Per my other thread, we have not been in the market for a new Mini for 8 years. Looking at the Minis available out there - they all grew up! I don't mean just in size, they are just a lot less fun in terms of looks!

Stripes and fun options like checkered mirrors - all seem to need to be ordered as nothing is in stock. Color choices? OMG - there is one bright color option on the Clubman S - Red. The other choices look like a colorblind person's life. And as noted in my other thread - almost every car on the ground has an auto - so you must order.

What happened? Minis were fun - they were hip -today they all seem bland. Is this why sales keep dropping?

PS - of note, and per my other thread, I've called a couple of dealers who had a manual trans car in stock - sold. Always sold.

 

Not much different than comparing a 2002 Corvette to a 2018 model. Yes the Gen3 MINI is bigger but also has much better creature comforts. They also will still handle the twisties like few other cars.

Anybody want to give me their F series, send me a PM and I will be on the road Monday to pick it up.

 

I give mine to you, just bring a suitcase filled with 22,000 one dollar bills or equivalent and drive away.

I love mine, but wouldn't mind moving from an F56 to a Clubman, just for those times when I need some room.

Apparently being smaller and quirkier didn't sell enough MINIs so they have tried to appeal to mainstream buyers more. American car buyers want bigger SUV type vehicles, as evidenced by Ford almost exiting sedan type cars. GM & Chrysler will probably follow.

 

According to Google, the definition of give:

1. freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone); hand over to.
2. cause or allow (someone or something) to have (something, especially something abstract); provide or supply with.

Now then, where did the idea of the suitcase with one dollar bills come from ?????????????????

Oh, you were going to throw the suitcase with the dollar bills in, gee thanks. What is your address? And please be sure the gas tank is full.

 

Small is a relative term. I came from a 1999 Honda Civic into my 2017 Clubman. Same size car in length. Does it feel small? Pulling up next to a SUV, yes. By itself, meh. Size doesn't matter. It handles great, has adequate power after adding in the Dinan module, and it's a fun/enjoyable car to drive. Lastly, it has all the bells and whistles I needed after the stripped down Honda I had.

 

Interestingly, it is the evolution of the MINI brand that snagged me. The sophistication of the Clubman, contained within a very entertaining and well-sorted package, got me to walk across the street from the BMW store where I had gone, I thought, to get a BMW as a replacement for my Range Rover. We bypassed Jag, Mercedes, Range Rover, and BMW. Something I never imagined we would do.

On the Clubman test drive, my wife got behind the wheel and, after a couple of blocks was sold. Her daily driver is a 4 door Jaguar series III, as in mid 1980's vintage.

After 10,000 trouble-free miles of smiles, both my wife and I are hoping to remain within the MINI family when the lease on our much-loved Clubman ends.

So, OP's point is a good one. If MINI is targeting the demographic I represent, then the cars, of necessity, had to evolve. But I still think full value is delivered with, say, a 2018 JCW convertible or even the 2 door 3rd Gen F series S line, auto or manual. These cars rip. And my Clubby cuts through the twisties as few other performance cars I have owned ever did. All depends on where you're comin' from, I guess.

To OP, I say, use the new MINI configurator and spec out your dream MINI, order it, and reward yourself with something different than what you've had, but, hopefully, something you will grow to love for what MINI has become.

 

I think y'all might have misunderstood me. I totally get Minis getting BIGGER - in fact, I get and understand that (one of my main concerns his how small our 2010 Clubman is - and yes, I would feel better if she was in a bigger one).

What I don't get is how all the ones out there have gone bland - ones out there = on dealers lots. Lots of "fun" and "bright" and uniquely optioned cars were out there for the taking.

Today, there are white, black, gray, and off white cars out there (ok, I'm focusing on the Clubmans here) - stripes? Forget it. Sharp colors? No way. Heck, even a different color roof is hard to find in stock - these are rolling bland machines - and that wasn't Mini!

Personally, I think we will only have our next Mini for a few years - thus grabbing a 3 year lease on a remaining 18 would be WONDERFUL - but that doesn't seem to be a choice - and ordering a 19, well that's a $40K+ option and not the smartest use of our cash - so...

I'm thinking about just doing the maintenance on the 2010 and keeping it for a few more years.

Sigh...

 

I hear ya. When I shopped for my 2017 it was a similar situation. What I would call "generic" inventory. So we ordered, because there were no well-optioned cars and all had the most basic interiors, all in black, which is most popular apparently.

And you are correct that it can creep up over $40K real quick. Some who post here have built really nice cars for less than that -- just depends on desired options and time frame.

One suggestion -- you may want to spec out a 2019 and take your "ideal" build to a local dealer and they can do an internal database search to see if there's a 2018 or ordered 2019 car close to what you want somewhere out there already.

Having driven the prior generation Clubman I will say the F-series are very different cars in many significant ways.

 

What you see on the lots are probably very generic and bland looking because those are the ones that sell. Most people don't want flashy.

