blahahahahahaha!!! but you know, Ive considered them more
of a Japanese-Hyundai.

Suzuki and Isuzu are Japanese-Kia's kinda.

Daihatsu's like a Japanese-Daewoo.

j/k

 

They also have large interest in Toyota as well. :smile:

btw, you and chows should do a AIM and just summarize your results here.

 

Uhhhh... wait -- lemme just phone my friend with the Civic hybrid to let her know that she isn't actually getting the 55mpg she's been logging...

 

No no no - you have it all wrong - someone from Honda sneaks up to her car every night and fills it up .

 

I thought the problem with hybrids was that you didn't save much money because of battery replacement and other issues? dont' remember where I saw that. For sure it's green, but in terms of money saving, that's debated.

 

Is replacing a set of batteries environmentally friendly? I'm sure it can be, but is it? What about the plastics used in the car, or the factories that use "oil" to produce the car?

Just some questions people generally do not bring up. Granted, the end product will be nicer to the planet, but let's not forget the mfg side of things.

 

The biggest gain we get out of hybrid cars is the automaker's awareness
that we must reduce our consumption in fossile fuels. that's about it.

but there is no fuel savings manufacturing a lower volume production car...
so you end up using up more energy just building the car and let the
end user 'think' they're saving money/environment by reducing the amt
of times they go to the pump.

Your friend paid extra $4k (or watever) to get the same pos Civic I drive to
work which gets about 33-38mpg. imagine how many years I would
need to fill up in order to use up all $4k difference in gas? no thanks.

oh btw, the Tc's a nice car... (got a little side tracked. )

 

Hybrids fail to deliver sky high fuel mileage:


http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/hybrid_fever.html

http://www.autobytel.com/content/sha...cle_id_int/366

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...-economy_x.htm

State Farm warns of risks of Hybrid cars during and after accidents:

http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000133047825/

Hybrids suck big time.

 

People dream, don't we all??

 

herd a few things about SUV's in this forum! haha, i hear that more people die in SUV's then in small cars, SUV accidents are worse then cars, as long as its not a head on......

is this what i hear really true about MC beating MCS in autocross??? i don't believe it! unless its a turbo ed MC or the gearing for the MC was better for the speeds of the course, or they are just crapy mcs drivers....

 

I don't know about the bmw cca chapter here in norcal but in sf region solo 2 the mcs rarely loses to the mc when comparing g stock versus h stock. Better drivers? Different courses? Who knows...it's not anything I lose sleep over.

Did BMW really acquire the MINI brand to lead people to buy BMWs? If so, Bangle is doing his best to make sure people don't BMWs..but people still are. Actually, I am considering a M3 in the future but I might go another route instead. Maybe, it's working..the entry level thing, moving up to the big boys, strategy.

 

I'm surprised as well. I used to think BMW was something I really wanted, but after seeing hearing more news about them as a result of MINI ownership, it has only made me want it less. Furthermore, it has made me love small cars. I can't even drive my sister's 00 accord coupe without feeling wide. I mean, BMW is still one of the best brands out there performance wise at that price.

now, i'm looking forward to another MINI (if they don't mess it up) and a classic MINI. But since the profits still go to them, I don't think they really care.

 

WOW, thanks for all the replies folks!! I went away for 12 hours and there were like 70 more replies!!! We (my son and I ) read thru them (his first time on here).....he got quite a kick out of reading everyone's thoughts....and was very appreciative! so Thanks again!
Couple of funny comments from him "BOY these boys are passionate about their cars!" ..... "Mini should hire this C4 dude as a salesman today!"...

He dis seem interested in the potential for higher ongoing costs w/ Mini vs. Scion (the Gov. crash data etc didn't seem too important to him....but I sure appreciated the info!!).

SO.....after reading everyone's replies, he's gonna go take both out again for more extended test drive and decide today...should be interesting....we're near Boston, so he's going to Mini of Peabody (those guys are awesome!) and a Scion dealer near here that seem to have gotten good reviews from the Scion forums...so he should be in good hands! I figure at this point it's now up to him...and he really can't go wrong w/ either option!

Thanks again!

 

That's too funny... I always thought they were Swedish!

However, doing the research, I have to agree, reddbear and chows4us are correct. Here's the link to History of Subaru.

