Why did they do what they did to the mini?

Andy From Sligo

Special Circumstances wrote: »

You think the new minis look good? The 5 door?



Seriously though... that grille, that bumper... that ass?

if you (/they) were gonna go to all that trouble of re-styling the whole bodywork so far away from the classic mini , why not go the whole hog and hieghten the height of the roof as well why your/they at it!!

JohnBoy26

Special Circumstances wrote: »

You think the new minis look good? The 5 door?



Seriously though... that grille, that bumper... that ass?

No I don't, (I think the mini only really works as a 3 door) but it' still far better than the chinese one you posted above

Special Circumstances

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

No I don't, (I think the mini only really works as a 3 door) but it' still far better than the chinese one you posted above

I can picture you in the coupe alright!

millington

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

Mini's loved them - why when they re-introduced them to the market did they have to radicalise them and change them so much?

The good ol' 998cc Mini used to be a cheap car ... now what is this mini for, the elite with its high price?

Mini - used to be a small car, great to drive on bends, low to the ground, ultra easy to park

Why didnt they just keep bodywork/style the same but bring the 998cc engine up to date (removed the carb and replace it with mpi and ECU and unleaded) and just update the breaking and the dash and put in steering wheel with airbag, central locking and leave it at that?

Wouldnt it have been a great little runaround cheap economical car for people like me who used to love the old type minis?

They were in business and new Minis made money. A lot more than the old ones I'd say. Simple answer!

Andy From Sligo

millington wrote: »

They were in business and new Minis made money. A lot more than the old ones I'd say. Simple answer!

was it a demographic type thing because I know the classic mini's sold like hot cakes in the UK, nice little economical runaround, cheap to tax, insure, ideal if you just passed your test, dirt cheap to buy - so they were good sellers in UK .... but as that was going on what was there sales like in the ROI ... when i used to come to Ireland years ago in late 80'90's I dont think i hardly see any mini's driving around

macplaxton

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

we need a good (safe) small size car of old original mini dimensions here in Ireland with a 1.0 litre SPI or MPI engine in it for car Tax etc

Putting aside the question of what is / isn't a classic (which would be an endless thread in itself) what we need here in Classic Cars is chat about classic cars, not modern revivals.

There's the main Motors section for that.