[Joel_Zimmerman]

I just thought to make a point to people about this, not not point fingers at owners of any BMW 'Bini', as I was part of a family which owned one. When my parents bought a brand new BMW Mini Cooper S, the merit for my father soon wore out and a few thoughts came to mind...

The Mini looked small on the outside but was roomier on the inside than most people's guesses. The average man/woman could lean down on the car's roof as it was lower than shoulder height. The BMW Mini, well, it's the opposite. When I first came up to the car, I was excited and thought it must have plenty of space inside, but I was pretty darn wrong. I'd say there is less rear leg room in the BMW Mini than the Mini.

The Mini was affordable for most people. It came between 850cc and 1,275cc and could be bought, brand new, as a first driver's car with enough cash to spend on its insurance... which wouldn't be too much either. The BMW Mini is too expensive for what it is; I live in England and the cheapest is �11,810, which is near enough $19,015 at the current exchange rate. I have been looking at a Mini Cooper 1.3i Sport (John Cooper Works) which cashes in at $15,335 (Canadian Dollars). This includes all shipping, handling, taxes and insurance to be sent to the UK via container vessel. A BMW Mini (John Cooper Works) starts at �22,330, which is near enough $35,960.

Yeah, sure BMW is trying to make steps forward but there's no need to make it fugly, increase its size dramatically and start putting 2.0L engines into it. You can buy brand new Jaguar E-Types which use the exact same shell mould, but they put modern brakes and engines etc into it. Still though, it's technically original. The monstrosities they call the Mini Countryman and Paceman are just too large. What part of the word or name, 'miniature' or 'Mini', have BMW not taken into account? If I wanted to drive on the green, I'd purchase a GMC Sierra or something.

Am I the only one which sees what BMW has done to this British iconic image? No wonder my family got sick of it after three months of ownership. Uncomfortable seats, increased tyre-wear, over-sizing and crap handling wasn't part of the deal either. I don't care what people say about style, an 'in thing', looks, cool, chic etc because that's not what the Mini was an icon for. It was made to a budget, for people on a budget.

Way to go, BMW. Make it available for the nostalgic types and aim to get customers to buy this lie of 'Deutsch' engineering, not 'British'. Why not buy out Fiat's new 500 market line and make it into an SUV? Even then, the Fiat 500 is called '500' because of its 500cc engine. Where's the 500cc engine in the new range?

[WhoolioPreludee]

Well imo the same holds true for the Fiat 500 but there are demands that customers will not budge on. I could also say the same about the honda s800 to the s2000, the original civic to the now pricey civic, and so on.... yes original car spirit and original philosophy may be lost but car companies try to please everyone including the government. Im sure older vehicles don't fare as well for the passenger as newer ones do. Yes the older car may do better in terms of the vehicle itself but it s the passenger that matters most in the end.

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[_StephenBB81]

It isn't only BMW or Consumers,

BUT governments have ruined the concept that the Mini, or the First Civic, or Fiat 500,

The safety requirements of a vehicle today prevent the building of those ultra low cost, small, vehicles.

Just measure the thickness of the average door panel today compared to a pre 1985 car. all the things that must be included now to be "safe" on the road, have taken away what made the Austin Mini a fun little car, can't build that anymore even if you wanted to and sell it to the North American Market, or much of the EU market

[Joel_Zimmerman]

Very true, Our Euro NCAP Safety is just through the roof with health and safety standards. Though, one thing does bug me. The Range Rover line of vehicles all have impeccable safety standards, but this is a bit too obvious why. If a Range Rover was to have a head-on collision with an Audi A1 at 50mph, which has a 5* NCAP Safety score, the Audi's safety is made completely redundant as the Range Rover would just flatten the Audi. There were teenagers who were driving a Vauxhall Corsa which has good safety standards and the driver of a BMW X5 hit them head-on. The Corsa's driver was killed and the three other passengers were injured. The X5's bumper was higher than the Corsa's and it unfortunately crushed the driver.

And about the old cars making a comeback, I think that's also true. It's just like MG. They're not English any more, they got bought out by a foreign company and their 'comeback' has made buyers horde the vehicles. It's just like the Volkswagen Beetle; it costs more money than other cars in its class and it's actually not as good as the rest. Just the companies taking advantage of the consumers. If only buyers would look into specifications first.