MINI Countryman; Paceman in 2012, WRC Edition

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Joey D

Joey D

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It looks...uhhh...weird. I love the style of the Mini but it doesn't work as an SUV...errr SAV as BMW calls it.

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Autoblog
When the X3 dries up, there'll still be a BMW trucklet for the Austrian assembly and engineering firm to bolt together. BMW's MINI brand has been reportedly getting an SAV (BMW parlance for CUV) for a while now, and that prospect looks like it's inching toward reality. Affixing the MINI badge to the pumped-up Clubman might create a rolling misnomer, but that's supposedly the plan. Code named "Colorado", the ruggedized and raised MINI will be equipped with AWD calibrated for traction rather than performance. We'll wait to pass judgement on the styling while hoping that it doesn't look like the fanciful rendering above. Ugly or cute, if Magna Steyr hits its target, it'll be pumping out a targeted 80,000 of these things per year, starting in 2010.
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Looks like a Mini ate a Hummer. Gross.
 
They would have to change the brand to BIGI rather than MINI. To me, it looks like the new Toyota FJ.
 
I see Hummer ruined themselves by getting full and building a bunch of cars that weren't hummers. Now a Hummer isn't a Hummer any more and the brand has lost all it's meaning/whatever.

We will miss you Mini.:(
 
Why are BMW so engrossed in increasing the Mini's product range? Nobody wants a Mini estate or a Mini 4x4, especially when they look like that. So, if they're ugly and not even good at what they're supposed to do, what use do either of them have? I smell a failure like the Smart ForFour.
 
This is an open note to all major car manufacturers.

Please stop plying the market with crossover vehicles, new sectors you have 'discovered' and unsparing use of the word 'sport'. If you must at all costs jump on this pointless bandwagon, please make your cars less than hideous.

Thanks,
Daniel James Alexander Worthington-Smithe-Hart-Graham.
 
Man, if BMW doesn't stop messing with MINI, the whole brand would be tarnished. They shouldn't call it a MINI anymore......
 
I'm assuming VOM on the numberplate is the first 3 letters of what you do when you see one...?

It looks like a depressed gulper fish. I've been staring at it for 5 minutes and can't see nor think of a single redeeming feature.
 
Uh, I don't think its that bad. Then again, I live in Michigan where it snows and rains a lot, so uh, ideas like this seem cool inside of my (strange?) noggin. The thing is, this really isn't what a MINI should be about, all-wheel-drive and whatnot. I'm perfectly fine with the Clubman (actually, it makes a lot of sense for the US-market), the proposed pick-up was strange but didn't seem to bad either, but this? I'd consider one, maybe, but I think I'd rather just get an all-out all-wheel-drive model to start.

...Then again, we don't even have the CrossFox or CrossPolo, Fiat Panda 4X4, whatever...

There is definately a market for affordable all-wheel-drive vehicles in the US, particularly in the Northern States, but I'm unsure if this is the correct answer.
 
Really? It's also rather small for a 4x4, probably moreso than this:

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How well did that sell, actually? I'd have thought it made even less sense in the US.
 
Jondot
How well did that sell, actually? I'd have thought it made even less sense in the US.
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Quite good, actually.

I totally love how BMW feels the need to destroy the Mini brand by widening the product portfolio when BMW already sells everyone of the overpriced things that they make, and that the resale value of them never drops. Even if this wasn't ugly, it is a terrible idea.
 
Jondot
Why are BMW so engrossed in increasing the Mini's product range?
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In the month of September in the US Mini was the best selling brand...that's why.
 
Joey D
In the month of September in the US Mini was the best selling brand...that's why.
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Wait, Mini the best selling brand in America!?! I know Minis are popular, but come on. Half of the people don't even have access to a dealer, and of those, there is only one dealer in 100 miles. Plus, each of those dealers is totally sold out. My guess is that Mini doesn't have the capacity to be anywhere near the top brand.
 
It's sales went up 40% in September alone, I think I meant to say fast growing brand in terms of sales.
 
