>>I personally think boycotts are for whiney religeous-right types, they get attention for whining but never really accomplish anything.<<

Wrong. They often accomplish press coverage, if nothing else. One example that comes to mind is the tourism boycott of the state of South Carolina for flying the confederate flag at the capitol. As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong), the flag is still flying, but the boycott got news, and that can't hurt. I don't mean to insult that truly important cause by comparing it to the BMW/MCO feud, but you get my point.

>>Besides, look at those shoes, they're ugly as ****! Who would wear something like that??<<

I hear Vanilla Ice was brought in as a consultant for their design.

 

Wow. There is a lot of craziness going on in this thread! Where to start?

I hope everyone feels free to express themselves however they want, and if that means boycotting some products, then go for it. Personally I don't think that boycotts ever accomplish a whole lot and are really just kneejerk reactions (although I did urge a boycott of MOSS last week because of that outrageously priced center console organizer! ).

I may or may not buy MINI gear in the near future; I'm not going to swear to an all-out boycott, though. I don't think that incredible negativity toward a brand/company that I have come to associate myself with and enjoy is something that I personally look forward to. I really worry that a lot of you are going to harbor this resentment long after this issue is gone, and I'm not ready to get myself into that sort of a mood yet. I like my MINI. I think the company is pretty advanced in much of its thinking for a big auto company--apparently it's legal department is way out of whack, though.

I have signed the petition, and I really really believe in this site, and I think that the legal tactics are way over the top, but I'm convinced that this matter will be resolved quickly. BMW/MINI doesn't want the bad press that this is already causing, and I think that they'll see it our way: that this site does far more good than harm to the brand.

A couple of other notes:

I think it's spelled C-I-A-O.

I kind of like the shoes. Very very modern. I'm not going to do whatever it takes to get a pair, but if I stumbled across them in my size and I had the cash, I wouldn't mind having a pair...but that's just my taste, and it's apparently not to everyone's liking.

 

>>You are correct, we can't use the MINI name if it were to refer to the car... <<

Actually you can. If I read the initial posting right, MINI is only after anyone who is profiting off the MINI name or linking to any site that is. So you can use the name as much as you want as long as no revenue is being generated by the use.

According to their guidelines this site is at fault in both the profit making part and the profit generating part. You can, however, set up a site named MINIsucks.com. As long as the comments on it are truthful and not libelous, and don't link to any commercial MINI site, you can't be touched. That's just freedom of speech.

Personally, I'll reluctantly agree with Cooper4us and allow a time for a resolution to be come about. They gave Mark until Aug. 12th, I'll see which way the wind is blowing then. Who knows, maybe cooler heads will prevail and a compromise reached.

....but their shoes are still ugly!

 

>>
>>I think it's spelled C-I-A-O.
>>

If you're Brazilian, it's spelled TCHAU.