When I was shopping for cars (eventually got the MCS), the 86 was on my list. The MCS having a bigger back seat was a major factor. The 86 basically just had a shelf. And while no one will say it's roomy, I at least needed the option to drive a third person (uncomfortably) around. 86s really turn my head though!

 

I have been watching this forum recently, and it is DEAD.

 

I think all the F-series owners have joined a BMW forum for big cars

 

I consider NAM to be quite lively and far from dead.

If you wanna see some truly dead forums, check out the Opel enthusiast boards --- a while back I almost bought an old Kadet with Manta front graft and as much as I wanted it had to use logic and resist because it was too janky and would require much work to correct, still though my heart loved it.




100%

(smash the like button)

thumb up

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SUBSCRIBE NOW!

LOL

 

It's really fun and it really has me thinking I should sell my 135 and get another 86 for the track. I don't use my back seats in fact I remove them from the minis

 

I remember belonging to a Mini forum in England some years back. At the time NAM was busier as I recall. I forget the name of the British one.

 

Sadly, I feel lots of forums have died due to their most active members. New people join and ask questions and people shout them down for asking something that had been asked many times before. Those people have thousands of posts and probably half are from slamming newbies who just want assistance. That is a big reason I hear from people when I mention NAM. They don't even know it exists as they don't like the idea of forums and dealing with people who love to belittle them for not knowing everything and asking honest questions - forums in general have a bad reputation. Plus, lots of older MINIs are now owned by younger people and for them the answer is social media. That is usually Instagram, or something similar. Just pictures and few words. I do see new people pop into NAM and start threads, but I also see lots that go unnoticed in the welcome section. I know I'm guilty of not greeting new people. I guess I'll work on that.

I hate to admit it, but I find all the new MINI products extremely boring and have no desire to own them. I love my R53, but I just don't have that passion for the new cars. They just seem so pedestrian. I also owned an R55 and loved it, so maybe I'd get another to add to my fleet of vehicles, but for now, one MINI is enough work for me.

 

If Doug likes a car then I kinda start disliking it! So I hope he hates the R53!!

 

Those were a complete flop because MINI didn't realized that the car would be classified as a commercial vehicle, incuring higher licensing and insurance costs. A total eff up by the MINI marketers.

 

I think some of it has to do with the elitism. There's a lot of F53-R56 people that crap on people who buy an F56 because it's just not MINI enough. Just remember when the R53 came out classic Mini owners didn't have anything nice to say about it either.

 

It's nothing to do with elitism. It's a fact that the F56 isn't Mini enough. Maybe in 15 years when BMW are making Mini's the size of present day Hummers, we can all look back on the F56 as a delightful little Mini.

 

Nathan got this forum going, handed it over then started Motoring Alliance. I joined MA at the outset but haven't been back in for quite some time. Regardless of model number, NAM holds the wealth of Mini and MINI lore if you'll take the time to seek it out. That alone should keep the traffic moving herein.

 

ROTFLMAO, 61 posts and two thousand reads in a few days.

The dead have risen??

;-)

Cheers,

Charlie

 

+++
Over 70,000 views on Gollum IV - Power Corrupts
Maybe some are interested in Gen III MINIs after all
(For anyone who hasn't viewed this excellent thread, check it out here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-corrupts.html )
​​​​​​​

 

The MINI brand is effectively dead in the United States. I suspect in a few years they'll pull a FIAT anyways and pull out of the North American market. Americans don't want small car or trucks anymore, it's all about living larger than life. Yet they're the first to ***** about energy costs who knew that those Suburbans and 2800 sq foot foot homes don't live on hopes and dreams.

I'd be impressed if we ever see a MINI beyond the F56.

 

I don't know if MINI is dead in the US,but the the first two series we're very unreliable cars. The R56 was a disaster, but the R50 and R53 were also very poorly constructed cars.

 

The real shame is the R56 was a better looking car in terms of the exterior. I see a local euro shop is always filled with R56 cars and most of them seem to sit for weeks, i'm guessing extensive repairs is the reason why they sit. IMO I think it ruined the MINI brand and the brand destruction will continue until they have all been junked.

 

I repeat, this forum is dead. Absolutely no enthusiasm for the brand on this forum. Over and out.

 

De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicit.

Bye bye.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

No, Nathan did not start NAM, Mark did. Mark brought Nathan in later to help out and after a year of two sold out to the big corporation. Nathan hung around a while but then figured he could make more money with his own Mini forum instead of being a volunteer lacky and arranged a little coup at MOTD. Allot of NAM members went to MA and a couple new NAM volunteer tsars made it so you could not even mention MA. The Prince engine was a Pauper, FB came out, the F/guppy came out and FB got huge.

