R55 :: Out Motoring :: MINI Messed up
5th Gear
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 603
Likes: 1
From: too far from Europe!
Who thinks the Clubman should have been badged as what it is marketed as? Namely, well the "Clubman". Yet it is still badged as a Cooper or Cooper S respectively with no emphasis on Clubman. In my opinion it should have been badged as a Clubman as it is a big enough deviation in features and scale that it should have been badged as a different model. They market it as a Clubman but the general public (from my perspective) is completely confused as the what to call it.
So, for those that agree with me, I have a solution. Just change the badging to say CLUBMAN. Replace the Cooper badge on the back with our kit and be done with it. No more confusion. Should you really feel like it should still have the Cooper badge on, that's okay too. Maybe add our CLUBMAN badge to the left door of put it right above or below the existing badge.....
What are your thoughts? I am completely off my rocker? Can you help justify why MINI badged it the way they did?
To go deeper into the past of how MINI has badged their cars, consider that the Cooper and Cooper were never really the name of the base model Mini's. They were called Austin, Rover, etc (depending on who owned it that year) "Mini" with sub-models like "Cooper", "1000", etc.....of course this changed when BMW bought Rover Group and finished the redesign of the Mini. They had to drop the brand name and called it MINI and made the sub-model badge carry more of the brand identity, hence they are now called "Cooper"...
Or am I totally off track and is okay to call it the "Cooper Clubman" as one may call the BMW 325 Station Wagon the "325 Wagon"....
...and lets not even get into the fact that the Clubman name does not really fit with the concept of the extended style body (should have been Traveler but was trademarked by Honda ..I think)....I would have preferred that Rover never designed the original Clubman that had the horrible front end......
....let the comments fly....
So, for those that agree with me, I have a solution. Just change the badging to say CLUBMAN. Replace the Cooper badge on the back with our kit and be done with it. No more confusion. Should you really feel like it should still have the Cooper badge on, that's okay too. Maybe add our CLUBMAN badge to the left door of put it right above or below the existing badge.....
What are your thoughts? I am completely off my rocker? Can you help justify why MINI badged it the way they did?
To go deeper into the past of how MINI has badged their cars, consider that the Cooper and Cooper were never really the name of the base model Mini's. They were called Austin, Rover, etc (depending on who owned it that year) "Mini" with sub-models like "Cooper", "1000", etc.....of course this changed when BMW bought Rover Group and finished the redesign of the Mini. They had to drop the brand name and called it MINI and made the sub-model badge carry more of the brand identity, hence they are now called "Cooper"...
Or am I totally off track and is okay to call it the "Cooper Clubman" as one may call the BMW 325 Station Wagon the "325 Wagon"....
...and lets not even get into the fact that the Clubman name does not really fit with the concept of the extended style body (should have been Traveler but was trademarked by Honda ..I think)....I would have preferred that Rover never designed the original Clubman that had the horrible front end......
....let the comments fly....
It's always a good experience when you order from them!
...hey Aaron,check my gallery to see how the r53 badges came out.
-kevin in Vegas
Vendor
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: New Albany, OH
And the kids all have their own MINI's, but they are just toys. I will just have to suffer with the MINIvan until I get at least two out of car seats.
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 317
Likes: 1
From: Nottinghamshire, UK
The rear badges are just stuck on with a heat-set adhesive. I ordered my car de-badged so I didn't take 'em off myself but I gather that the technique is just to warm them gently with a hair drier or heat gun and to run some fishing line or dental floss down behind them to release the adhesive so that the badges can be peeled off. Any adhesive remaining on the car can then be removed with household "sticky stuff remover".
The front badge isn't so easy as it is located on pins so that means a filler and respray job if you want to get rid of that too.
The front badge isn't so easy as it is located on pins so that means a filler and respray job if you want to get rid of that too.
5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 625
Likes: 0
From: San Francisco, CA
i kind of like the badges. i think the clubman badge replacing where it says cooper would be cool. clubman s this way you could celebrate your individuality. i guess to each his own but if i end up with a clubman i will also end up with a clubman badge.
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 3
From: South Florida
The proper name of this car should have been either Traveller or Countryman. The Clubman was not a Ëstate" It was a new front end body style designed by Roy Haynes in the early 1970's. The Clubman model lineup included both, the regular 2 door and the Estate models. Early 1970's Mini Clubmans have a squared off front end and the dashboard is more conventional. If you think of it, both the R56 and R55 are Clubmans! BMW claims that the Traveller name is copyrighted. Clubman is not historically accurate.
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 8,337
Likes: 8
From: oh10
It was called the Mini Clubman 1275gt ... and the MINI Clubman Estate which was the wagon.
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 8,337
Likes: 8
From: oh10
(If I were in to badges....these are the ones I would put on the back or under the turn signals)
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,972
Likes: 3
From: South Florida
Probably the 2 we have in our club are debadged then.
6th Gear
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,646
Likes: 1
From: Queens, NY
I like the idea, however the font looks like the one used on the JETTA rear.
Was there no way to use the Cooper font ... or would that get you guys in trouble?
Was there no way to use the Cooper font ... or would that get you guys in trouble?
Last edited by lurch70; Mar 20, 2008 at 07:19 AM.
I would think a nice vinyl logo could be made. Traveller, Countryman or George. Even using the same font as Cooper. The naming possibilities are almost endless.
How BMW let those trade marked names get away is beyond my understanding.
How BMW let those trade marked names get away is beyond my understanding.
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 8,337
Likes: 8
From: oh10
http://youremblem.com/catalog/