Sections: In the Press | R55 (Clubman) Oct 28th, 2007 24 Comments 
A few weeks back we mentioned a story at Automotive News on the Clubman’s third door and how it was not originally planned. At the time the article was not available to the public. Today it is and it’s probably worth a quick read. Here’s an excerpt:
The passenger door that was added to the right side of the Clubman was not part of the original plan, Kranz said, and evolved during discussions about how to improve rear-seat entry and exit. The door is hinged at the rear and can open only if the front passenger door is opened.
Kranz said that during development, the Mini team asked whether there was a low-cost way to get easier access to the rear of the vehicle without a significant increase in vehicle weight. “The engineering guys came up with the proposal that we could add one additional door,” Kranz said.
Mini added the door to the right side of the vehicle to avoid relocating the gasoline filler neck, which is on the left side. That would have required more crash testing and costs for certification in markets where the car will be sold, Kranz said.
Check out the rest of the article below:
[ Mini Clubman's third door wasn't part of the plan ] Automotive News
Shep Oct 28th, 2007 Link
Most interesting! This (the fuel filler location, and the high costs of new crash testing) is surely the definitive reason for the previously perplexing decision to put the door on one side only, and not to switch it for LHD and RHD markets.
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Ralph Oct 28th, 2007 Link
Gabe,
When I clicked on the link, Automotive news indicates that the article is only available to subscribers. No public access. Is there a different link available?
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dave Oct 28th, 2007 Link
“…that would have required more crash testing and costs for certification in markets where the car will be sold”
how about the uk, mini’s home and biggest market? it’s kinda ridiculous that the suicide door intended for passengers to get in and out easy opens into the traffic side. should’ve left it off
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Motoring Advisor Oct 28th, 2007 Link
I am 99.9% sure the United States is now MINIs largest market, with the United Kingdom dropping to #2.
ReplyThe article looks to be no longer free. But don’t worry – there was no other relevant info.
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Motoring Advisor Oct 28th, 2007 Link
On another note, I think fewer than 25% of the worlds population motor in the left hand lane.
I think the design makes perfect sense.
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GregW Oct 28th, 2007 Link
The opinion by Motoring Advisor is somewhat biased considering that nobody in the LHD drive market is complaining. Had the door been on the LH side then I am sure the complaints would have been thick and fast. Someone has previously given a list of countries that have RHD and although the market size is not as big, there are numerous big and small markets affected. This raises another question – how come the Japanese car companies can come up with a cheap solution to problems like these? I have to concede that MINI is no longer a “British” car, so why MINI marketing continues to sell and promote them as such is beyond me.
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Motoring Advisor Oct 28th, 2007 Link
My saying that the design ‘makes sense’ is not biased. It’s simply my opinion. My other comments are fact based.
I love the MINI not matter what side the clubdoor is on. I would wager ANY amount of money that it is not going to make a difference in any country. That is what makes the MINI what it is.
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Revhed Oct 28th, 2007 Link
Interesting Wikipedia item about which countries drive on what side
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nuvolari Oct 28th, 2007 Link
I would gladly order a Clubman without that novelty door to save lbs and $$.
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robble Oct 28th, 2007 Link
how about the uk, mini’s home and biggest market? it’s kinda ridiculous that the suicide door intended for passengers to get in and out easy opens into the traffic side. should’ve left it off
UK is not the biggest market as previously noted.
leave the door off? That’s even more ridiculous.
Had the door been on the LH side then I am sure the complaints would have been thick and fast
sure would have considering the market for the door on it’s current side is bigger than it is for the other side.
It’s not exactly a win for the RH market either since the driver has to go around the MINI to open it.
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robble Oct 28th, 2007 Link
oh yea, as far as it opening into the traffic side: What do your passengers do now? Crawl across the center console? That little side door isn’t going to open nearly as wide as the regular door.
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jbfromoz Oct 29th, 2007 Link
main reason i can see for people objecting to it in RHD land is it opening into traffic. My door presently opens up in traffic side so its no less safe for me, and any brats (read babies, young children) caught by moving cars in the same side just helps to keep the MINI in a DINK or DILDO family
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rhawth99 Oct 29th, 2007 Link
I can’t recall the last time that I parked curb side with passengers in the car.
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PaulGraz Oct 29th, 2007 Link
I am 99.9% sure the United States is now MINIs largest market, with the United Kingdom dropping to #2.
Are there real numbers to support this statement? I’m skeptical…
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Bumblebee Oct 29th, 2007 Link
Remember the Saturn SC2? The last couple years it was made, it had a door just like the Clubman’s on the driver’s side onlt. No idea why.
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Mark (Texas) Oct 29th, 2007 Link
Are there real numbers to support this statement? I’m skeptical…
BMW has sold more MINIs than in USA, vs. the UK since at least 2005.
USA 2005 – 40,820 sold
UK 2005 – 36,969 sold, which was a “record” year not yet matched again in the UK.
USA 2006 – 40, 820 sold USA 2007 – 31, 936 sold through Sept
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Craig Oct 29th, 2007 Link
BMW has sold more MINIs than in USA, vs. the UK since at least 2005.
I don’t see why this is so surprising to so many people. The UK is not a very large county compared to the USA in terms of population (60.5 mil vs. 302.7 mil). The main two reasons MINI was sold in larger volumes in the UK vs. USA is, firstly, brand history and secondly, population density (246/sq km vs. 31/sq km). The USA is also nominally a wealthier country, so can most definitely support a new vehicle brand that fills an empty niche (nominal GDP per capita is $43,444 in the USA vs. $35,051 in the UK). The MINI has next to no direct competition in the USA but has some extremely strong competition in the UK and most of Europe. I don’t have any hard data to back it up but intuitively I can see MINI selling 100,000 units per year in the USA within the next 6 years. I doubt MINI will see that much growth in any of their other markets.
That being said, of course MINI will cater to the US market! They would be suicidal not to. I just hope they will cater to the ACTUAL market not what they BELIEVE the market is based on what has sold here in the past. Times are changing and Americans don’t seem to want to be fed the same old pap.
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GregW Oct 29th, 2007 Link
Thanks for that wikipedia reference Revhed. Very interesting history of why we drive on our sides of the road. Bill Bryson should write another book on the influence of transportation.
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BobS Oct 29th, 2007 Link
Of course it opens on the traffic side. Why else would it be called a suicide door?
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ValparaisoExpress Oct 30th, 2007 Link
Time will tell whether BMW’s decision to add only one clubdoor on the right side of the vehicle will either prove to be a success or a flop. I have a feeling the one sided clubdoor will be short lived.
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GregW Oct 30th, 2007 Link
Hey BobS – here is the wikipedia interpretation; “The result of the door being hit by another vehicle would likely be more catastrophic, since the door would be slammed shut onto the passenger, even if merely nicked on the outside edge. In contrast, a door hinged at the front would be pushed away from the passenger and possibly torn off entirely.” Check out the full story on “suicide doors” at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_door
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