 

I think he's going to choose the Tc. It's the hip thing to have for
younger people right now. setup a nice boomin' stereo along
with neons and 18" wheels, lower it, and he's all set. I think it's
cool for kids to experiement their interests early so they don't
clutter their nicer, more expensive cars when they're older.

He has plenty of time to enjoy MINI's later on... when you're
middle aged and drive around a Scion (especially if stock) it looks
like any cheep economy car. But if you're young and drive around a
Tc, it looks very cool. :smile:

 

i think this sums up everything pretty nicely ...

 

My friends e46 with steptronic has some kind of "!" lite up in his car and his auto tranny doesn't shift properly as of yesterday. It might just need a fluid change...but the darn tranny is sealed so he can't even check the level. Anyway, just an FYI just in case you want to buy a BMW with an auto tranny.

I know what you mean about that wide feeling. The head room in the MINI is incredible but we knew that.

 

I agree that toyota makes very good cars. Reliable and well engineered. But they are often boring and lacking character. I have a Scion xB and a MCS. I enjoy driving both of these cars. The MCS is a more sporting and has better handling feel.

The SC used in the mini will most likely be more expensive than the turbo setup in the new mini. while the SC might not make as much power as the turbo, it provides linear power which is better for the track and the street.
I do agree with you that Toyota makes fine cars and are more reliable then most.

 

Something I saw last year. Sorry, I was too lazy to shrink it!
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cat=500&page=1

 

Sometimes that mass works against you. Its all about enginering, how the impact is absorbed and distributed. Here is a link that shows this well. It is a controlled crash so both the mini and truck receive the same impact.

click here to see

interesting huh?

 

I am sure many already know this already but just in case one doesn't, the F150 problems have been remediated. Just watch out for the older ones.

http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle.../html/0328.htm

 

I just turned 20 ( ) And i've already owned 3 cars. But i've learned some very worthwhile lessons with my cars.

For one, it's nice some parents will buy their kids brand new cars, or very nice ones as their first cars. I wasn't in that boat. My mom never told me how important college was, didn't tell me how expensive cars were, what it took to maintain them, and that 6$ an hour/20 hours a week won't get you squat alone in the real world. I wasn't even told to get a job. And come to think of it, she didn't even make me get a license.

I took a marketing class my senior year. You were required to have a job, but it entitled you to leave school early to go to it. I had no car, and no license. So i took my test, passed, and got my license. My mom needed her car, so i couldn't go anywhere. I saved all my precious pennies, and bought a 500$ car. Never did one spec of maintenance to it the year i owned it. Ran it to the ground, and realized i needed another car. Throughout that time frame, i went from working retail, to being a file clerk at a law firm. Saved my money some more, and sold the tbird, and got my (affordable) dream car... my miata. Got a promotion, and learned how to maintain my car. Sadly, i had an accident one sleeting morning. But i put all my finances down on paper, and tried to figure out what i could afford, and bought my mini that day. I've come a long way from being a lump on a log with no license or motivation, to a legal assistant with a mini cooper. I wouldn't be here if i hadn't have tried so hard on my own.

For the most part, kids i know who's parent's bought their cars, or are just paying a small sum to help them, don't appreciate it nearly as much. Same for parent's paying insurance on the cars until their in their early 20's. I'm sure the kids would straighten up if they had to pay those incredibly high insurance rates us less fortunate people have to pay for that new car What really drives me crazy, is that some parents even pay for the kid's gas. Take a trip across three states in a Yukon XL? No problem, sweetheart. Here's my credit card for "gas."

Since i'm close to that age range your son is... i can safely say the Tc does absolutely nothing for me. The MC has so many great features, and although it begs to be driven, it's not as crazy as an S. IMO, less horsepower can be a good thing. Especially when he's still young. But i think he should start out with beater and learn how to maintain that. I can say i'd never buy my kids first car, and i'd never buy them a new one. And you can bet they'd be off my insurance as soon as i can kick them off. The sooner they learn responsibilty, the better.

 

Nice story....:smile:

 

Bite your tongue. I'm 20 with a MINI (that i'm paying for in full.) It's STOCK, and it's staying that way :smile:

 

yeh? but you're a girl. Girls are smarter!
congrats on your car.