R50/53 Rebadging as a BMW
6th Gear
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From: SF Bay Area
The association is well and good, but that has nothing to do with swapping the badges to a brand/logo it was never sold under?
Anyway, to each his/her own, do whatcha ya like - just don't be surprised that when you swap the badges out people may get the impression that you are not proud of your Mini as it is.
As for whether I'd have bought it if it was not made by BMW - darn tootin I would have if it the result was the same car. I bought it based on the car, not BMW - having had bimmers for years and the often crappy service the BMW part was actually a merit against it. Franky I wish it was a Lexus offshoot
Anyway, to each his/her own, do whatcha ya like - just don't be surprised that when you swap the badges out people may get the impression that you are not proud of your Mini as it is.
As for whether I'd have bought it if it was not made by BMW - darn tootin I would have if it the result was the same car. I bought it based on the car, not BMW - having had bimmers for years and the often crappy service the BMW part was actually a merit against it. Franky I wish it was a Lexus offshoot
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Lexus???
Toyota can't design a good looking car if their lives depended on it!
As a matter of fact, most Asian automakers suffer from the same fault.
Eval, if the MINI had been built and design by Chery, the Chinese car company, would you have still bought it?
C'mmon dude! Be honest....
Toyota can't design a good looking car if their lives depended on it!
As a matter of fact, most Asian automakers suffer from the same fault.
Eval, if the MINI had been built and design by Chery, the Chinese car company, would you have still bought it?
C'mmon dude! Be honest....
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Originally Posted by DarkMiniCooperS
A MINI is a MINI... not a BMW 
btw, a MINI with BMW badges is not the worst... I've seen this truck 3 years ago.
btw, a MINI with BMW badges is not the worst... I've seen this truck 3 years ago.
Dude a MINI is not a Mini. A MINI its a MINI
The MINI carries on with the spirit of the classic BMC/Rover Mini, but the Mini and MINI are 2 separate animals
In fact, when BMW bought rover in 1994, technically, Classic Rover Minis built between 1994 and 1998-99 could also be called BMW Minis.
.It seems to me within the NAM community there is an unfounded hatred of BMW. Thanks to the kraut boys, our beloved cars exist today.
I personally would not have given serious consideration to the MINI had it been built by any automaker other than BMW.
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Quebec City, Qc
Originally Posted by C4
Hey Danny is that you???
Dude a MINI is not a Mini. A MINI its a MINI
The MINI carries on with the spirit of the classic BMC/Rover Mini, but the Mini and MINI are 2 separate animals
In fact, when BMW bought rover in 1994, technically, Classic Rover Minis built between 1994 and 1998-99 could also be called BMW Minis. .
It seems to me within the NAM community there is an unfounded hatred of BMW. Thanks to the kraut boys, our beloved cars exist today.
I personally would not have given serious consideration to the MINI had it been built by any automaker other than BMW.
Dude a MINI is not a Mini. A MINI its a MINI
The MINI carries on with the spirit of the classic BMC/Rover Mini, but the Mini and MINI are 2 separate animals
In fact, when BMW bought rover in 1994, technically, Classic Rover Minis built between 1994 and 1998-99 could also be called BMW Minis.
.It seems to me within the NAM community there is an unfounded hatred of BMW. Thanks to the kraut boys, our beloved cars exist today.
I personally would not have given serious consideration to the MINI had it been built by any automaker other than BMW.
Sure...
Originally Posted by C4
And let's be honest here....
Most folks would have never considered/purchased the MINI if it had been for the BMW background.
How many of you would have still bought this car if it had been made by Rover or some Chinese company???
Most folks would have never considered/purchased the MINI if it had been for the BMW background.
How many of you would have still bought this car if it had been made by Rover or some Chinese company???
Matt
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I don't believe for a minute that, in a country where 99% of the population is so hung up in badges, the MINI would have turned out to be a success had the car being manufactured by someone else other than BMW.
Face it, the BMW association helped the MINI tremendously. This car would have not seen the light of day, much less being imported into North America, had it been a product from some obscure and rather unknown British automaker (Rover).
Face it, the BMW association helped the MINI tremendously. This car would have not seen the light of day, much less being imported into North America, had it been a product from some obscure and rather unknown British automaker (Rover).
