The turn signals are going to be a sticky point in the Clubman.

 

This should help!

 

I have to remind my self to be careful with the middle finger when using the proper hand gestures.

(I think these new turn signals should come with their own separate manual)

 

My personal opinion is that the googly-eyed headlights alone could make the R56 a caricature of the R53.

I don't think all of the doo-dads you listed necessary serve to broaden the R56's appeal. I've observed that some non-owners checking out the R56 see the larger speedometer as a bit of a turn-off. The new turn signal system also doesn't seem like it would appeal to a wide audience; I would think that more car manufacturers would be implementing such a thing if that's truly what the masses wanted.

I've thought about the larger speedometer, and I think I can see the thought process behind it: 1) they wanted to enlarge the footwells, so they narrowed the center stack; 2) narrowing the center stack would mean the radio head unit could no longer be located there, so they moved it up; 3) to accommodate the head unit, they enlarged the speedometer face to house it. (It is entirely possible that I am way off the mark and am merely fanwanking. The point is that there is an interpretation in which the huge speedometer is not entirely gimmicky.) Were I to get an R56, the nav unit would be a must for me because having the display there is more aesthetically pleasing to me than having the large-print speedometer. I wasn't a fan of how the nav screen looked within the 1st-gen speedometer bezel.

During a brief test drive of the R56, I didn't find my driving experience watered down by the new doo-dads. (After a few uses of the new turn signal, I found it to be quite useful, actually.) What I did find affected my driving experience, for better or for worse, were the changed steering response and the turbocharged engine (versus the supercharged engine). Other things like the items you mentioned really didn't register on my radar as far as the drive went.

Unless you mean the driving _E_xperience--the total package--in which case I can see how they would negatively affect it.

 

Another interesting point to add that many casual observers miss...the display/functions of the head unit isn't just the radio anymore as in first gen. car. OBC information is also available there and a range of selections concerning this. The '08s even have additional function in that spot. So thinking about it as the radio only isn't quite accurate...there's a lot going on there. It is very handy in daily driving to be able to display certain OBC information in the tach (as previously) and then also display tertiary info in the speedo where it is still highly visible.

 

Rest in peace my R53.

Anyway, I'd rather be driving my R56 or my '66 instead of my lap top.

My guess is you need to own car to be a driving enthusiast, that's probably the first criteria.

 

I agree completely. Doo-dads do nothing to broaden appeal to the driving enthusiast segment... however the marketing managers in their mis-guided attempt to re-segment the MINI, gravitated to gadgetry as a means to sell automobiles to a wider audience. This philosophy also lead to the watered down handling characteristics and cartoonist visuals of the R56. Combine this with a design team infiltrated by bean counters, and the result is what we have today... a caricature.

 

My point exactly... just another technoid toy for the broader consumer segment. Even the radio "isn't just a radio".... it now a doo-dad... something for the daily driver to play with during the commute...

Marketing: We need features to attract technoids!
Designer: How about a combined radio with OBC?
Bean Counter: That costs money!
Marketing: Ditch the temperature gauge...

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=128349

 

OrlandoSentinel.com

COMMENTARY

The automotive laws of supply and demand: Cars not in demand usually become cheaper

Steven Cole Smith
AUTOMOTIVE
January 12, 2008

Wonder how manufacturers decide what models get big rebates and discounted financing deals, and what models don't?

It's pretty obvious -- vehicles that are selling well don't get large factory discounts, and vehicles that aren't are in need of help, in the form of incentives. But car companies have a more specific measure that they typically use called "days supply."

In most cases, a 30-day supply is considered ideal. That means that if the manufacturer stopped building that vehicle today, there are enough in the pipeline, and in retail inventories, to last for 30 days before they run out, given the current rate of sales.

Automotive News recently printed a "days supply" list for vehicles, and it says that as of December 1, Honda had exactly a 30-day supply of CR-Vs -- for this model, that represents 20,000 vehicles in the inventory. Thirty days is considered optimal because it gives the manufacturer a little cushion in case something goes wrong. Remember, for example, that ship -- the Cougar Ace -- with 4,700 new Mazdas aboard that almost sank in 2006 en route from Japan to North America? All those vehicles had to be destroyed. Having a certain number of Mazdas in the inventory prevented a shortage, and gave the company time to ship over some more.

