's appeal, but none come close to capturing that great package or have the style or the pedigree/history that the real Mini has. Okay many criticize the Mini for failing to give the many companies (most were British until BMW came along in 1994, but okay they were constructed overseas too, well Longbridge couldn't cope with the demand and some countries like Italy and Australia etc built them from scratch with locally sourced components) that owned it over the years any real profit. But the way I see it is with the real Mini, we never had it so good for so long as we had a real little bargain with the Mini and there'll never be another car quite like it again, well there never was another car quite like it before anyway and it continued to sell even after a so called replacement was launched in 1980 originally called the MiniMetro (yes new Mini? We heard it all before!), because there really was no other car like a Mini and it was and still is the ultimate car to learn to drive in, drive to the shops or into town or the city in, or just hammer along a twisty bumpy road or in my case up/down and across Welsh mountains, yes once you've owned one it's probably easier to give up nicotine or heroine! So yes even though other manufacturers were launching smallish hatchbacks like the Ford Fiesta, Renault 5 and other stuff, the Mini didn't become outdated or old fashioned because of the reasons I just mentioned, plus of course it handled like nothing else on earth, especially when it wears 10" wheels.
So the Mini will never be forgotten, sadly it's name is being ripped off at present and other manufacturers are trying to copy that Mini appeal/image, but the real thing will always shine through and people will still be talking about it after they've invented flying cars no doubt! And I imagine someone will make a Mini fly too, but then they did that in "The Italian Job" (1969) anyway?
Okay I've waffled on enough now, but the Mini was rightly voted "greatest car of all time" by a leading motoring journal back in the 1990's and it got voted as the "greatest European car of the 20th century" only beaten to the world title by the Model T Ford production line concept, (well okay the Mini probably wouldn't exist without that to be fair I suppose) in a world vote a few years back. So yes BMW's effort has a long way to go and will be forgotten in time, much like the so called 2003 remake (or different story, same name) of The Italian Job". Well it's pretty much forgotten in Britain anyway as like I said the original and best is still shown every Christmas!
"dauph59" wrote in message news:qhU7g.8512$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.tampabay.rr.com...
Hi, You are so absolutely right. The Mini has it's place in motoring history as have other cars in their time. Although the Mini was not the first car with front wheel drive, it's time in the evolution of the car decreed that it was the turning point which led to almost ALL major manufacturers realising that this was the way to design future cars. There are so very few manufacturers now who stick to the traditional system of front steer, rear drive, and those who do, use this system for practical reasons. This is only one of the reasons that the Mini is an icon in the history of the motor car, and owners of other makes should bear this in mind when they criticise the Mini and their owners. Many modern cars would not even exist in their current form if it was not for the pioneering eforts of geniouses such as Issigonis and John Cooper. The Mini was designed and created by a genious, modern cars are designed by computers; perhaps this explains why they are all the same with no character and certainly very little history and heritage. The Bini has it's place, but only as a modern hatchback, and the only thing that it carries on from the Mini and it's heritage is the name, and that was only bought with hard cash at the expense of one of Britains oldest car manufacturers. The history and heritage earned by the Mini will live on for many years yet, and will have pride of place alongside such icons as the Ford GT40, Sunbeam Talbot, and a few others which earned their place in the history of the motor car.
LONG LIVE THE MINI
Keith (Although I have owned, enjoyed, and earned my living with Minis for over 40 years, I do not have one now for various reasons. I compensate by collecting model Minis, of which I now have over 500)
Oh yes the Mini wasn't the first front wheel drive car as such, but it was the one that pioneered the concept and the Mini packaged it all so amazingly with the engine mounted transversely and the gearbox in the sump etc all within a car not much longer than 10foot long, but there's still plenty of room for 4 adults to sit comfortable, some of their shopping, a spare wheel and odds and ends inside too! So yes it was and still is an amazing package and as the advertising said, it's "Wizardry On Wheels!" No wonder it stayed in production for over 41 years!
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