Quote:
Originally Posted by cct1
The MINI stands on it's own, it doesn't need any more justification as a serious car by putting a different, more prestigious badge on it.

Agreed, thats why i've been "thinking" about this so much recently. I'm just going with this mini motorsports idea and fly with it now.

I do understand the whole Rover and storyline in general. So don't get me wrong the MINI brand, is its own for a reason. But fortunately BMW did play a big part in its success. And like said before on this thread, we wouldn't be driving such a wonderfull machine without them. That's pretty much all I'm getting at.

As for Hondas/Acuras, thats all (to me) just marketing to make more money in the US, from their parent companies. Just my opinion obviously.

 

What car maker uses only their own parts 100%? I mean mass-production car company.

That's exactly why I'm working on the MINI MOTORSPORTS BADGE. Just to clarify, in my previous post, that emblem was just showing a vintage badge that many real BMW enthuists desire for their BMW's.

Not quite sure I've ever heard of anyone doing this, besides Acura themselves and the guys that used to install "upside down" acura emblems, which stood for: Hot rod Honda (yeah not making that up). It was always vise-versa. Honda emblems going onto Acuras. However people adding Honda badges to their Acura's was popular to some. (again because they were just honda's with Acura badges to make the US think they were more than just Honda's. (like i said before, Acura is just a marketing scheme by Honda to make a car seem more luxurious than it really is, but hey its worked till this day.) Same as various other companies, Toyota/lexus is of course another good one.

Totally agreed, but a "more prestigious badge" was never my intent in the way of BMW being more of a pretegious "brand" than the MINI. But a more prestigious badge for the MINI, yes. That's my goal. Not just the Black circle with MINI. Something that shows there's more to the name MINI... If that makes a little more sense. This is impossible for me to explain without showing examples of what I'm trying to acheive. Soon I will, and everyone that might care about this will be able to chime in. And i also still can't justify using any sort of "sticker" type product for this, but obviously that's what I'll use at first to really see what works and what doesnt. So real bages/roundels will be made out of my design to exact mm specs, for complete re-badging. Dammnn, I have to start my own thread!

As the the R56 and on, whatever happens, unfortunately happens, and they are coming out with so many other models, that I don't even try to understand where they are going with MINI, just where its been. And how happy I am that everything worked out the exact way that it did, that left us in this beautifully tunned machine. But again this is just my .02cents.

 

This in weird, over thought (on my part at least) philosophical sense is the crux of the issue. A car is the sum of its parts; it's a global economy, pieces come from everywhere.

But here's the thing. The engine in the R53 is the modified Dodge Tritec, basically the heart of the car. Has ANYONE ever rebadged, or even considered rebadging, their MINI a Dodge? Of course not.

For the sake of argument, let's say that the engine for the R53 was outsourced from Lamborghini. Would people rebadge their MINI's with a Lambo badge? I don't know about you, but if that were the case, I'd buy stock in Lambo badges, because there would be a market for it; the very same people wanting to get the Roundel on their car would be slobbering all over the place for an excuse to put a Lambo badge on.

The badge is there for one thing only: prestige. Which is the antithesis of what the MINI is about, at least the original. Especially in the '60s, when people, including more than a few stars, especially in music, bought them because they were the anti-ferrari.


Now, on the other hand, I really like your MINI motorsports idea. That's unique, and goes along with the heritage of the car.

Ok, off my soapbox now, good luck with your car. Time to go out and drive mine!

 

Yeah we've covered well enough, with whole history agreed!!!

So the motorsports badge is in the working. And I'm gonna end that on that note. I will start a new thread about just that, so all this other info doesn't even get into the topic of my goal.

But its been fun.

 

I have and they fixed it without asking any question

I worked as a salesmen for a dealership in Calgary for over 9 years we have a account with Universal Ford and we take all our new non BMW Rovers and Jags to ford.

All land rovers are owned by India Tata motors ltd

 

Brilliant!

 

Really?? Come on now.

 

When I bring my MINI to my local MINI dealer for service, after I check it in, the service manager actually drives it over to BMW service center. My MINI dealer, though they technically have a service dept and a service waiting area, has no service mechanics nor service bays of its own.

 

Oh thats Got to get some wannabee purist stomachs turning.

WOW! This thread is old and doesn't seem to want to die. And some of the remarks that are not only idiotic but also made without any knowledge of how the automotive world works.

Actually back in the day when the Japanese car companies tried to take a deep stab at the European auto market they invented Lexus, Infinity, Acura, etc. YES those cars were made to compete with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, VW, etc. Toyota is Lexus, Honda is Acura, Nissan is Infinity. Does not matter how anyone tries to slice it thats just the reality of it. As for Mazda and Ford, hell the Big Three tried anything to keep their heads above water and that included making deals with Japanese car companies. Some of the other Asian auto makers are subsidiaries of the Japanese auto markers. And even then transmissions and motors are not always manufactured by the actual car manufacturer. Gawd I thought most people knew this. Hell the transmission used in the Mini is used in other cars too. The car companies save money by having a manufacture that specializes in making that part for them. Many times they share the same part with another car or at least the basis of that part. I love it when Jeep guys down Japanese cars and always preaching buy american when even the 1980's Cherokee's they are driving around and so covet had a Japanese transmissions and other parts. A guy I worked with was so hell bent on only owning a 4x4 that was 100% USA made and would never ever bend to using a Japanese part swore by International Scouts. Until I enlightened him that Scouts came with a Diesel engine too, a diesel engine made by Nissan.

The MINI is a BMW car. It is part of the BMW Group. Just like Volkswagen AG owns other cars and yes that Bugatti Veyron is a VW engine. If you don't like that then tuff. Thats the way it works in the automotive world. And yes I will wait for idiots and so called purist to try and prove it wrong. But thats the way the cookie crumbles.

The thread began with some one crying about a fellow Mini owner that had a BMW license plate.
I do not think the OP is a jerk. Just a bit to sensitive. A license plate? Maybe he posted a photo later but I did not see one in the complaint. So who really knows what type of license plate it was? Maybe the dealership that sold the car put it on because thats something very very common. Maybe the guy is an actual engineer from BMW and he is proud of his job and the things that they make. Who really knows. If the guy was trying to turn the MINI's image into a BMW then thats maybe a bit tacky. But hey its his or her car and If Billy Joe Bob wants to install Bacon Wagon Wheels on his MINI then good for him, I say go for it Billy Joe Bob…. because no matter how much of a tight *** some one is everyone loves Bacon no matter how much they might try and deny it.

 

Ha ha I had a laugh reading this thread myself. What a bunch of hypocrites, whining about an emblem swap. Everywhere I look on this site, I see people putting Union Jack crap on their cars, and referring to the 'bonnet' and 'boot' like they're from the UK or something. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

These cars are well known to be BMW vehicles, have been long before any of the new Minis were made, and are about as British as a plate of Egg Foo Yung. LOL. I'm tempted to go get my own Roundels, just for the satisfaction of twisting up the panties of the 'Mini- purists' on the boards. You guys are hilarious.

 

Purity has its place. Like something that is extremely rare and should be kept as original as possible. I just get a kick out of how someone could be such a purist with a Gen1 or Gen2 Mini. HAHAHA!!!!!

To me this is no different then any other BMW because it is a BMW and I could absolutely careless for status symbols. I don't see people bleeding out when someone has Dinan tags/plates/etc on their Mini's.

http://www.dinancars.com/products/MI...-Cooper#page=1