Ok...been thinking about this for a while and I know there are all walks of tradesmen (no offense ladies...just a generic term) who own Minis out there. But, specifically, I'm wondering how many of you Mini owners are Car Designers by trade. I don't mean engineers but the people who used to be called "stylists" (ugg). You know who I'm talking about. You guys/gals DRAW cars for a living.

I'll start first. CCS graduate 85. Was with Ford for 16 years then went to GM. Been there since 00. Anyone else?? Love to know what you guys/gals think of the Mini in terms of "design".

Is it just me or did the Mini design team messed up when they mounted the S gas cap all wrong? It is the ONLY thing that is horizontal while everything else is wedged Take a look.

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Works for GM and drives a MINI...you would think you would be in a Corvette...I hate the S gas cap...I wish I had a regular Cooper one...

 

I like the S gas cap. Easy to use and it follows the line of the window.

Earl

 

I've designed some vehicles for films as part of my resume over the past 15 years, and I will keep it as vague as that.

I don't like the S gas cap being either.
It is faux and the flush MC lid looks cleaner.

It's very Ricey - I'm Using the term as an insult.
yet do not personally believe in it as an insult, but I know a lot of you old folks use Ricer in a negative manner.

Hows that for a sentance?

The Cabin is built a little high IMO
The Chrome Is cheap
The Interior is Cheap
The Leather is Cheap and I would guess it was Pakistan Leather (not a racial insult, a regional thing)
I think the Rear Side windows could have been a little more - Tint Friendly.
I would have liked to see a Retro Front End, but knowing it was an aerodynamic result.
I think the outer trim - flares - are cheap and a bad styling trend that is afflicting the entire motoring community. Like the Avalanche, Aztek, Element, etc.

I believe the styling overall is great and hits the mark they intended, while keeping the cost low and profit HIGH.

MINI/BMW however... should reconsider how they consider the MINI as far as service and customer relations.
My Pop has a 5Series, Nothing too old and not brand new, But BMW is Always sending him gifts and notices. He pulls into the dealer for service and they treat him like a VIP.

We bring the MC into the SAME service Dept and it's like we're bottom feeders.
Bad PR.

- WCC

 

>>I've designed some vehicles for films as part of my resume over the past 15 years, and I will keep it as vague as that.
>>
>>I don't like the S gas cap being either.
>>It is faux and the flush MC lid looks cleaner.
>>
>>It's very Ricey - I'm Using the term as an insult.
>>yet do not personally believe in it as an insult, but I know a lot of you old folks use Ricer in a negative manner.
>>
>>Hows that for a sentance?
>>
>>The Cabin is built a little high IMO
>>The Chrome Is cheap
>>The Interior is Cheap
>>The Leather is Cheap and I would guess it was Pakistan Leather (not a racial insult, a regional thing)
>>I think the Rear Side windows could have been a little more - Tint Friendly.
>>I would have liked to see a Retro Front End, but knowing it was an aerodynamic result.
>>I think the outer trim - flares - are cheap and a bad styling trend that is afflicting the entire motoring community. Like the Avalanche, Aztek, Element, etc.
>>
>>I believe the styling overall is great and hits the mark they intended, while keeping the cost low and profit HIGH.
>>
>>MINI/BMW however... should reconsider how they consider the MINI as far as service and customer relations.
>>My Pop has a 5Series, Nothing too old and not brand new, But BMW is Always sending him gifts and notices. He pulls into the dealer for service and they treat him like a VIP.
>>
>>We bring the MC into the SAME service Dept and it's like we're bottom feeders.
>>Bad PR.
>>
>>- WCC

Yikes...so that means you LIKE the car, right?!

 

Hate to say it, but yeah, it does look strange.

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| ponte trucha. . . |

 

Strange? IT BLOWS!

 

>>>>
>>Strange? IT BLOWS!


Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....go get an aftermarket one.

 

I do like the car, and it's price reflects the cheapness of some of the styling.