Joey D
In the month of September in the US Mini was the best selling brand...that's why.
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The Story Disagrees With You

MINI had the largest GAIN for the month of September at 41.4%, but by total overall sales, it was Ford (204K) followed by Toyota (197K) and Chevrolet (190K).

Now I'm certain MINI could increase their sales significantly if they allowed BMW dealers to sell and maintain their vehicles, otherwise they are regulated to their big-town-only dealer network that leaves a lot of well-funded neighborhoods asking for a dealer.

...But when you've got cars like the F150, Camry and Cobalt out on the road (not to mention all of the other cars in the fleet), a single-model company won't hold a candle to the rest of the kids...
 
Ya like I said I mis spoke when I said that, I wasn't thinking straight. But never-the-less they are selling quite well so there is no reason for BMW not to milk it.
 
Except Mini's get up to 40 mpg and I'm willing to bet if they make an SUV it will have fairly good fuel mileage as well. Hummers on the other hand only wish they could get 20 mpg....that's why Hummer's don't sell.
 
Number's don't lie, Hummer's aren't selling. At one point in time they did sell quite well but unless I failed economics you need to keep selling products to make money.
 
Joey D
Except Mini's get up to 40 mpg and I'm willing to bet if they make an SUV it will have fairly good fuel mileage as well. Hummers on the other hand only wish they could get 20 mpg....that's why Hummer's don't sell.
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Hummers sold because they were big (in size) and the REAL Hummer was a sweet car. Now they don't sell because a), the brand is dead. b) They get horrible gas mileage. c)The big SUV fad is going out.

Just wait six years. The Mini name will mean nothing. The Mini won't have something people are looking for in a car. The small car market will change.

And we may see Mini in the same place as Hummer is now.
 
I don't think you'll see the small car market go the way of the SUV market because a.) there has alway been a following of small cars and b.) petrol prices are going to continue going up so small cars with small engines will be good. The only thing I can see knocking all small cars out is an alternative fuel that allows larger cars.

And we must remember the rest of the world considers the Mini Cooper a "normal" sized car, while in the US it's one of the smallest things on the road.

**Mini might lose strength but there will always be a need for smaller cars.
 
I don't know where I was going with that small car thing. Yeah, the small car will only get more popular here. Maybe something about the Mini will go out of style. The Hummer's size went out. The Mini can't rule forever without a popular name and something unattractive attached to it's name.
 
Oh I highly doubt Mini will ever really be at the top, at least in the United States. My guess is Honda or Toyota will be the king of the small cars in America.
 
Jondot
Why are BMW so engrossed in increasing the Mini's product range? Nobody wants a Mini estate or a Mini 4x4, especially when they look like that. So, if they're ugly and not even good at what they're supposed to do, what use do either of them have? I smell a failure like the Smart ForFour.
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philly cheese
I see Hummer ruined themselves by getting full and building a bunch of cars that weren't hummers. Now a Hummer isn't a Hummer any more and the brand has lost all it's meaning/whatever.

We will miss you Mini.:(
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mnm_bmx
Man, if BMW doesn't stop messing with MINI, the whole brand would be tarnished. They shouldn't call it a MINI anymore......
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Where were you all when BMW announced that the new Mini lineup will include various spinoffs and variations in ooooooh... 1998?

There is a reason why the "original" Mini underwent so many changes in project leaders during its development in the 90s, there was obviously a dispute in what the role of the company and their product should be. BMW never intended for the Mini to be a revival of the old car itself, that's why so many English designs were shot down because of their similarity to the original, including some three-seater and rear-engined renditions.

BMW meant to tear apart the image of the original Mini well before you ever saw one on the street, and they even told you that. Now stop crying, give up the grudge and swallow the pride of a car all but one of you will ever own.
 
exigeracer
BMW meant to tear apart the image of the original Mini well before you ever saw one on the street, and they even told you that. Now stop crying, give up the grudge and swallow the pride of a car all but one of you will ever own.
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Why would they do that? Will the car sell without an image? Do they think that the people will buy a Mini just because it is a Mini when Mini doesn't mean anything anymore?
 

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