I just read that the 100,000th mini was produced, and am wondering- just how long its going to be that the mini is the complete and total center of attention where ever it goes?

I know for the chicago area suburbs, there arent too many minis around, I see one a week or so (usually the same ones..hey, if your out there!).

Will the mini become the mass produced, driven by everyone, icon car of the early 21st century? Personally, I like the bit of attention everywhere I go. Thoughts?

 

I gotta say....I like the attention, too....
I live in a Mini heavier area. I see them a couple times a week, sometimes more, but I am also near a dealership.

I can't say when the newness will wear off....over time as people become more accustomed to seeing Minis on the street they won't be as interesting and not so many people will gawk as you drive by. But we'll still have the satisfaction of knowing that noone else's cars have quite the personality that ours' do!

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Smaller is better!
<a href="mailto:l.mini@northamericanmotoring.com ">l.mini@northamericanmotoring.com</a>

 

Well, given that there will only be 25,000 or so MINIs on the roads in the U.S. this year, I think the uniqueness of the MINI will endure for longer than say the NB and the PT.

The NB had 80,000 cars on the road in the first year. And Chrysler pretty much saturated the market too. So they flamed out faster than I think the MINI will.

 

I will be kind of glad when the "fame" wears off. My MCS has been the cause of one accident that I know of. A driver was looking at my car and not the road ahead of him and slammed into a truck in front of him. My 5 year old daughter thought it was cool because it was the first accident that she ever saw. Thankfully there weren't any injuries only bent metal and borken glass.

For awhile a trip to blockbuster took an extra 15-20 minutes. I would leave the store to find people standing around waiting for me to return so they could ask all kinds of questions. My wife didn't believe me so I sent her to Blockbuster one night, and she was approached by a gang of pimply faced teenagers that wanted to know everything about the car. My daughter was actually scared and wanted to know why the kids had so many questions.

Denny

 

Denny, where you from? I know that here in chicago, the buzz is not as near as bad as it was in Myrtle Beach, there it was like nobody had ever heard of Mini at all! I spent a week in North Carolina, and could go nowhere without drawing a crowd, to the point where I couldent even get in the car when I came out of a shop, there were about 12 people around it! I guess that just the difference from city to country life.

 

>>I will be kind of glad when the "fame" wears off. My MCS has been the cause of one accident that I know of. A driver was looking at my car and not the road ahead of him and slammed into a truck in front of him. My 5 year old daughter thought it was cool because it was the first accident that she ever saw. Thankfully there weren't any injuries only bent metal and borken glass.


I totally see that happening... I can't tell you the number of times people go thru intersections looking more at my MINI then the car directly ahead of them... I'd feel sorry for the rearend-ee, but not the rearend-er...


>>For awhile a trip to blockbuster took an extra 15-20 minutes. I would leave the store to find people standing around waiting for me to return so they could ask all kinds of questions. My wife didn't believe me so I sent her to Blockbuster one night, and she was approached by a gang of pimply faced teenagers that wanted to know everything about the car. My daughter was actually scared and wanted to know why the kids had so many questions.

And I don't mind answering questions about my MINI, nor talking about it, but that would REEALLY try my kindness :evil: . The LAST thing I want is a gaggle of people hanging around my car... and i HATE when someone looks IN my car... I don't look in the windows of your house , don't stick your nose up to the glass to my car... grrrr...


And i also can't stand the people who seem to get offended when I fly past them at a stop light, or on a curve.. (or even better, a stoplight AND a curve..)... they always then try to fly past me.. (they do, because although I have a tendancy to speed a little more then in my old car, I don't drive like an idiot) and once the get ahead of me, they slow down to the speed they would normally be driving... GGGRRRRR.....


Rocketboy_X

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Chili Red MCS, White Rims, White Roof, White Stripes : AKA The Mach 4

 

I live in England and they are not exactly few and far between. I have seen three today and that was just on my way to work. They are just too good for any one to consider buying anything else.

 

It's true, they are getting a great deal of attention! I don't liken their fame to the PT, mainly because the PT was a vehicle that everyone had heard about, and if not, seen on television. I have never seen a Mini commercial, and with such limited production, I can understand why. I enjoy the attention it gets. I've owned over twenty cars in my life, and never had as much fun and so much "to do" about a car. I believe the "spectacle" aspect of the car will continue...perhaps for years.

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Brought home my Indi Blue Mini on 09-21-02.

 

Less Fame = More MINI Dealers = More Service Centers = Secondary Service Centers = Competition = Lower Costs For Maintenance And Upkeep.

 

In 1961, the infamous and unforgettable Cooper was introduced to the world. This is 2002 and it has been more popular now than ever before. I'd say as long as we put gas in cars, it'll be around.....IMHO :smile: .

Florida Mini Owners

 

I've been wondering about the fame thing myself. Having always been someone who prefers to pass anonymously, the Mini attention is strange. The other night my neighbors son had his cross country teammates over for snacks and hoop, but when it came time to shoot baskets, they all crowded around my car instead.

So far it's a novelty, but I do worry about someone getting into an accident. The first day I had the car, I was stopped at a 3-way intersection and a guy riding through on a motorcycle (no helmet) practically stood up on the pegs, and turned fully in my direction to give me a thumbs up. It was a kick for me, but very dangerous for him.

If BMW keeps the import level at about 10K cars a year, I can't see the market ever glutted with Minis.

 

As an original Miata owner I can say that my stock looking Miata continued to turn heads from passing motorists and gets unsolicited comments and questions from lay people in parking lots through about 1996. If that basis holds true then you can continue to get looks of awe and "great car" comments through 2008.