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If the development of the next gen MINI had been left in the hands of Rover, it is very likely that the car we have today would have been a convulated design mess with the driving dynamics and quality of an East German Trabant.
Read Graham Robson's book. Look at some of the pics of what Rover "believed" the next MINI should have been. Than you BMW for stepping in. That's all I have to say.
Read Graham Robson's book. Look at some of the pics of what Rover "believed" the next MINI should have been. Than you BMW for stepping in. That's all I have to say.
This I surely doubt!
Originally Posted by C4
That's all I have to say.
I'm sure the association helped, and I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't have handeled as well without BMW help.
But I still would have bought one from joe schmoe if it handled and performed as well as the Mini/BMW varient. No claims that others would or not.
Matt
personally, to get back to badging, I don't need no stinking badges, and if the didn't have those little locating pins, they'd all be off the car!
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,802
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From: SF Bay Area
Originally Posted by C4
Lexus???
Toyota can't design a good looking car if their lives depended on it!
As a matter of fact, most Asian automakers suffer from the same fault.
Eval, if the MINI had been built and design by Chery, the Chinese car company, would you have still bought it?
C'mmon dude! Be honest....
Toyota can't design a good looking car if their lives depended on it!
As a matter of fact, most Asian automakers suffer from the same fault.
Eval, if the MINI had been built and design by Chery, the Chinese car company, would you have still bought it?
C'mmon dude! Be honest....
OVERDRIVE
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,926
Likes: 40
From: Greensboro, NC
Originally Posted by eVal
You're missing the point, your question was if the Mini had been built by someone else would we have bought it.
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Let's go back in time, shall we?
Here are some renditions of what our friends over at Rover, "believed" the successor to the classic Mini should have looked like:
The 1997 ACV30 Concept (30th year Monte Carlo aniversary edition) (The car that only Pontiac Solstice owners could love):
Mid 1990's Rover 200 with the K-series engine that almost went into the current MK1 MINI but could not fit due to its size: (Interesting piece of trivia----> As soon as the development of the R50 MINI was completed, there was no suitable engine for it as late as 1995. Since the Rover 200 K-series engine could not fit in the small and cramped engine bay, BMW/Rover set out to find another carmarker to quickly help develop from the ground a new power plant for the R50 MINI. In the end, then Chrysler Corporation in Detroit won the bid to develop the new engines for the next MINI and hence the TRITECS were born. Chrysler engineers did a terrific work in the development work of the new engines and by the end of 1996 they already had provided running and fully functional TRITEC engines to be fitted into test mule R50 MINIs. BMW was very pleased with the work of Chrysler engineers in Detroit and as they say, the rest is history...).
If BMW had abandoned Rover/MINI they would have probably gone with something like this: (1993 BMW Z13 concept)
The Z13 concept was a 3 seater car. Note the seating arragement.
This was the UGLIEST MINI concept of its time:
The 1995 Rover Spiritual, slated to be a likely Mini candidate replacement (YUCK!):
Rover Mini Metro (Sexy, eh?)
Thank you Frank Stephenson and BMW for bringing sanity back to the automobile world!
Here are some renditions of what our friends over at Rover, "believed" the successor to the classic Mini should have looked like:
The 1997 ACV30 Concept (30th year Monte Carlo aniversary edition) (The car that only Pontiac Solstice owners could love):
Mid 1990's Rover 200 with the K-series engine that almost went into the current MK1 MINI but could not fit due to its size: (Interesting piece of trivia----> As soon as the development of the R50 MINI was completed, there was no suitable engine for it as late as 1995. Since the Rover 200 K-series engine could not fit in the small and cramped engine bay, BMW/Rover set out to find another carmarker to quickly help develop from the ground a new power plant for the R50 MINI. In the end, then Chrysler Corporation in Detroit won the bid to develop the new engines for the next MINI and hence the TRITECS were born. Chrysler engineers did a terrific work in the development work of the new engines and by the end of 1996 they already had provided running and fully functional TRITEC engines to be fitted into test mule R50 MINIs. BMW was very pleased with the work of Chrysler engineers in Detroit and as they say, the rest is history...).
If BMW had abandoned Rover/MINI they would have probably gone with something like this: (1993 BMW Z13 concept)
The Z13 concept was a 3 seater car. Note the seating arragement.
