I guess you have never been to a Corvette show? 18,000 -25,000 Vettes built per year and they all seam to be a highly desired collector/hobby car.

Hey man, if you seriously think that a Cooper with a dealer-installed accessory package is going to be a "collectible" in ten years or whatever, hey man, more power to you.

A Cooper JCW will never be a Corvette. It's a over-priced hatchback with a nice interior. I love my car but I'm realistic about what I've got.

If I add aftermarket parts to my JCW, do I then have to hate myself?

Seriously, can we all get over ourselves and just enjoy the damn car?

A_Sr.

BAHAHAA!!! www.cars.com - you can get them REAL cheap!

That's quite a bit fewer than the Mini (Which is roughly twice number per year in the U.S. alone, and much higher than that worldwide), and BMW is tooling up to double production for the U.S.....I doubt the current incarnation of the mini will be a collectors item--there are just too many of them, with many, many more on the way. Plus the corvette is a totally different animal from the mini; a high performance sports car is going to be more of a collectable than the mini (Not bashing the mini, can't wait to get mine).

But who cares? Anyone who buys a relatively cheap car as an investment is crazy any way.

wow, a truism. but that goes far beyond the mere words.

Thats true whether you forged the pulley yourself in your basement and bolted it on yourself or if Mike Cooper himself installed the JCW kit.

Everyone thinks they have the best

Good Answer

Because Kaelarea got it right. Everyone think the have the answer (when in fact, everyone is probably wrong).

WTH does anyone care what anyone else does. What do you (that the plural you) care how someone else spends their money. Do whatever you want.

peace.

BTW, what's really funny about all this is neither side of this argument gives a rat's behind about the other sides opinion because they are all just that ... opinions. Opinons are free meaning they are not worth anything

The muscle car bubble will burst. If your talking Barrett-jackson there have been serveral articles where the Ferraria in the 80s were selling in the millions and today you can get them for under 200K (same car). Meanwhile, all the babyboomers are drooling over the cars they couldn't afford when they were 16 and can now.

So lets pay $100K for a Plymouth Superbird. THe fact that the speed channel keeps showing the same auction every thursday doesn't help it either.

Ever wonder why they old sold, say 500 hemis in any year. Try driving one of the beasts. Predictions are that the muscle car prices will drop like a rock and the V12s, real cars with racing heritages, will once again rise from the dust.

GOOD ONE

Dude, like bolt on the Hooker Headers, some glass packs, and an elderbrock Cam, maybe dual quad holleys and forget about that Carroll Shelby guy. Why pay $2000 more for some guy from Texas when I can DIY for $300???

How much for a 350GT going these days at Barrett-Jackson?

Forgive me for correcting you, but it's not "that" mass produced. And the JCW is other world. :smile: For me, what we're looking for is the word "classic". The current MINI and even more the JCW will become "classic" after the 07 arrives.

Bad analogy Chows — Carroll Shelby is a real tuner; JCW is a brand created in response to real tuners.

As for the numbers, we have to remember that those were developed by expert drivers. This is especially important for manual transmission as it has a much larger need for user input. Just like the airplanes I fly, the operating manual might tell me it will land in (lets say) 1,525 ft. and come to a complete stop, but you have to keep in mind the age and wear and tear on the aircraft and it's engine and brakes as well as the fact that the numbers had been developed either by a perfessional or were spit out by a computer crunching the numbers. I've alway learned to overestimate the numbers to be safe. For manual transmission it is much the same. If you can get a 6.2 on a stock JCW you are driving it just about perfect, but once again the MINI is not made for straight out speed. It was made for the twisties, so try following you friend through a road course and I'm sure you'll see the difference.

On the issue of tire size: I was confused with the bigger is better idea as well. They add more weight don't they? Since, I've been told that the larger the tire size the better the handling. Once again going back to the the idea that the MINI is made for the corners. I might be wrong on this issue as I learned it from a friend and not a professional.

show me where any literature says that? Any legitimate source (that JCW is a brand vice a product to enhance performance like all the other "tuners" except Michael Cooper has an in with the factory)?

*DEEP THROAT*.........follow the money

Its obvious these JCW/aftermarket parts arguments are fruitless for both sides. Kind of like siblings fighting over who licks the bowl.

It really don't matter as long as the cake gets baked but your all still in the same family.

Your ignorance is showing.

John Cooper Works garage has been tuning cars for race and street as long as Carrol Shelby, maybe longer.

It's true, JCW started as a racing car company in a small garage in 1946.

There is no point in arguing between JCW or aftermarket. Neither side is listening to the other. As to Carroll Shelby, That answer was too funny ... Deep Throat? Cooper was tuning long before Shelby.

Since this is a fruitless argument, its moot.

its your money, do what you want. Be happy

BTW, what happens if you got both JCW & Aftermarket bits on. Is that like a hybrid?

No, I'm sorry, it won't.

Is it me or are the 1 million or so Classic Minis that were produced worldwide pulling 2 or 3 X their original price tag for good condition cars? And I owned a Corvette for 10 years (or should I say paid to constantly maintain ) so I am familiar with the whole Corvette market.

...and, it's also true that BMW licensed the JCW name for a line of dealer installed new MINI accessories...

:finger:

The more I think about this, the more I think you're probably right (I actually hope you're right, but I still have some doubts). One thing I failed to take into account is the obsessive nature of the mini crowd (The mini is the type of thing that either you get it or you don't; there's really not much in between)--I don't mean this to be an insult, I include myself in this crowd. If you accept 20 years as the definition of "antique" or "collectible", it's probably safe to say that there will still be many hard core Mini fanatics in 20 years. How valuable the mini will be as a collectible however remains to be seen--I seriously doubt it will be worth 3x what it is now in 40 years, but I could be wrong...

IMHO though, the original Mini has a leg up on the Mini2 in with regard to achieving "collectable" status; I don't think there is a track record for retro throwbacks becoming collectables, at least not yet--the original is always going to have a certain amount of sentimental appeal. And it's also going to depend on how much BMW ramps up production, and for how long--if the mini becomes ubiquitous, for a long period of time, that will significantly decrease it's appeal (not only as a collectable, but as a "current" vehicle as well. I really hate to see BMW double the production; it's fairly obvious that one of the biggest selling points for the mini for many owners is it's uniqueness. I'd hate to see a Mini every 10 minutes; I love the fact that they're still relatively uncommon, and still get a charge everytime I see one).

See the new posting in under the hood?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...907#post629907

Kinda puts the mod vs JCW in perspective.

Love to know what the cost of fighting BMW add to the modding of your car.


Paul
Sleeping restfully at night without a lawyer on call.

i'd speculate this post gets somewhat close to answering the original topic:


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...67&postcount=3