WHY??? Who's been asking for this horrible monstrosity? I'm not sure if I understand the point? It's not big enough to be a wagon... not small enough to be "sporty". Looks to me like they are creating some sort of second rate Subaru.

 

Is the front end of the traveller what we can expect for Mini's in the future... not sure if I like it or not. I've gotta see it in person. The placement of the front ornament is odd.

 

Just found an item with photos at the MSN Auto Show site of the Travler Concept






Pretty exetreme

 

This is the same MINI that was shown in at the Frankfurt, Germany auto show. I've also seen it on highlights from a couple car TV shows since. It's a concept car but you can be sure something close to it will probably show up in 2008-2009 as a second model available from MINI. A friend from NYC was in Frankfurt for the show and was impressed. But he does drive an Audi.

 

The interior is HORRIBLE! The speedo/navi console looks like a wart! The seats are ugly! On top of that, for a little ewagon the storage space in the back looks pretty useless. How is this "functional" (the popular description for this car)?

lame... glad i bought a '06 and didn't wait! If this is where Mini is going I just hope Alfa Romeo ends up back in the US market sooner rather than later!

 

Belch.

 

a front seat that moves like that would be GREAT for crash tests

 

It kind of reminds me of a Ford Pinto Wagon. I wonder if it explodes if you rear end it?

 

off topic question regarding the pic posted on this thread.
the red mini looks like the one that won from canada. I also have a red 06 MINI Cooper S and was thinking about that hood scoop addition. Is that any worth or not really? if someone has a link to this question plz let me know and thanks.

 

Chunks are flying.

 

of all the concepts they have recently shown, I prefer the franfurt version. I like the blue color but not the way they did it on the detroit version. I hate the booger green color mixed with the bronze though it's artistically whimsical. Then again I'm looking at it as a peice of art not a productional feat. I do hope they show a production version someday.

 

Yes,
that is the 04 ? MCS JCW that won the "unlimited" class at the Targa Newfoundland ... The scoop will work better, as M7 scoop does even better

 

The silliest thing about this concept is the fact that they had it at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit... yet the doors were closed and locked the entire time. Why put all that effort into the interior if you arent even going to let people see it?!?

 

Those seats in the Targa newfoundland MINI are no longer available in the US, they are the Corbeau Pro Sport Series ... They are OUT of production and stock
http://www.motorsportseats.com/corbeau/prosport.html

 

I was pretty unimpressed with the way they handled it. I went with a friend on a regular, public day and noticed that it was locked up with the doors shut. I also went the week before on a press day and that was almost as bad. They had a film crew there for hours and hours; I had to come back four times before I finally was able to get any closeup shots without the film crew and me getting in each other's way. Other still photographers had the same problem. And, when we finally were able to get close with the doors open, some of the German overlords (I can say that: I'm half-German) became visibly agitated.

They had a fun setup there at NAIAS but the over-protectiveness of the concept car was a real negative. Presumably, they want prospective customers to actually see the car and some good publicity from the press but you wouldn't know it from the way they were behaving.

Mark

 

Perhaps they choose to lock up the interior because it is getting closer to the date when the 2007 shape will finally be in production and the simple fact that the interior and the funky doors will not be a part of the 2007 production?

 

Good point but, presumably, the ski stuff and quite a few other things aren't representative of the production version, either, plus BMW has released some fairly detailed shots of the interior.

My impression, and it's just that, is that it was a bit poorly organized and some of the people there didn't quite understand why they and the car were there. It was unfortunate because they clearly worked hard at making a good, fun presentation in the MINI area and were mostly successful but the way they handled the Traveller was in complete opposition to that fun image and their efforts to get some good PR. I came very close to giving up and spending my time with someone more cooperative.

Mark

 

Thats so true. The rest of the disply was fun, vibrant, loud, exciting, etc.. the Traveller was like a hole in the middle of the display. No one was looking at it. There was nothing exciting going on. It was just locked up in a pen.

 

Here are pics that I took last weekend

 

Besides, if it was open do you think that the gloves, goggles would have survived intact?

 

Really hate to say this, and please don't punish me for it, but...



...it looks an awful lot like the Chevy HHR minus a couple of doors. *GASP*

Please forgive me for saying that.

 

Since the car was roped off on a platform, yes. It would have made it easier to see the interior and I don't think it would have put the car or its contents at risk.

Mark