 

Agree that most don't want the flash and the Clubman with its redesign seems to be aimed at a more conservative crowd.

You can easily have the dealer add some stripes and vinyl color the roof. You can also change out the mirror caps to something pretty funky.

 

About 8 years ago in a conversation with a PPG rep, they were stating that the American public was moving toward a more 'natural' color pallet and away from anything 'bright' or 'flashy' in the automotive realm. I asked was that really consumer demand or something that paint supply companies and product designers were pushing onto the general public. He didn't have much to say back to that, so take that for what you will.

I think the 'game' now for the general consumer is selecting the 'least offensive' color from the available color wheel for your particular vehicle. Of course this is coming from someone who drives a Moonwalk Grey F54, but yellow was not an option As much as I wanted a Chili Red version, the goodies and premium price for that was not worth it to me.

 

I wanted the Volcanic Orange or a Yellow for my Clubby. Not available in US, although you can get it in Europe. When Mini added the digital Blue, that I thought was the next best color for a bright standout color.

 

FWIW, I hope we can all agree that there is a difference between having a personal color preference vs. disparaging available colors one doesn't prefer. I'm sure there are many motorers who love their Pepper White cars and would never consider red. I think my melting silver over pure burgundy Clubman S All 4 with white lounge leather is pretty darned spiffy and upscale, especially with the black rims. Others might find it rather bland, or even stodgy, whereas I think it's quite British, with the contrasting piping and all.

The legit complaint, it seems to me, is that the total color palate is either unavailable on all models or adds $$ to the build. But let's not rag on colors we don't personally prefer -- Remember, "one man's ceiling is another man's floor" as the song goes.

 

I think the blue looks sharp on your Clubby. Especially with a full load from a garage sale in da back

 

They come in the same color option they did 50 years ago, nothing has changed.... well they are bigger.

 

Ohhhh look kids, its a mommy car and baby car . . . . . . .

 

Sons are always taller than their mother!

 

yep that was pretty good . . . . .

 

...kind of like this, eh...

 

Huey wouldn't be a bad name for a MINI. As in Baby Huey, the jumbo MINI.

 

You see the bland and generic ones on the lot 'cause all the good ones got sold.

 

I talk to the local GM at my local MINI dealership when I stop in to buy parts for my R53 from time to time. We have become friends over the years and he believe MINI has lost its way and is not unique anymore. Also the BMW / MINI marketing team has failed the brand over the last few years. He says they are not going out and doing as much press about the car as the used too. All the old odd and goofy advertising has ended and it is now trendy hipster lifestyle stuff and not about the cars.

He says they always get customers in and the don’t know MINI makes an SUV or the Clubman. BMW is taking its approach “We make a car come buy it because BMW” and trying to make it work for MINI and is failing horribly from all the USA sales numbers. He also said the F56 4 door is nice but it takes away from the Countyman sales and vise versa.

If things don’t change soon sale people maybe let go and dealerships may close. One large MINI dealership is our area has closed already. Another one is barely hanging on while my friend works at a large well known dealership but say no dealership is immune from closing if cars are not selling.

 

A challenge MINI is facing is changing demographics. If they chase and snag older guys like me, who are accustomed to high-line lux-performance cars with all the silly toys we require included (heated seats, auto tranny with paddles, power/memory everything, leather, adjustable suspension dynamics, lots of grunt, etc.) the price point will go up and the core group that initially embraced MINI may well become disillusioned.

Also, I was told by a MINI manager that many folks love and want a MINI but they have children and worry about sharing the road with SUVs weighing twice as much and riding twice as high. Sadly, as well-engineered as the newest MINIs are, even with all the air bags and all the rest, ain't no match for an F150 or an Escalade ramming into your MINI's rear while the other driver is texting... Even Porsche is hanging on in the US market by selling lots of SUV's -- volume on 911s and Boxters is low, like MINI, so they need the utes and the Audis to make the numbers work. And BMW has a vehicle for every niche they can think of. MINI, sadly, is but one of those niches.

 

MINI is facing the change in demographics because they chose too enter the lux-suv ring.

They did not need to jump in but they got greedy and since the X1 and X5 are failures they decided to try and force MINI and its followers into bigger cars and still try to call them MINI’s.

MINI is not mini any longer. They should stuck stick with making small minimal cars that people can afford and are very safe. I have seen them put a Chevy Tahoe on it’s side.

If you want 4 door lux-SUV you have many better cars to choose from to be completely honest.

People always say a car company has to grow but does it? I mean mini was the “car of the century” over the VW Beatle. Mini they did not change the basic car that much over many decades and it was a cult classic just like the VW bug.

If BMW wants to sell SUV’S maybe they should start with making one good one for once.

 

MINI sales in the USA are down, however European sales have increased. They must be doing something right except hard to fight the USA demand for big.

http://carsalesbase.com/european-car-sales-data/mini/
http://carsalesbase.com/us-car-sales-data/mini/