I enjoy all MINIs/minis...but personally i feel the R56 is the best design ( not trying to offend anyone) I just really like what they did with the front end and how the combined the grille into 2 pieces instead of 3 and I like the look of the combined fog/driving lamps...that said I have no clue what they were thinking when the got rid of the wrap-around side/rear windows and replaced that C pillar with the little black plastic piece
And personally I love the interior of the R56...that jumbo speedo and the cool styling of the door panels and dash

But anyway...all MINIs are great

 

I would be curious to see what the trend was for the R50/R53 sales, starting from the beginning. I believe this information would be more helpful in ascertaining what BMW bean counters are crapping rather than doing an absolute comparison against the last January in which the R50/R53s were sold. Such a comparison done for the R56 against January 2007 sales is that the numbers increased by 20%.

 

I'm stoked about the thought of one day owning a 2007 or above Cooper S. It's an awsome car in my eyes. The 02 will bring me plenty of joy for the time being, but the 07 plus Cooper S is in my purchase log, that's for sure. LOTS OF POWER! Close to the acceleration of a JCW 06 or below as a matter of fact.

 

Sink??....based on everything we read that is a huge stretch...to the point of seeming a bit out-of-touch, I'm afraid. Most owners....again, based on everything we've read over many months...seem to find things to like/preferences about both generations. However, as yet another who has owned both, do enjoy the heck out of your MINIs and don't let anyone portray R50/53 as obsolete in the face of the newer models. Somehow MINI has managed to generate solid enthusiasts for both generations...it that not obvious?? One can try to foster polarism on the issue but that seem highly myopic to me...there's no reason to paint oneself into a corner on the issue.


Oh, btw...I might as well share my dirty little secret since we're saving Coopers: one of the reasons I've always preferred the styling of the R56 Cooper is that they've cleaned up the front/rear bumpers similar to what was seen on R53!!! Add to that the profiled side skirts...as also seen on R53!! Of course, the car still has that great Cooper chrome grill which is much more gorgeous than before (especially after losing split grill which, frankly, never made a lot of sense). I could go on about R56 Coopers, I just thought it was fair to admit that a lot of the design features I really like had their roots in R53. Still, there is something cheery, traditional, and benign about R50 Cooper that I will always love....that's the MINI that originally got to me.

 

R53 era sales for January:
2003 - 2818
2004 - 2756
2005 - 2917
2006 - 2944


R56 era sales for January:
2007 - 2050
2008 - 2460


Now I neither sell or manufacture automobiles... but I do believe that when BMW redesigned and retooled for the R56, and re-targeted the R56 from the narrow enthusiasts segment to appeal to the masses... the end result these bean counters were looking for was increased sales volumes!

 

Selective Data mining. Look at other months.

Feb 06 2690 Feb 07 2368
March 06 3851 March 07 3655
April 06 3313 April 07 3382
May 06 3672 may 07 4130
June 3556 June 07 4174
July 06 3528 July 07 4069
Aug 06 3252 Aug 07 4077
Sep 06 2964 Sep 07 4031
Oct 06 3642 Oct 07 3370
Nov 06 3287 Nov 07 3177
Dec 06 2472 Dec 07 3562

yearly totals 06 39171 07 42045 7.34% increase (US figures)

World wide from press release: "MINI also recorded a robust rise - in comparison with the previous year (188,077), the brand increased by 18.5% to 222,875 units sold to customers."

Pretty slack.

 

First... let's not start back up with the personal attacks...

Second... comparing 2006 to 2007, one must take into account that the R53 was not a full model run year... the factory geared down in 3q, and ended all production at the start of November to retool. Additionally, a significant amount of the 2007 sales numbers are boosted by both remaining R53 stock and the R52 convertible. If you were to do an actual analysis of the sales numbers, the R56 has not performed, and I mean significantly not performed in sales...

Let's look at this eye opening factoid:
November 2006 sales: 3287
November 2007 sales: 3177

So here we have the R53 era MINI... during the month of November 2006.. the factory idle for retooling... and the R56 announced... outselling the R56 for the same period in 2007... 10 months into the R56 sales cycle! I certainly wouldn't want to be the bean counter explaining that one to a CFO! The numbers and trends speak for themselves... looks and handling is subjective... but from a sales perspective... the R56 is nowhere even close to being the sales phenomenon that the R53 was.

 

Wasn't intended as a personal attack, sorry if you took it that way. Just a quote of figures

It must also be remembered that 07 wasn't really a full year for R56 either. it didn't become available in the US until Feb, and certain options couldn't even be ordered before March for April delivery. (In my case the 6 speed manual on the MC wasn't in production until 3/1/07)

So if you compare the sweet spot say May through Oct when the R56 production has ramped to full for all options and before the 3Q slowdown in 06 for the previous gen, the comparison isn't that bad for R56.