Randy

 

I used to like being asked to roll down my window at every red light to answer questions. However there are only so many times you can tell some one that it runs on gas and not solar power or eletricity! It is amazing the dumb questions people ask. I live in south Florida where there are 4 dealerships, and still only see one a week. I saw a really cool green one last week with a big University of Miami Sticker on it. Unfortunitly 2 days later I saw it again up on a curb with the front end all bent up. Should have seen the other car. I was impressed with the amount of damage it had compaired to the Mini.
Anyway back to the topic, I like talking to people about it, and enjoy all the attention, however I could go without the dumb questions!

 

>>I used to like being asked to roll down my window at every red light to answer questions. However there are only so many times you can tell some one that it runs on gas and not solar power or eletricity! It is amazing the dumb questions people ask. I live in south Florida where there are 4 dealerships, and still only see one a week. I saw a really cool green one last week with a big University of Miami Sticker on it. Unfortunitly 2 days later I saw it again up on a curb with the front end all bent up. Should have seen the other car. I was impressed with the amount of damage it had compaired to the Mini.
>>Anyway back to the topic, I like talking to people about it, and enjoy all the attention, however I could go without the dumb questions!


Where do you live In South Florida? I am here in Miami and see at least 3 to 5 MINIs everyday in the Coral Gables area and driven up and down US1. Just yesterday morning I saw 2 MINIs back to back, a Chili Red MC and a brand new MCS yellow/black top with stripes and rally lights. At lunch time the other day I saw one Indy blue and a Chili Red MC driven side by side in Coral Gables.

The MINI is becoming a pretty common sight in Miami. After all we are the biggest MINI market in the US (Miami-Ft Lauderdale that is) and this is the reason why we currently have 4 MINI dealers in the Dade-Broward area (2 in Miami and 2 in Ft Lauderdale...Vista MINI will be opening next month).

MINIUSA ad agency Crispin, Porter and Bogusky is located right here in Coconut Grove. No wonder they chose South Florida.....this is the place where $100K cars everybody is got them.....

Still with just 20K-25K of these cars being imported into the US market, you can rest assured that even after the novelty wears off, you still will enjoy the exclusivity and substantial resale values that are the envy of current BMW 3 series owners (Another over saturated car in the market).

Wanna get plenty of looks? Drive your MINI to Wyoming, Idaho, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, etc and you will be guaranteed to cause several traffic jams!!!

 

I am in north Broward, so not as many up this way.

 

I see maybe one a week or so, in my motoring in CT where I live and around New England/New York.

In a way I enjoy the attention, but it can be odd at times. The one comment I hear, that I would love some snappy comeback:

person: What kind of car is that?
me: A Mini Cooper
person: never heard of it

Does that mean in their world it must not exist. I have yet to think of something great to reply with - any suggestions?

 

The difference between the short-lived attention that the New Beetle got and the attention that the MINI is likely to continue getting is that the New Beetle got the attention because it was (1) very different-looking, and (2) a new version of an old car that a lot of people still love very much. The MINI, on the other hand, besides also being wildly different from anything else on the road, is also a beautiful car that is a pleasure to look at (it's an update of a beloved classic, too, but that's less widely known in the U.S.). I can see calling the New Beetle cute or modern or eccentric or interesting, but not beautiful, sporty, or inspiring of the urge to drive. The MINI is all of these things and much more, which won't change unless whats-his-name who designed that atrocious new 7-series gets a hold of it.

 

Chris Bangle, BMW's head of design. (He is an American BTW)

Yeah his latest design efforts do not impress me. BMW's are becoming pretty ugly and controversial looking cars. The MINI will be the only good looking BMW product left in the range. The current 745i has been largerly a flop and the upcoming Z4 roadster and 5 series seem to be heading the way of the "Hunchback". the 3 series is nice but way too common (And almost considered a chick car).

The MINI is a car that previous to its march 2002 launch in the US, virtually had ZERO, NADA awareness with the general population. The classic Mini in the US was the realm of a few car collectors and enthusiasts of the original vehicle but nothing else. The classic Mini was imported into the US (In very, very small numbers might I add) from 1961 to 1968. After the US goverment tighten the screw on more demanding safety and emissions standards, British Leyland stopped importing them. It would be 35 years before the car would be re-introduced again in the US market.

Compared to the highly popular and successful classic VW Beetle, the Mini was and still is a novelty in the US and BMW intends to keep it that way. VW and Daimler Chrysler made huge mistakes with their respective retro car intros including over saturating the market with them.

The Classic beetle was imported into the US for almost 3 decades (Early-mid 1950's all the way to 1979) in greater numbers, thus in VW's advantage the awareness of the car was pretty much there when it was introduced again (The Concept I model) in early 1998.

I think MINI and MINIUSA have done a terrific job in bringing the MINI back into US shores and at the same time rising enough awareness about the car that it has been a resounding hit.

I want to see how VW will respond to the MINI Threat next.

 

I live in Montreal and I see a few every week, I think people do not know them or are afraid the way they might survive winter...I guess that will change. The only concern with wide diffusion is the overall price of the car. Even if it is really worth the asking price, it is really expensive for youngsters who would naturally be the perfect clientele for this car.

I'm very happy with my car, I had it for 3 weeks and I appreciate it better from day to day. Xcuse my wording I'm french.

 

Even if the Mini oversaturates our roads I will never get tired of looking at it. Seems like when something is designed so well( not trying to knock the NB and PT ) it holds it's appeal a lot longer. I never get tired of wringing my neck around to try and glimpse a Mini from across 3 lanes while driving 95mph