This was the UGLIEST MINI concept of its time:
The 1995 Rover Spiritual, slated to be a likely Mini candidate replacement (YUCK!):
Rover Mini Metro (Sexy, eh?)
Thank you Frank Stephenson and BMW for bringing sanity back to the automobile world!
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BMW always intended for the next MINI to have dual over head cams and variable valve lift technology as far back as 1994. But due to cost/time constraints, BMW soon abandoned the idea and went along with Rover in the quick development of an engine that would fit the engine bay of the R50 MINI. Rover insisted that the K-series engine simply HAD TO FIT somehow (In their eternal quest to keep the car more ROVER than BMW, but it ended up being neither and went MOPAR) and this is when then Chrysler Corporation became involved in the design of the TRITEC and contrary to popular belief, BMW was pretty much involved in the development of the current MINI engine.
I am bothering to go into all this trivia so people can see how "deep" and crucial was the BMW connection in order to save the Mini from the doom of automotive extinction.
Be proud of the propeller heritage behind the 21st century MINI. Without it, this car would have ceased to exist 6 years ago.
I am bothering to go into all this trivia so people can see how "deep" and crucial was the BMW connection in order to save the Mini from the doom of automotive extinction.
Be proud of the propeller heritage behind the 21st century MINI. Without it, this car would have ceased to exist 6 years ago.
5th Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Raleigh, NC
Originally Posted by Aquasar
Mine will always keep the badges it came with but to those who have no idea what a MINI is it helps to tell them BMW owns MINI, then the light comes on...
Art
Art
I absolutely hate when my wife tells people that BMW owns Mini. It always makes me feel like I'm trying to be "better" than I am.
As for the badges.... do what you want, but it's NOT a BMW. If it were, you would go to the BMW dealer to purchase one. Again, feels like you're just trying to impress someone.
It's not like some acura owners putting honda badges on their cars (no acura outside the US). Actually, that's almost entirely different since they're cheapening their car to the "masses" who know no better.
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Originally Posted by sgabela
So BMW fools us both ways, is not german and is not british. Well we are going to fool everybody else
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Actually I have seen kids putting Honda badges on older Acura Integras as these make the car look more "Pure" and "Rare" since the Acura brand is not offered outside of North America..... Ahh gotcha!!!
To each his/her own. I proudly point out the BMW heritage behind this car.
Have you seen the door placard????
It says: Manufactured by BMW (Bayerischen Motoren Werke) Group AG.
Even the first letter of the VIN serial number begins with "W" which means point of origin "West Germany" although the car is completely assembled in Oxford, UK.
I still don't understand the BMW hatred in NAM, I really don't
To each his/her own. I proudly point out the BMW heritage behind this car.
Have you seen the door placard????
It says: Manufactured by BMW (Bayerischen Motoren Werke) Group AG.
Even the first letter of the VIN serial number begins with "W" which means point of origin "West Germany" although the car is completely assembled in Oxford, UK.
I still don't understand the BMW hatred in NAM, I really don't
Originally Posted by JeffS
I absolutely hate when my wife tells people that BMW owns Mini. It always makes me feel like I'm trying to be "better" than I am.
As for the badges.... do what you want, but it's NOT a BMW. If it were, you would go to the BMW dealer to purchase one. Again, feels like you're just trying to impress someone.
It's not like some acura owners putting honda badges on their cars (no acura outside the US). Actually, that's almost entirely different since they're cheapening their car to the "masses" who know no better.
As for the badges.... do what you want, but it's NOT a BMW. If it were, you would go to the BMW dealer to purchase one. Again, feels like you're just trying to impress someone.
It's not like some acura owners putting honda badges on their cars (no acura outside the US). Actually, that's almost entirely different since they're cheapening their car to the "masses" who know no better.
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 931
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From: NW Georgia, USA
C4 got it right, the MINI would be pitiful at best without BMW's influence.
Honda or Toyota/Lexus would have watered it down to the point that it'd be no fun to drive. There'd be 2 or 3 option bundles, pick your color, and transmission....minimal variety. Just try to order a Toyota or Lexus based on the possible options listed in the car's brochure. You'll quickly run into the brick wall of "Toyota doesn't allocate that option for your area. Why don't you tell me what color you want and forget about that stick shift? You don't need it anyway." Those Scions are real screamers aren't they? How about the heated seats and Xenon headlights? Oh yeah...Toyota decided for you that you didn't need those.
