Would you believe I was just told by some Ahole GM dinasaur sculpter yesterday that I should sell my Mini and buy an equivalent GM product like an Aveo or a Colbalt? Holly Sh#t...why didn't I think of that?:impatient

 

See, now this thread is just getting silly...

PS- Bought one not knowng the BMW connection? Sure. I didn't see it as a NEGATIVE, surely not, but it wasn't really somethign that made me want one more, either.

I've loved Mini's since I saw a '69 red with rally lights in college. Wanted one ever since, and now, FINALLY I have one.

Now to find that classic, red '69 and make it mine.... then my life will be complete.

 

Poor Guy. Everyone at my MINI dealership said there was no comparison between the two. I even rented a 325 for a couple of days "just to make sure" and really, there IS no comparison.

 

Everytime someone asks about my car .....I start with the heritage, and tell them that BMW bought the rights and designed and produced it. I am glad and a bit proud that BMW is behind the car.....and make NO mistake.....This car would not be the "ultimate driving machine" it IS without BMW

However......It is NOT a BMW, nor should it be, badging it as such is wrong and bastardization or the brand. It stands on its own and is distinctly diffrent than the BMW brand.
Branding is in a sense, a proclimation of values. Many brands owned by a single company, filling a niche in every segment of the market. And each of those niches have there own demographic......Pepole DO (sadly) care about brands because you are associating yourself to the image of that brand....rebadging is ONLY done by very insecure people who are obsessed by image and association......Im sure you remember some of these people from High school.....some people just never change

 

My plates on my 05 MCS JCW say BMRLITE . I have owned many BMWs including an E30 and E36 M3 and currently own a BMW E39 525iT wagon. I try to have fun in life and laugh rather worry about what everyone thinks. I didn't buy a MINI becasue I could not afford a BMW, I bought a MINI because I thought it was one of the most fun cars I had ever driven on the street.

The plates on my E36 M3 were 332IS as the E30 M3 owners claimed that the E36 M3 was not a real M3, but an updated 328is... to poke fun, I branded my car 332is.

My advise: relax, have a beer and poke some fun at yourself.

Vince

 

Touche...


Art

 

You can't say for sure, that's true. I can think of a few manufactures that could have engineered the Mini, and it would be every bit as good (if not better) than the BMW effort.

 

Damn man, better get that stick out of your *** before it kills you!

I'm not insecure, nor am i obsessed by image. I'm very prod that my car is from the BMW group of motorvehicles. God forbid our cars may have had ANY british engineering in them at all. (wel, it looks like the MCSa's have a little )

You my friend need to see thats its only an emblem. Its still a MINI, I dont go telling people my car is a BMW MINI, its a MINI Cooper. evryone that has seen the car has commented on how cool they badges look and how neat they are. I havent once heard yet that i'm an insecure person thats bastardizing the MINI.

 

If "it's only an emblem," then why change it? Sounds like insecurity looking for approval.

 

Looking for approval from who?

You?

Cause, i really dont care what YOU think of my car.

I put it on cause its a cool badge, cooler than a black and silver mini logo. Wait till i get my HSL badges and M/// pedals, you guys are going to have **** fits and your heads are probably gonna explode!

 

The fact that the MINI Cooper was made by BMW was a major factor in choosing to buy my MINI (that, and the free maintainance!). That said, I consider it a MINI, the success of MINI I believe is just attributable to the benefit of BMWs great engineering but its still not a BMW. As a long-time previous Volvo owner, it would be the same thing as calling a Volvo a Ford. But maybe thats a bad example cuz BMWs and MINIs are both very good cars and while Volvos are great, Fords are horrible... The point is, just because two cars are made by the same company they can still have very different identities. If you look at the car industry in general today, brands are being swallowed up by bigger brands, partnerships, etc. For example, you can hardly call a Bentley a VW even though they are made by the same company. The globalization of the car industry has led to national boundaries being blurred.. I mean even the MINI is made in GB but it has parts and components from Brazil and Germany...

 

I suppose people who debadge their Minis are ashamed of themselves and should seek professional help...

What about 90% of us who "modify" their Minis...what kind of head cases are we?

 

I have been reading the M62 thread and dreaming about that mod... but after reading this thread I'm thinking, 'why spend all that money when I could just slap BMW badges all over my Mini?'

How much extra horsepower would that give me? If I also put on a huge carbon fiber wing like the 16-year-old with the Civic next door would I be up to 220 WHP then?

 

Thank jeebus that common courtesy is not dead yet

Fwiw, not relating to rebadging but sort of relating to all the other stuff brought up here, I was recently told by a local club BMWCCA official that they asked and BMW would not let them have a Mini highlighted event. The local clubs may try to involve Mini owners on their own to help with membership, and the Coopers 'pass' to be registered for the club and events overall (a money driven choice I'm sure), but BMWNA has made it clear that it is first and foremost a BMW club and Minis are not BMWs. Of course, if they decide the the financial benefit is there this might change on the surface more (or start a MINICCA), but I'm sure the underlying POV will not change.

PS: Debadging, removing the identity queues, is not the same to me at all as putting some other badging/branding on that does not correspond with the vehicle and seems to be reaching. Different impression altogether. On the other hand, blatant silly badging is also different as its clearly for amusement. To each his own opinion..

 

Yep, you're absolutely right. Blatant silly badging is one thing, an attempt at humor, debadging is another, and rebadging is simply an effort to impress others. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't bother me, but whenever I see it, I snicker to myself, as do most (not all, but most) other people. Actually, I suppose it should be called Nonblatant silly badging, to stick with eVal's semantics. I suppose rebadging is no worse than the compulsion of many here to join as many nonexistent owners clubs as they can, and create silly badges for these...

For what it's worth, I wanted a Mini BEFORE I found out it was BMW owned, not after. I honestly didn't know of BMW's involvement until after I started researching it.

 

I'm convinced! Check out my bitchin' rebaged Mini...

 

This is simultaneously the dumbest and the most entertaining thread I've yet followed on NAM.

 

We try...

 

Oh this is nothing. There have been way crazier different opinion contentious threads

Edit: I just thought of a silly parallel to this scenario. Let's say I'm Johnny Carson's kid (or anyone famous). Do I go around introducing myself with my own name or say "Hi, I'm Johnny Carson's kid" with a shirt proclaiming that just to be sure people know it

 

The two usually go hand in hand....

 

So......is it good or not good to associate your car w/ BMW? I am so funcused. lol

 

Does anyone sell retro Mini badges for the new MINI?
Like this:

 

In my opinion the gist is that while its a good thing that your MINI is made by BMW, it is not a BMW, its a MINI Cooper. So there's nothing wrong with associating MINI Cooper with BMW but putting BMW badges on it may be a little silly, but to each his own. I've seen plenty of Hondas with Acura badges on them, and I think its just kinda sad. Its like saying, "well I can't afford the more expensive brand, so these badges will make me feel a little better about it." But there's definitely no shame in owning a MINI, be proud and celebrate the fact that you own a MINI Cooper!

 

I've seen NSX's with Honda badges.

 

When some idiot stole my rear badge, I replaced it with a sticker that looked just like that. After a couple years I decided to bite the bullet and get a proper badge again.