The smallest inventory of cars of any manufacturer is 18 days for the Mini Cooper, but that has been the case since the brand returned to North America: BMW likes to limit production to keep demand, and prices, high. BMW, Lexus, Porsche and Infiniti, according to Automotive News data, are keeping their inventories the smallest. Consequently, you seldom see big incentives on those brands.

The flip side is when a manufacturer keeps cranking out cars and trucks, and they keep piling up on dealer lots. Volkswagen had the largest stockpile of any manufacturer, with an average of a 106-day supply of vehicles. Suzuki, with a 105-day supply, was right behind VW.

Looking over some of the individual models, though, it's clear that quite a few are due for a nice discount. Mercury, for instance, had a 166-day supply of Sables, meaning if they stopped building them now, at the present rate of sales it would take more than five months to move them all. In some cases, though, that could be intentional -- if, say, a manufacturer is making a major plant changeover from one model to another, they may have to shut down production for a while as they replace the plant tooling and perfect the new model run. That could be one reason why there was a 120-day supply of the Dodge Ram, as the 2009 Ram will be substantially different from the 2008.

Having a big supply of vehicles does not at all mean that the vehicle isn't a good one. As of December 1, there was a 160-day supply of one of my favorites, the Pontiac Solstice. This suggests to me that the dealer's days of selling Solstices at or above sticker price is over.

Sometimes, though, it's just unfortunate planning. Isuzu has 135 days' worth of pickup trucks, not surprising since Isuzu dealers in the U.S. sold an average of two vehicles in November of 2007. Ferrari dealers, at least, sold an average of four. Leading that category, not surprisingly, is Toyota/Scion -- dealers sold an average of 141 vehicles last November. No other brand came close.



Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at scsmith@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5699.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel




Mark

 

Or maybe to make it a little more modern and up with the times....or maybe...and call me crazy...but to have a vehicle that has styles like no other car

I mean come on we aren't driving toyotas here we have MINI Coopers...why have the radio look like someone just placed it in there (no offense but since you get to say how you feel about my car I can say my opinion) instead have a radio that looks like its meant to be there

The whole part of driving/owning a MINI is having a car that is above the rest and that cannot compare to any others...you like to say that they are watering down the car for the masses, but did you ever think that they are moving a head for the future????

If MINI never went ahead and tried to change the model yearly then you wouldn't even have your R53 you would have a classic instead (not that most would mind driving the classic)

Just enjoy your MINI and let us R56ers enjoy ours....we are all in this community together so instead of bashing each others models (which we all love for particular reasons) lets just enjoy the cars and the friendly community

 

So said the 280z owner to the 240z owner....

 

Wow... the doo-dad strikes again! And what is up with R56 owners? Fellow owners say they don't embrace gimmicky wiper stalk... and they get jumped hard? This newer audience that the R56 has attracted... they sure don't have the same spirit of community as the R50-53 group.

 

I have an R53 ('04 MCS) and I enjoy it a ton, fell in love with the car when I saw it in prototype form in pictures well before its launch.

However, I have driven an R56, and while at first the styling took getting used to, I actually quite like it. It's funny, but the first R56 that I saw, I didn't even know it was the new one until I got right up to it. Most of the press also comments on how little they changed given the complete redesign. While the R53 had perfect proportions, I feel that the R56 looks great as well, especially taken as a whole instead of focusing in on the individual changes.

As far as the driving, I am very much a driving enthusiast and the R56 is every bit of the driver's car the R53 was. It easily handles as good, but is more supple in its ride, but again the car is not "watered down" or bloated by any stretch. In fact, what other car in its evolution actually gets LIGHTER? The MINI did, and its one sign that the engineers didn't lose touch with the driving enthusiasts.