Yes is does get old having newbies do no research and instead ask a question that has been answered numerous times and probably in a faq section anywys. Then without somebody providing an immediate response they act like a little twit and leave.

 

Thanks for the history capsule, very interesting quirk of forums how often there tends to be splinter groups who break off to form their own shindig at some point, in my experience over the years I've seen it happen quite a few times due to various reasons.

I joined NAM before I was an actual owner because it was an invaluable research tool plus I wanted to jump on a marketplace car if one caught my eye.

As far as modern MINI, how many English-language forums are there?

MA of course, and Brit-centric would be Mini2 and Minitorque --- any others?

There are subforums as well like on Pistonheads or BMW boards, and Reddit also which is mostly full of "rule #1" photos.

Makes me wonder about the ebb and flow of forum population --- I'd reckon that strong archival content is one of the main reasons why one forum may get more traffic than another, but also probably something to do with search engine algorithms as well?

My major critique of forum culture is the propensity toward banning --- often the members who are banned tend to be prolific and productive posters who create much content but also usually have strong singular opinions that they are overly vociferous about, besides the unsavory ad hominem stuff often found in such heated debate, I think such discussion is both enjoyable and enlightening. The ban hammer kills it dead.

Secondly on my critique chart is the puritanical stance regarding language, I mean fuggin' hell why it gotta be asterisk'd out the yinyang? Seems quite silly that linguistic "vulgarities" are not allowed and I always LOL whenever I'm browsing here not logged in and see talk of shift ***** because the word '****' is **** due to nanny whack nun ruler haha

 

Don't forget about Motoring File, which has an amazing amount of info archived on the first and second gen cars. I found that site extremely useful right after I bought my first MINI, an Indi Blue R50...

 

Motoring File is great!

So glad it's still up and going even if the comment stream isn't as big as it was at one time...



...speaking of a couple of decades ago,
R&T published this great little review by Peter Egan in their Aug. 2003 issue.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...at-mini-blitz/

"...I liked the almost limitless grip of the Mini in switchbacks, and its easy, quick steering. As a great fan of the old Cooper S of the 1960s, I found the whole car a little more rubbery and detached in its steering and suspension feel than the mechanically taut original, but I guess that was to be expected. There is almost no car on earth as fun, direct, light and communicative as the original Mini, so it was a hard act to follow in a car that has airbags, crashworthiness and all the other modern baggage. Given those compromises, the new Mini is probably about as good as it can be."

Such a big hit and hugely popular back then.

I'm an R53 guy so naturally I think that MINI lost the plot somewhere along the line with the successive generations because I favor the raw spartan nature of the Mk. 1 cars, but try to not get too overzealous about it because that's a bit of a drag and I'm actually glad that the MINI brand still exists regardless of whether or not I find the current offerings appealing...

...like I saw this meme on FB and it's probably pretty accurate!
LOL

 

As I see my 70th birthday on the near horizon, I find myself thinking nostalgic thoughts regarding many things from the dead past. Upon sober reflection, I usually conclude that the good old days probably weren't quite as good as I like to remember them as being.

Having now moderated on NAM for awhile, I have noted that, in recent times, some participants, often newer members, but not always, have what I would call hair triggers. I can only assume that in the world of networked social media, there seems to always be a race to be the quickest wit, often with the snarkiest comment, perhaps because that is what gives people status.

I have also observed that the challenge of maintaining civility and using it as a tool to construct reasoned arguments built on a solidly argued foundation of established facts is often supplanted by a descent into "so's yer mama" cafeteria food fight childishness.

I sometimes wonder if we've lost our capacity to structure reasoned argument, or, perhaps, the rapid-fire, hip, social media platform world encourages abbreviation at the expense of well-developed ideas. Shorthand and slang might bring a momentary "gotcha" smile to some readers, but, in the long run, it is corrosive and, I think, erodes people's capacity to grasp complexity. If one doesn't take the time to formulate a complex thought, pretty soon one loses the capacity, and, just as we tend to write in jargon-filled shorthand, that's how many of us are thinking.

Wild accusation, name calling, and conspiracy theories that get clicks and likes and serve to keep folks agitated and outraged, or, perhaps, provide a channel for deeper agitation and outrage, may be born of a general sense that things are slipping away from us.

So some of us lament the evolution (or, perhaps devolution) of MINI, and feel something is being lost.

In my long life, I have often found that, as I hear the sound of a door closing behind me, and I watch the lot porter drive my adored MINI out of my life, another door opens ahead, and, intoxicated by the New Car Smell, I begin a new love affair with my next car which is usually better than the one I loved before. I've done 2 MINIs in a row. Second one is better than the first one was, and I loved that first one enough to go back for another. Taking the long view helps.

I love my MINI and will enjoy the brand, for as long as it lasts. Or until I find something I think I might like more.

 

And, as Twain said, "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."