Ford would have made it with anemic Focus mechanical parts and built it so cheaply that it'd fall apart within 20K miles.
GM would have made sure that 99.9% of them would have had automatic transmissions, then make it lean so bad it'd scrape off the mirrors if you tried to take a turn in a sporting manner.
BMW (and maybe Porsche) are the only manufacturers that would have made a MINI something worth owning. I know I wouldn't have even looked at them if any other automaker was involved.
Rawhyde
Honda or Toyota/Lexus would have watered it down to the point that it'd be no fun to drive. There'd be 2 or 3 option bundles, pick your color, and transmission....minimal variety. Just try to order a Toyota or Lexus based on the possible options listed in the car's brochure. You'll quickly run into the brick wall of "Toyota doesn't allocate that option for your area. Why don't you tell me what color you want and forget about that stick shift? You don't need it anyway." Those Scions are real screamers aren't they? How about the heated seats and Xenon headlights? Oh yeah...Toyota decided for you that you didn't need those.
Ford would have made it with anemic Focus mechanical parts and built it so cheaply that it'd fall apart within 20K miles.
GM would have made sure that 99.9% of them would have had automatic transmissions, then make it lean so bad it'd scrape off the mirrors if you tried to take a turn in a sporting manner.
BMW (and maybe Porsche) are the only manufacturers that would have made a MINI something worth owning. I know I wouldn't have even looked at them if any other automaker was involved.
Rawhyde
OVERDRIVE
Joined: May 2003
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From: Greensboro, NC
Originally Posted by Rawhyde
C4 got it right, the MINI would be pitiful at best without BMW's influence.
Honda or Toyota/Lexus would have watered it down to the point that it'd be no fun to drive. There'd be 2 or 3 option bundles, pick your color, and transmission....minimal variety. Just try to order a Toyota or Lexus based on the possible options listed in the car's brochure. You'll quickly run into the brick wall of "Toyota doesn't allocate that option for your area. Why don't you tell me what color you want and forget about that stick shift? You don't need it anyway." Those Scions are real screamers aren't they? How about the heated seats and Xenon headlights? Oh yeah...Toyota decided for you that you didn't need those.
Ford would have made it with anemic Focus mechanical parts and built it so cheaply that it'd fall apart within 20K miles.
GM would have made sure that 99.9% of them would have had automatic transmissions, then make it lean so bad it'd scrape off the mirrors if you tried to take a turn in a sporting manner.
BMW (and maybe Porsche) are the only manufacturers that would have made a MINI something worth owning. I know I wouldn't have even looked at them if any other automaker was involved.
Rawhyde
Honda or Toyota/Lexus would have watered it down to the point that it'd be no fun to drive. There'd be 2 or 3 option bundles, pick your color, and transmission....minimal variety. Just try to order a Toyota or Lexus based on the possible options listed in the car's brochure. You'll quickly run into the brick wall of "Toyota doesn't allocate that option for your area. Why don't you tell me what color you want and forget about that stick shift? You don't need it anyway." Those Scions are real screamers aren't they? How about the heated seats and Xenon headlights? Oh yeah...Toyota decided for you that you didn't need those.
Ford would have made it with anemic Focus mechanical parts and built it so cheaply that it'd fall apart within 20K miles.
GM would have made sure that 99.9% of them would have had automatic transmissions, then make it lean so bad it'd scrape off the mirrors if you tried to take a turn in a sporting manner.
BMW (and maybe Porsche) are the only manufacturers that would have made a MINI something worth owning. I know I wouldn't have even looked at them if any other automaker was involved.
Rawhyde
Ford would've called it "Capri III"
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The earth is indeed flat!!!!!!
Last I checked, MINI is a BMW Group brand....
www.bmwgroup.com
I wonder if the Rolls Royce owners have the same debate, whether their Phantoms are more BMW than RR, LOL
Hey maybe even someone yanked out the flying lady out of the hood of a Phantom and put a properller there instead! (Or a MINI badge)
Last I checked, MINI is a BMW Group brand....
www.bmwgroup.com
I wonder if the Rolls Royce owners have the same debate, whether their Phantoms are more BMW than RR, LOL
Hey maybe even someone yanked out the flying lady out of the hood of a Phantom and put a properller there instead! (Or a MINI badge)