And I think the S Gas Cap is all wrong. Keep it smooth.

- WCC

 

My favorite gas cap was in my 1958 Olds 88.
For those of you who are not familiar w/ it.... it was part of the rear fin(embedded in the hugh quantity of chrome extras) that was virtually invisible.... unless you knew exactly where it was.

It was truly a...... stealth gas cap :smile: and a design marvel :smile:

Peace,
D

 

Regardless of the qualifiers you put on the end of that sentence, I tend to believe you are not familiar with the quality of various products from that region. Did you expect Connolly leather in a $17K car? I mean, let's take a look at the MINI for a minute - in all reality, it is - by today's standards, a "cheap" car. It's not a Kia, or Toyota Echo.
But if you're expecting the build quality of a BMW interior, that's ludicrous. And why would you expect BMW to kiss our backsides because we bought MINI's? A 5 series is a whole different animal. If I went and spent 60K on a new 5 series, I'd like to get decent service at the dealer as well. But 20K? My dealer treats me like I expect, and at times, goes beyond what my expectations are for a car in this price range.

 

In defense of the S gas cap cover, I think it was to focus attention on the British racing heritage found in Mini, MG, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Triumph, Austin Healey, Lotus, TRV, etc. It is reminiscent of a Lemans style pop top cover, used for endurance and rally races from the 1950's through the 1970's. It serves as a connection between the Mini Cooper S of yore and today's MCS. I give it an 8 out of 10 rating.

 

The devil is in the details... but I am very attracted to the design. And the MCS cap is a cool punctuation... This is not the most fluid design and it is not supposed to be.

I do design work, but not on cars...

God speed.

 

>>Works for GM and drives a MINI...you would think you would be in a Corvette...I hate the S gas cap...I wish I had a regular Cooper one...

You'd be amazed what kinda cars "Designers" drive At GM, you see Lincolns. At Ford you see Cadillacs Josh tells me that GMs made the formal announcement.

A Vette would be nice but a little out of my budget for a house hold with wife and two munchkns. Besides...someone here would accuse me of having a small *****

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I'm a designer (though not in the car world either). I love the S gas cap- it's one of my favorite design "extras" the S model brings. It has a solid feel and the design echoes the look of the compartment cover on the cupholder. And it reminds me of the old Coopers with the exposed chrome caps.

 

I too like the S cap because of it's heritage design. My complaint is that they mounted it straight/horizontal when the door handle/belt line are wedged towards the front. This becomes very prominant with its proximity to the door handle.

 

Okay, I have a Cooper, and hence no S gas cap. Why do some of you not like it? I'm really not familiar with it so I just want to know. Is it something other than appearance?

 

>>>>
>>Regardless of the qualifiers you put on the end of that sentence, I tend to believe you are not familiar with the quality of various products from that region. Did you expect Connolly leather in a $17K car? I mean, let's take a look at the MINI for a minute - in all reality, it is - by today's standards, a "cheap" car. It's not a Kia, or Toyota Echo.
>>But if you're expecting the build quality of a BMW interior, that's ludicrous. And why would you expect BMW to kiss our backsides because we bought MINI's? A 5 series is a whole different animal. If I went and spent 60K on a new 5 series, I'd like to get decent service at the dealer as well. But 20K? My dealer treats me like I expect, and at times, goes beyond what my expectations are for a car in this price range.


I'm very familiar with regional leathers. Leather from that region is good leather by many standards. It's just not premium leather, like let's say, italian hides. Hondas, Fords and Mazdas Offer better leather. in their "under $20K" vehicles. It's basically MINI aka BMW being cheap. Keeping their costs low and their profits high.
I love the car and prefer the MC over the MCS for many reasons. I opted for leatherette because the leather felt and looked bad in the dealer demo.