There may be those who nitpick individual things about the styling, etc., but the talk of deserting the driving enthusiasts for the sake of watering the car down doesn't play with me, as I am sure that if I drive an R56 vs. my R53 around a racetrack the R56 will be substantially faster.

As a proud owner of an R53 that I love, I would have no problems replacing it with an R56 if the time came for that to happen.

 

This is again, opinion.

When I look at the radio in an R56 its location looks like an "oops" to me. It looks like they ran out of space, so they stuck it in the speedometer ...and they forgot to put a volume **** on it (or ran out of space), so they stuck that in the stack. None of it appears to me to have been done by design ...which of course it was.

As a relatively inexpensive, high-value car with an incredible performance to cost ratio I personally don't think leading the pack in radio and turn signal gadgetry should be a priority with MINI. If a plain old radio stuck in the dash is good enough for Ferrari, then it should be able to work for MINI too.

They also took an easily modded part of most any car (the sound system) and made it incredibly difficult to mod.

Again, these are just my opinions. I'm not calling the radio dumb ...I'm simply saying I don't like it. Nor do I like the climate controls or the turn signals. I just don't think these are areas where the car needed "improving". I think the result was a bunch of "changes", not improvements.

Change can be good ...or not.

Dean.

 

What you all refer to as the radio isn't just the radio, you know.

 

I do, and I'm able to embrace the 2nd gens into that community

But please, pay no attention to me, I'm just an enthusiast from the masses.

Mark

 

You know when I got my 03 I did not want power door locks, power windows none of that stuff, well the car came with it. Now they come with more gadgetry, well so be it, if you really don't want it, buy a Model T. No turning back the clock

Mark

 

+ 1 ^

 

Boy I'm gone a while and this whole thread takes a left turn in a hurry. I'm the person who posted the difference relating the 240z and the 280z. If those who have purchased the new r56's are happy good for you, but for me I don't think I could buy an R56... I just can't get past that the rear of the car looks like it's up as high as a Honda CRV mini sport-ute...My 17 year old spots one and he automatically remarks "They look like they are a mile high in the rear". After all is said and done " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Like Lotsie said "If you don't like it buy a Model T", Maybe if Mini would do like they do with the M3 Big horsepower, great handling (no not JCW package more like the GP) or like Porsche with the GT2 a stripped down version for those who want that type of car and would pay for the exclustivity they would get less crap from the R53 crowd. Look at the VW 1.8t drop a chip and you get almost 50-75 hp boost. If they gave us a 280-300hp lowered car without all of the gadgetry maybe they might get some of us who are so hard on the R56. Also bring those dang Recaro's over here ASAP...I'll tke mine in RED...I was on an English website that had them for sale... $1600 U.S.per seat..Ouch

 

Yes, but did you have to get out the manual to figure out how they worked?

Dean.

 

Regarding all the complaints about the key fob and the turn signals and other things, my guess is that as time goes on we will see these things become more common in more cars. Also I imagine they will be refined to work better and the fobs will get smaller. It is all part of the evolution of the industry. Like it or not these changes more often than not are started by the German car makers. There will be more. And the styling will change much more radically through the years.

 

And at least MINI is some of the first to do it

Honestly i love not having to carry a key, and i love the push to start

And the turn signal, for me, is AMAZING...i had to drive my mums car today and i forgot how the regular ones work haha...i dont like how the stay in the position...i love how the R56 goes back to center and how it has a pressure point for lane changes and full turns

 

Maybe... and maybe not. A lot of the gadgetry from the 1980's Japanese automobiles has passed into oblivion. When form does not follow function, as the case with many of the R56 doo-dads, as the fad passes, so do the doo-dads. Let us hope that MINI matures pass the current phase of fake hood scoops and obnoxiously large instruments, and returns to a purer design in the future... one that is geared towards the driving enthusiasts!

 

Ah - so you think that basketball sized speedos will prove to be a fad? What's your opinion on adjustable mood lighting?

I'm sure the fans of the Mustang II took offense over the criticism of their cars. Hell, I remember how they defended their plaid seats from the First Gen fans - who's laughing now?

But don't mind me, I'm just a mass from an enthusiast.