You know.....if the engine is so bad then why was it named engine of the year in Europe last year? You know the same year the Mini was named N. American car of the year. And on that note, I may be a complete Richard Cranium for saying this but.......I wouldn't trust anything made by the French

 

If you want what may be close to the truth do a search on previous press about the engine. You will find that this is BMW’s first front wheel drive engine. BMW teamed up with Chrysler before Chrysler’s merger with Daimler because they didn’t have experience with front wheel drive cars. BMW has an eight year contract to produce this engine with Daimler-Chrysler. BMW released the Cooper ONE and Cooper in 2001. I believe I saw in a magazine article that MINI will release the new engine as early as 2008. The press also commented that the engine is a great engine but because of BMW’s rivalry with Daimler-Chrysler they are ending that contract to work with Peugeot, an existing partner of BMW.

Oh and if you want fantasy, BMW is the evil empire and you are but a puppet in its clutches.

 

and if you want fantasy, BMW is the evil empire and you are but a puppet in its clutches.
_______________

wouldn't go quite that far, but they definitely have their own culture.....can you say German arrogance :smile: Only company more profitable per car than BMW is Porsche ! Obviously the profit per car of BMW does not include MINI, so as the above poster states they are still learning how to build a low profit margin car....hopefully they will figure it out...I'm sure Toyota and Honda could have figured it out, but again they have that experience in both build quality and engines for low margin cars..:smile:

 

>>There is nothing wrong with the Tritec engine. In fact, the supercharged version used in the MCS has won international accolades.
>>
>>http://www.tritecmotors.com.br/engli...tec/awards.htm
>>
>>What you are seeing is nothing more that global positioning from the international corporations that run the motor industry. This is nothing more than ego soothing and testicular positioning on the part of some corporate suits.
>>
>> How 'bout the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega also with Ford power, or the current Ford owned Land Rover Range Rover with a BMW lump under the hood.
>>
I have to disagree with you on this issue I own a cosworth Vega and its all chevrolet, at the time when Chevrolet had Cosworth design the head for the vega engine they were an independent company and was not taken over by FORD until much later. Cosworth Engineering was an independent comapny building race engines for Ford. To really clarify the engine situtation the difference between the regular vega and the cosworth is mainly the upper section Cylinder head, valve train and engine management computer, the same egnine management used in the caddy for their mid seventies experiment with selective cylinder shutdown for gas savings.

 

>>
>>Oh and if you want fantasy, BMW is the evil empire and you are but a puppet in its clutches.
>>

I don't think BMW listens to Metalica.

I'd like to point out that BMW and Daimler are competitors. The tritec pentagon motor deal with Chrysler was done before the Daimler buy. BMW wants out. Its not a bad motor, its just now made by the longtime evil competitor. [doug needs a benz]

This new motor is going to be well thought out.

_________________
-goin440 IB/IB MC on 17" Volks

 

>>Thanks for the great feedback. Exactly what I expected from the people who use this board. I'm not sure what I will do yet, I really want a Mini, but I could wait, there's no big hurry. On the other hand I remeber the fun I had during the test drive and can imagine the current model would be so much fun to drive...
>>
>>Oh well, decisions, decisions,. any other inputs?

Well I wanted to post my positive news. My March 2003 MCS built car has had only two problems and one was the new coolant tank leaked. The tank was replaced about 6k miles ago and has no problems. The inital tank must have just been a fluke as, according to the dealers in my area, they have not been having to replace them. The second one is a slight hesitation taking off in first gear unless I have sufficient gas to the car. This may in fact may not be a problem, but is represenative of the heavier flywheel or it could be a software problem. Regardless it is not affecting me to any extent and I will have the dealer look at it once the new updated software is out. Bridger is correct on his information.

As for the other problems that you have seen here on this post, they have not affected my car. The build quality is good, I do not have any rattles as of this date and have loved the car more than any other I have owned. I have owned 6 or 7 others.

