Comments on: BMW Expands Cost Cutting – MINI included

By: Chris B.

Chris B. — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:37:19 +0000

*now

By: Chris B.

Chris B. — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:35:06 +0000

I never got the chance to read the article, but isn’t this why BMW is not doing purchasing with Daimler AG?

By: illegalhunter

illegalhunter — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:30:36 +0000

The plastics cant be any cheaper or were getting old plastic bags.

By: Gabe

Gabe — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:24:35 +0000

Wasnâ€™t relocating the headlights to the body of the car from the bonnet also due to saving money?

Cost was an issue but according to someone to a couple sources I have the biggest issue there was the failure of xenon headlights due to excessive vibration.

Lucky me. I got my 03 Mini before the 2nd generation ho-hum redesign

And I had an '02 and an '05 and couldn't be happier with ditched both for my '07 JCW :)

and I have a production number for an 09 1-series (while itâ€™s still RWD).

BMW will never produce a FWD car with the roundel on it. I wouldn't worry.

By: minidreamcar

minidreamcar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:59:37 +0000

I wish I could show pictures in the comments... then you could see what happened to the 2nd gen.

'68 Chevy Nova. A mean little bull dog in the midst of Great Danes & St. Bernards.

By the fourth gen. '85, it had been turned from a neutered Chewawa with an infiriority complex.

If BMW gets to greedy we might see more of those Clubman Rickshaws. Great on the environment and great for Nike.

By: Dr Obnxs

Dr Obnxs — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:02:13 +0000

What's really surprising to me is the appearent short term vision with Mini brand growth and production. First Magna-Styer for the R60, medium marginal bump in production, but no real growth opportunities after... Then dance with Fiat, now discussion on sharing 1 series platform. I'd have expected these options to have been charted a couple years ago. Instead it seems like a girl at a dance who can't decide who's next in line.... We're into the 2nd year of this chassis for the coupe, they got two years before the next chassis is out, it's almost too late to actually make the decision and still have a functional car out the factory! So if this doesn't happen for the next chassis, then we're looking 6 years out for the change...

Really upper level indecision at this point is worrysome. If it takes more to build a Mini than a 3 series something is seriously wrong as well. It would be nice to know where the costs are high though to know what production nail is gonna get pounded by the corporate hammer.

Matt

By: cct1

cct1 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:37:02 +0000

Sharing platforms with the 1 series…My greatest fear is the MINI is going to get a bit bigger (again), and the 1 series a bit smaller. Good for the 1 series, not so good for the MINI…

By: Dylan

Dylan — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:15:52 +0000

I aways thought MINI was BMW’s front wheel drive “brand” and half the point of developing the MINI was so that every BMW could be RWD (or AWD). Would it be possible to build a chassis that’s compatible with both FWD and RWD…thus be used on both the 1 Series and the MINI with their current drive trains?

By: Philip

Philip — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:20:01 +0000

MINI on the 1series platform? Sounds like rear wheel drive to me …

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:28:10 +0000

I hope they don’t cut costs by changing the tail-light design.

By: JonPD

JonPD — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:33:45 +0000

One thing to point out guys, BMW has decades of experience with up and down markets and has always done a decent job balancing quality and price imo.

By: Vanwall

Vanwall — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:16:38 +0000

The Yugo factory is standing unused….Better watch out, gang.

By: VMMVMMM

VMMVMMM — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:45:19 +0000

So glad I have an ’05. Functional hood scoop, “visceral” handling and character, solid quality. Hopefully this only ends up improving the MINI rather than reducing it to even cheaper levels.

By: ulrich

ulrich — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:26:07 +0000

Lucky me. I got my 03 Mini before the 2nd generation ho-hum redesign, and I have a production number for an 09 1-series (while it’s still RWD).

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:51:10 +0000

Reducing production costs to produce the same product is doing good business by any standards. The fine line comes from reducing costs without reduction in quality of materials. If a company can do that successfully, they maintain their market share and increase profitability. I see no problem with that.

Its when that quality drops without an appropriate reduction in price to the consumer when I would call it greedy and/or money grubbing.

At this point, we're lucky to get as many MINIs as we do in the US (and as cheaply), what with the dollar faring so poorly to the pound/euro.

As I see it, when the materials lose too much quality, the consumer will react and factory will hopefully see a drop in the perceived value of the car, and have to adjust the price/materials accordingly. MINI may have a buffer in this market with the dollar value as it stands.

By: JonPD

JonPD — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:56:52 +0000

Come on guys, the base fact is Mini along with every other manufacturers is always trying to streamline their processes to save money. This process has been ongoing since the R50 and will not end anytime soon.

By: Vanwall

Vanwall — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:19:57 +0000

MINI Nano?

By: GSP

GSP — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:08:47 +0000

Car companies are ALWAYS searching for cost savings and they often measure them by the mill (that’s 1/10 of a penny). Talk about money-grubbing, greedy … Well, anyway, BMW is no different than most other manufacturers in this regard so this is really no surprise. The art is in balancing the savings with perceived value.

By: GregW

GregW — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:48:35 +0000

Here we go – upsizing the MINI to suit 1 series. If the cost of MINI is a worry, sell it off to McLaren – hey that’s not a bad idea… then we get Frank Stephenson back to get MINI back on track!

By: C4

C4 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:19:54 +0000

Finally, a MINI that the average Chinese can truly afford.