I have been a Mini owner for two weeks and the first complaint I have is the glare from above. Your design is great !

 

Somone, please help make this a reality!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I think there is a huge market for something like this. I'd buy one- I need one. Follow through with it; it will sell.

 

Heck,
I'd pay Umberto a disproportionately handsome sum to make one for my MINI. When there are things that I want, I'm willing to pay for it. This has always been the case with my autos, motorcycles, and guitars.
Billie

 

thanks for the recent replies and resurrecting this thread....no progress yet, though I am trying to contact the regional rep up here for MINI but he has not replied as yet....................

 

waiting for umberto to tell us "its a go" is like ordering a mini and watching it on the OL.......except wayyyyy longer.

 

hey man, thanks for the pep talk.........

 

I have faith in you...it sucks to have to jump through hoops, but with what you have come up with, it will all be worth it in the end. Hang in there!

 

If you're not looking to make too much money and/or all these legal issues get you down, open source it!

Post the parts needed and instructions and be immortalized for your generosity!

 

I hope this is copyrighted or patented...

 

with love...

 

My sunroof shade came from home depot.

Bought a 25 foot x 24" roll of reflectix in the insulation aisle.

Reflectix is a bubble wrap with mylar on either side.

Cut two pieces to fit the sunroof.

2' wide is perfect since it snaps into place on either side and then is a loose fit. Pull the shade out and it stays perfect and doesn't look bad at all.

Knocks the interior temp and glare WAY down.

Rolls up quick and shoves down behind the passenger seat.

about 25 bucks and I have about 20 feet left over....sunroof shields anyone??

Nah I think I will just wrap my hot water heater with it. Maybe I will do a custom windshield cover!!!

 

Start with a kit,once the demand requires more space move it to a contract manufacturer.

 

any chance of posting/pming how to make this myself? parts list and instructions? i'd pay for either

a) completely finished product
b) parts kit with instructions
c) parts list with instructions

for my 08 clubman's front sunroof

 

hi. OP here. I looked at the way the 2007-2008 sunroof is and I do not think my idea would work for that w/o major reworking. The mesh shade front frame is much wider than the 1st gen's frame and the mesh does not spring to the fully retracted postion like the 1st gen....you need that retraction springyness to counteract the springy retraction of my roll-up shade so they keep eachother in check

 

Questions, comments? Notice the rear view mirror?

 

wow...that does look nice....

 

WOW....I so need one of these...I'm getting by with a MINI baseball cap...which, BTW I look very good in....but I so want a shade for the sunroof! And extenders for the stupid sun visors.

 

Slick work on both the shade and the mirror. You know we're going to need more details. A step-by-step illustrated DIY guide would be nice. What radar detector is that? What are the other gadgets on the passenger visor? Two garage openers?

 

With black shade...

 

excellent work on that shade...what kind of material is that? I used a polyester muslin cloth that allowed me to cauterize the edges all around with a candle so the edges would not fray (frey?) The fabric I used for the shade is light colored and shiny on the back side so it will reflect the sun/heat out of the car.

It looks like from your photos that there is much more room in the 2007-2008 model at the front of the sunroof opening....yours is fixed at the front and then pulls across to attach to where? did you need to drill to attch your brackets? ...in the 2002-2206 model I had to fasten the shade to be on the mesh shade frame with clips and brackets and make a latch to fit into the slot that the mesh shade latch fits into ...how does your shade attach when pulled across?

also, I assume that is your basic roll-up wondow shade...did you need to deactivate that catch/ratcheting mechanism to keep that shade taut so it does not sag or slip out and drop on your head?

 

i posted this on the other thread, but i dont think anyone reads that one anymore...

I want to start off by saying i think this is a very good idea. I think if nurtured and worked on diligently, this could be just as important as strut tower plates! To help you with this idea because i personally want it to go somewhere, i wrote up this little blurb.

youre not going to get anything going without proof that there is interest in your product. I worked and grew up in retail as both of my parents own their own businesses, so ive got a couple tips for ya that I've learned that i want to pass along

First, get a patent or some kind of rights for your design. It most likely wont do anything initially, but it is a very good help if and when you take it to court. And one thing about patents and ideas in general: Youre not going to have to worry about them unless either your idea is revolutionary (im sorry but a different kind of sunshade proprietary to minis just isnt), or your business is reaching the million dollar mark. People in the industry with the money to make this stuff are more likely to reject an idea like this rather than try to steal it. And the asian rip-offs dont start taking and producing until you have at least a million dollar business. Btw, this happened to my dad as well as my dads friends business, so yeah, its about a million.

Second, starting making it yourself. some of the best companies in the country have been started my someone making it in their basement and going around pitching their idea to retailers.

Third, if the volume demand is high enough, THEN look into inquiring for a manufacturer. No people with any money are simply going to take your word for this being a great product (but you still need to have a good pitch!), you need to impress them with demand, and show them how you can't do this on your own. If they feel like they are needed, they will feel like they will profit, aka: youve got a manufacturer.

hope this helps, and hope im not too pessimistic, I'm just trying to help you with some real life knowledge that youre going to run into whether you like it or not. If you believe in yourself, I would push on and run with it! Just because people can make them doesnt mean its too late. people would MUCH rather shell out a few bucks than make something.

This doesn't really deal with the commercial part of it, but its a great read and everyone should read this if they are into inventing. Sorry, its about aero engineering (my field), just ignore that fact, trust me this is true for all inventions.
http://www.aircraftdesign.com/Advice2Inventors.html
The guy that wrote that designed early versions of the F-22 and B-2, so its very useful and experienced knowledge.

Hope that helps, and good luck! I want to buy one of these in a couple years when theyre in production, either by you or your manufacturer!

 

Hey thanks for the positive feedback! You're design is much more elegant I'm sure. I was just trying for something that looked decent, is functional and doesn't cost a lot.

I got the black shade at a local store in my area (Fred's). It was on clearance for $3. It is literally just a black, slightly textured vinyl window shade for a house. I simply cut it to size. It would be nice to have the top side reflective but it's opaque as is. If I find a better material some day.....

The backets are screwed into the plastic sunroof channel. I added a suction cup with key ring to a flat horizontal wood bar that fits in the vinyl pull slot. Had to drill a hole for the suction cup. The suction cup simply sticks to any point on the sunroof glass and makes it nice if you don't want to block the whole window.

Yes I deactivated the ratcheting catch but not the spring. Not sure I needed to though. Just seemed like the thing to do so that the shade would stay taut when pulled out.

 

Good idea on disabling the ratchet.

Imagine the liability on the final product when the suction cup falls off and the curtain drops over the drivers face, especially in a quick steering car like a mini.

 

Good point! I see the next version being slightly wider so that the horizontal wood bar and shade stay above the sunroof headliner frame even if the spring fails.