I do not think you can make too much of a mistake in picking this car. Do remember that people are prone to write about the problems more than when things are going great. Just human nature.

 

While I am sorry that we read and hear so much about issues. (By the way, my '03 Cooper has been nearly flawless in 18,000 miles of autocrossing, driver schooling and daily communting for 9 months now) I think we all need to gain some perspective on these quote unquote problems. I am a member of MINI5280 here in Denver. I realize some of the other members have had some if not all of the issues discussed. However, when we get together all that is talked about is the fun and the looks and the smiles and the attention we all receive.
Everyone on this list should think for a moment about who gets interested in these forums for the long term. Mostly, enthusiastic brite. interesting, and helpful people. But, in addition, we hear from the enthusiastic, intelligent ones who are disappointed because it isn't perfect. Go out to other auto forums on the internet and see what the discussions and questions revolve around. PROBLEMS, regardless of make, model or interest. That's just because we are heavily involved with our cars and not interested in the mundane and common grocery getters.
WE all are pioneers in a way. We have purchased a newly designed and engineered auto from a new manufacturer, who can't quality control all of the parts made in upteen foriegn countries, by people who make errors just like each of us everyday. And yet we scream that their product (because the parent company has made autos of different vehicles for so many years) should be perfect. WRONG,WRONG, and WRONG again. It just isn't possible for every car from any maker, much less MINI, under these circumstances.
Don't misunderstand me, I truly feel for those with the common reoccuring faults. However, lucky or blessed as I may be without those problems, one of those problem cars could have been sold to me.
If it had I would have swallowed my pride, admitted that no one is perfect and figured out a way early on (via Lemon Laws or whatever) to return this less than perfect beast to the dealer, at some loss to me I am sure, and rolled the dice on the purchase of another later build Cooper. These are just the facts we must all live with. Not having any trouble sure makes it easy for me to say these things, but, I try not to take auto ownership too seriously as a general rule. It is not an investment but, an expense. The sooner you look at it more like the other constant expenses in your lives, like food, drink and housing, then decide where best to spend you hard earned money, the sooner you will be likely to find automobile delight. Whether with an average piece of transportatiion or a 6 figure exotic.
The problem for most is that a MINI is so cute and adorable, we have to drive it, then after driving we have to own it. Even though our tastes for, and the emotional pain and discomfort we are willing to go through can't be satisfied by purchasing with risk, as a MINI is. You must recognize the idea of being a pioneer is to take on these potential risks no matter the circumstances and then if you still think desire it, you should then determine where your "get out" threshold is.
Finally, when the pioneers of this country first headed west, some broke down and were discouraged, some made it half way but, spent all their money and energy before getting to the gold rush and some stayed the course becuase to them the adventure was worth it.
A bad analogy? Maybe, but, with a little bit of 21st century technology thrown in, this is what we must endure by making the decision to purchase a MINI.

I hope you all get your problems resolved to your satisfaction. Or make the switch to something that will satisfy your needs, wants and desires, even if it isn't a MINI.

Have a great weekend.

Scott

_________________
Scott Simms
1992 BMW 535i
2003 Red/Red MINI Cooper
1998 Isuzu Trooper

 

Scott, I agree with your post 110%. Well said IMO.

 

Put my vote in as well. Mines great no problems... But I have owned Friday cars or whatever you want to call them before. Dump the car and get something you like. Holding on to a car that runs like crap waiting for a fix that might not come is not smart. It's just a car. Get rid of it early and get into something else while you can get out without losing too much money.

Learn from others mistake. I held on to a crap car far too long and in the long run just annoyed others with my constant complaining. Everyone was much happier when I got rid of it.

 

Let's see what was this post originally about? Something about engines I think...

 

WUSS by self admition.
I'll be loving my 03 mcs while you wait for a new engine.
Perhaps you'll buy an AWD VW GTI.
Good luck with your decission, god bless the right to choose.
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