John Cooper Garage Closes Shop

As for logos and marking, I much prefer the good old Cooper round badge, with a simple, strong black font in a red circle, and I would found a way to get that on my MINI if had a Works, but that’s just me. ;-)

I’m with you, Rob. I really like the non-works logo they’ve got on their site. I’d much rather have that too.

There’s a ton of history there, outside of the Mini/MINI world and it’s super-sad to see that go.

Great post man, guess we’ll see where the post-o-the-month shakes out. ;-)

I coulda sworn I typed a long comment today and hit “Submit Comment” at the end… is it “awaiting moderation” or something? Or did I lose the whole comment? :(

(If it ever shows up, this comment can be deleted…)

Edge -

Nice rundown on the logic of DSC on road cars. The great advantage and disadvantage of the front-wheel drive car – trailing throttle oversteer – is great when you’re on a track, with maybe some run-off space when – and I mean when, not if – you need some ass-saving, but street driving is a whole different environment. In my mis-spent youth, I’ve sat shotgun on a sideways Mini on an on-ramp all the way onto the freeway once, and even tho the driver was very, very good, and he kept his foot in it all the way around, it wasn’t an experience I’d care to duplicate on public roads, and not many could.

The original Mini was very much over-engineered, which is one reason it was able to survive pretty much unchanged for so long, and Cooper, and other tuners, pushing for a larger performance envelope, made others take a good look at improving the average road car. MINI is now, as then, looked at by most buyers as a cutting edge car, with the various traction and braking controls soon to be viewed as essential safety factors that, yes, you’re right, IMHO, will be mandated rather than optional.

Cooper changed the face of modern racing cars by championing the mid-engined design, and were so revolutionary, the effects are still felt today. Cooper changed the Mini from a great small car design into a revolutionary spots sedan, and yup, the effects are also felt to this day. The new MINI has some big boots to fill, but it’s gotten a helluva start – the bar has been moved up for the other small cars, and with the safety aspects of DSC, ABS, and the like on MINIs, the other guys will have to step up and meet that level of excellence. Cooper’s little tweaks have come a long way.

     BCNU,
   Rob in Dago

I’m worried, very worried that BMW still pay little if any credence to the heritage of Cooper. The name represents the very soul of the MINI and differentiates it from all the other hot hatches out there.

From what I have seen with BMW’s marketing machine since the closure of JCW Garages, MINI dealerships still have little if any understanding of their Works customers. Who before at least had the opportunity to soak up all the wonderful heritage as well as talk to people that were passionate about their MINI Cooper’s.