I also agree wuth you about my relating a 5 series to the MINI, but I'm sure a Mustang owner gets treated as well as T-Bird owner (might not be the best relative comparison but it's a concept)

Peace

-WCC

 

Okay, I'm not a car designer, but I am a product designer. I love the design of the MINI, although there are some things I would have done differently. That's always the case with designers . At first, I really disliked the chrome gas cap too, but I've come to accept it. Of course now that you've pointed out the wedge vs. horizontal thing, I'll probably notice that everytime I walk up to the car.

Oddly enough, this post was just interupted by the mailman delivering my latest AXIS design magazine. On the cover is Chris Bangle whose latest designs I really don't care for. (That statement could open a can of worms.) Actually one of the designers here in the studio refers to an overly busy or discordant design as being "Bangled-up".

As far as what designers drive, that is really influenced greatly by economics. Probably a better question is what would designers LIKE to drive. Personally, I have a MINI and a first-generation Miata. Both are great designs in my opinion, and also great values. The "designer" cars in our studios are: Corvettes (2), Porsche Boxster, Miatas (2), and my MINI. Other than that, the cars are pretty typical family transportation.

DesignIt

 

I really think the money spent on the MINI development is not geared towards nice leather interiors. You're paying for the suspension, handling and safety features of the car. Yes, the leather on a Fratelli Rosetti jacket or Prada bag is going to be superior to most. But you're not going to find that in a sub 20K car. But I am not convinced that Pakistan is home to low grade leather materials, at least not in my experience.

My experience at MINI dealers has not been one of second class citizenry. They seem to go out of their way to accommadate when possible. Not all are the same clearly.

 

I think the interior fit, finish, and materials are quite nice when compared to ALL other vehicles in and around the MINI's price point... the only other vehicle even close is the Acura RSX.

 

Some interesting views here. Taken as a whole package, we've got one of the best designed sets of wheels available at just about any price. As far as service goes, I'd have to agree that since we're driving vehicles which are priced in some cases10's of thousands less than our related Bimmers, a good service dept. is not to be taken lightly. I'm thankful I've got one @ Rasumussen MINI. Re: leather- I have yet to see a well used MINI leather seat bottom which wasn't wrinkled looking. I won't get leather for that reason alone. The leatherette is just fine- an opinion shared by a great many MINI owners. Gas cap on the S looks fine to me. So does the one on my MC. The MINI is simply in a class by itself in its price range. It has no equal when you factor in all the elements. Strong statement, I know, but then I'm a MINI owner, for Pete's Sake!

 

Anyone complaining about the interior quality of the Mini should stop by a Nissan or Infiniti dealership and sit in a brand new 350Z or Infiniti G35, cars that cost around 10k more than the Mini. It puts everything into perspective.

Also, I haven't taken a scientific look at the side of the car yet, but from a couple of images on the web it looks to me like the fuel cap and the door handle are in line horizontally with the rocker panel. I prefer them to be aligned that way rather than with the "wedge." They help to solidify the lower part of the car visually and create a contrast. This helps to make the "wedge" more dynamic.

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2003 BRG/W MINI Cooper S

 

I was in an Infiniti dealer last night - sat in every model in the range. The build is better IMO on the Infiniti's, and it better well be. While they may not have the "cool" factor of the MINI's interior - it is a better build. Perhaps my opinion is colored because I have a May 2002 build car. BUT - since this thread was originally dealing with car designers and their thoughts on the MINI, I will say that I think the design elements of the MINI interior are fantastic, and still fresh to me after 18 months of ownership. While I am not a car designer, I am a visual person and work in that field as a photographer.

 

>>My favorite gas cap was in my 1958 Olds 88.
>>For those of you who are not familiar w/ it.... it was part of the rear fin(embedded in the hugh quantity of chrome extras) that was virtually invisible.... unless you knew exactly where it was.
>>
>>It was truly a...... stealth gas cap :smile: and a design marvel :smile:
>>
>>Peace,
>>D

Like on the old Cadillac, you raised the tail light and there was the gas cap. :smile:

Earl