 

I find these numbers very curious. The months of the best sales in '07 are May, June, July and August ...prime convertible sales months ...which would mean a lot of R53s are in those numbers.

dean.

 

I just wish I could swap three things on R56 into my R53: the seats, the telescoping steering wheel, and the ability to do minor car programming. Otherwise, I love my R53, mostly because it gives me a lot of power w/o all that torque steer

 

If I owned an R53 or an R50 (I have an '03 R50 but my daughter seem to be motoring in it all the time) I'd hang on to it for dear life....not because R56 is less of a MINI, but because I would be totally keying into all the benefits that my particular MINI offered. There is a whole back-story to the first gen cars that is awesome, the ride quality is unique (and likely to remain so), the supercharger whine is music to the ears (if you have an SC, that is). Sure we could all do without the rattles or the interior finishes that scratched too easily, but that is secondary to the overall personality of the car. There is no way to undo that connection of the driver to the car until one is ready to do so....and many will remain permanently fixated on the R50/53 niche for very legitimate reasons. Personally, I'm glad for it!!

Trends and data are what they are (only a small part of the story), but when it comes down to the driver it's all about love. That goes for any MINI, 1st or 2nd gen, "enthusiast" of not. This attachment makes us prefer the looks, the ride, the amenities of one model over another...and look past problems and/or design quirks (of both gens). We even love the quirks, too!! That's just the way it is with MINIs.

The good news is that this level of enthusiasm has passed on from first gen owners to second gen owners in a big way...and that is overall a good sign for the MINI marque. This overall enthusiasm will likely ensure that the pendulum will swing towards enthusiast offerings and everyday, daily-driver offerings...as is proper for the MINI...back and forth (and back again), for a good long while.

 

And w/o all that torque!

 

That trq steer thing and the no supercharger thing are the only 2 complaints I have about the 07 plus models. I'm sure I'll get past that once someone figures out some aftermarket fix for the trq steer at least, or something to really make that TURBO sing so that I can enjoy the noise like I do now!

 

Fix torque steer? AWD!

Dunno may be U can used to it....

 

True, they are in both the 06 and 07 model years figures. Hard top to hard top number deltas are about the same as convertible sales are nearly constant. Convertible sales per month number in the hundreds whereas the hard tops number in the thousands.

 

I agree with MiniMarks, Mine has been unwatered as well.

 

Sweet spot? There is no "sweet spot" in sales numbers... unless you are counting the R52 convertibles.... which was the last opportunity for folks to purchase a new non-R56 based MINI. The bottom line is that the R56 is tanking... November, December, and now January... about %25 off the same averages for the entire run of the R53 era. But the numbers don't tell the whole story... look at the layoffs at MINI, the amount of R56 automobiles piling up at dealers lots, and the dealer incentives being offered to move R56 inventory. For those who have history during the R53 era... believe me, this was not just unheard of... it was unthinkable! I suspect this is getting serious air time at BMW cooperate headquarters... which with any luck will cut short the R56 era and bring us a new MINI with renewed emphasis on the driving enthusiast.

 

A lot of driving enthusiasts actually like R56.

 

Based on current sales trends... BMW has lost significantly more enthusiasts than they gained. The market has really dropped out from under the R56. Hopefully this will act as a wakeup call to BMW... and the next generation MINI will once again return to the R53 design parameters and away from targeting the masses... time will tell.

 

Hmmm.....based on every set of numbers I can find this is completely wrong. What numbers are you looking at??? I'm searching high and low and MINI seems stronger than ever based on every list I find!!!

 

January Year to Year:

2003 - 2818
2004 - 2756
2005 - 2917
2006 - 2944 (End R53 era)
2007 - 2050 (Begin R56 era)
2008 - 2460 (1 year into the R56 era and sales are off nearly %25 from the R53 era YTY average)

I suspect the February year to year will not be favorable... considering that MINI just had a layoff and production cutback... and the R52 era is ending.. so no more boost from the the legendary R50-53 to the production numbers.

 

I therefore seriously question the validity of those numbers based on the ones I'm finding from other sources.

Look, R53 is a great car, yes. Fine. But predicting the end of MINI unless it returns to the R53 formula? Borders on delusional.

 

Best source for MINI sales numbers: http://www.gbmini.net/wp/mini_sales/

 

Slag, interestingly, BMW and MINIUSA have effectively stopped publishing sales breakdowns by model! So all we will be getting from now on, is "doctored" sales numbers on PR releases that can not longer be verified. Are they trying to hide something? You decide!

 

Please post your other sources. If you are gonna jump into the hot frying pan, you better have the hard numbers to back up your claims. Ian Cull's site sale numbers are taken straight from past MINIUSA sales PR releases.