MINI/Mini = secret handshake!!

R50,53,56...whatever = another secret handshake

IB, CR, OB, MY, SS....and the rest = still another.

 

I'm still more like someone outside the Mini camp..... I use Mini for all the little cars. BMW, Austin, Morris, whatever. Early body style or late, I see them all as Minis.

I also thing that those in the general public (that know about the early ones) do as well. But whatever... Life will go on....

Now, just imaging the confusion if the MINI Triumph roadster comes out. Or would that be the Mini Triumph, or the Mini TRIUMPH, or the minI triumpH?

Matt

 

Ok, this is straight from the horse's mouth:

"When BMW took ownership of the brand, the symbolic badge remained but capital letters were used to signify the new MINI generation. "

http://www.bmweducation.co.uk/coFact...D=17&topicID=3

 

hey Matt, don't forget the MG "sports sedan" That was more mini than most

 

we've all become tools for bmw

when bmw bought mg/rover back when, they "officially" changed the mini brand name typographics from Mini to MINI, probably so it looks consistent with BMW. i mean, have you seen the signs outside bmw dealers? everything's always capped, like BMW SERVICE

so with that, i prefer to write Mini, per tradition

 

Like it or not, they have dictated terminology and we are stuck with it. I know some brave folks have tried to use Mk1/Mk2 designations but that won't work as long as MINI uses R50, R53, R56, etc.. One can even try to use "Mini"...but invariably they will be corrected since it is not standard usage. It's just the way of things....somethings you can fight and some ya just have to go with.

 

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.
Know when to walk away and know when to run.

 

that as long as I'm thinking of buying, they'll let me call it whatever I want and just look the other way!

Matt

 

"Yes... I'm interested in the 2007 Taco Salad S"

 

"I see your cridit score is 820.... Would you like you Taco Salad with leather and xenons? Would you like to finance your Taco Salad or pay cash? And what color Taco would you like?"

Matt

 

Or you may get one very expensive Taco Salad.

 

You get in trouble when your Taco Salad needs warranty work. Then you must bow to the system.

 

MINI says that they did the caps to create a break between the old and the new. I actually think this was a mistake.....

Consider if the car had been done with the same performance envelope, but a differing body, and sold as a 1 series or something else. What would really differentiate it from something like a Mazda 3? Not much, really. If you think about it, the current car has the following it does BECAUSE OF not despite, the early Mini. While many new buyers had no clue that the early car ever existed, it sure paved the way for the "Mini Message" of a small, perky and impertenant set of cars. No way could they have done that for a small BMW.

We'll all live with it, some less happy about it than others, but the more I look at this and think about it, the destinction serves to separate the communities, as opposed to bond them together. Some that I've talked to have felt this "us vs them" attitude in Munich, and that really is too bad.

Matt

 

Their just jealous of all the maintenance you don't have to do.. And the eletrics that work.(Dam you Lucas Prince of Darkness)

Paul

 

I don't think they are jealous. I think they are either people who don't like change or those who just like some kind of drama. We'll see how much maintenance a MINI requires when it reaches the age of some of our Minis. At the moment my MINI is in hospital for an air bag light and my Mini is in the garage in need of a clutch. I'm out on both counts.

 

I agree with you Matt - the caps are silly and just a marketing tool. In general I don't see people or articles capping brand names unless they are acronyms like BMW - even if they are resold or resurrected nameplates. I don't think its confusing to use 'Mini' on the board either since the forums are already defined and you can see what the reference is by which forum it is posted under. As with most cars simply the year and model will make it pretty clear what is being discussed, no need for the marketing dept. manipulations if you don't feel like complying

 

For those of you who cry over Marketing defining the language you use feel free to use a Kleenex while you Google "Xerox" and "Q-Tip". It may only be a Band-Aide fix for your tears however.
Whether marketing defined language is good or bad it does make it easy to differentiate between the two distinct era's in the car's history but still keep it's identity as an iconic small car. What would the outcry be if BMW had kept the Mini moniker for a car so much larger than the one it replaced? More people would have said the Mini is no longer mini. So calling it MINI allows for the heritage to show through while acknowledging the major differences in the cars.

 

All models of cars evolve, get larger, look different, even change hands - a new moniker is not necessary for my usage (edit: and moniker isn't even right since it is the same name but just in a different case..). As for marketing and language IMHO there is a distinct difference between having something dictated vs a term that becomes part of the common usage and symbolic/generic for something on its own over time like Kleenex, etc. No-one is crying over it though, you either choose to type it one way or the other and as far as I'm concerned one is not more correct then the other simply because the company chooses to market it in all caps.

Perhaps I'll just call it the New Mini along the lines of the New Beetle

 

The classic only crowd would have been pissed no matter the spelling or style. The people who didn't know about the heritage wouldn't have cared. The enthusiasts would have still been the enthusiasts, and those that like both would have been just as happy and worked something out (that I would have hoped would have been the same written as spoken, but I guess that's just me and eVal! )


but I did like your use of the proper names that have been co-opted by common usage. That was good.....

Matt

 

Brand new Mini's and Brand New MINI's are a world apart in maintenance. Oil Changes every what? And Lucas electrics? I own a TR6 and a Series III SWB Land Rover and no one is going to blow smoke at me and tell me the maintenance levels are even comparable. I know the maintenance levels of these vehicles. Even the recommended daily maintenances/weekly etc are worlds apart.

I remember envying the Miata guys when I was doing my 2 hour oil change removing the sterring colum and my papaer element filter on my TR6.

Of course I envy a Mini...I always wanted one and was only able to by the MINI because the wife didn't want another maintenance hog or worst yet a lifeless hulk in the drive way...

Tempest in a teapot really. Just like old harley vs new harley peopl etc.


Paul

 

I feel I must weigh in on this topic. I own 2 BMW's and a MINI Cooper S. I've been a member of BMW CCA since 2000 and a member of NAM for over a year. I, also, find the BMW lingo "E46, E43, etc." unnerving... it drives me crazy as I am constantly trying to figure out what car they are talking about. Why can't they just say "2003 330 sedan" or whatever. It's like they're talking in code... and I just can't get the code. Now, if my memory serves me correctly, and it rarely does, I recall someone with Roundel, could've been the editor, saying they refuse to buy into the "Mini vs MINI thing". It really ticked me off! They can talk in their code but refuse to recognize the way we distinguish between the old and new. At the same time they are wondering why more MINI owners aren't joining BMW CCA. How about using our lingo and then maybe some of the MINI owners will feel more welcome.

 

No offense to them but I wonder if the BMW CCA will ever finally realize that we have our own clubs & don't need to join theirs

 

Actually, this might be a European vs American. Thing

Edge, you had a Mustang correct ... same as Dr. O and, I've had two Mustangs.

Now if I started talking about a 289 fastback, a 390, a 428 Cobrajet, a 429 ... whatever, I'd bet you would know exactly what car I'm talking about and probably the years too.

Its all based on the engine. Same with Vettes ... small block, 427/435, 454 ... its all about the engine.

Meanwhile Europeans seem to love their numbers ... their internal designations for the cars and it can get confusing. BMW is no different in this area than other European makers.

So when someone says E33 or whatever M3 ... very confusing.