MINI's US Sales Soar 16% for May

<p>Woo Hoo, I am in that 16%.</p>

<p>Happy Motoring</p>

<p>Me three!</p>

<p>Me five!</p>

<p>this is not good news..
i don’t know why mini owners are happy about the minis being common..</p>

<p>a logical, reasoned, wise wish would be that there would be less mini sales.. or a total removal of future mini sales.</p>

<p>one of the reasons a classic mini is so cool is there are hardly any around..</p>

<p>if you want to see a mini on every corner like a p t loser or some other
car,, there is nothing much i can say to counter that faulty thinking</p>

<p>jim, don’t get your panties in a bunch. the wise thinking is done by the people who buy the MINI.</p>

<p>instead of being so concerned about only the value of your car and the “appearance” of your savvy purchasing power, shouldn’t we be happy that there are an increased number of people who agree that motoring is better than driving. progress is made when people make a committment to a better way of living, not when you horde it for your own personal, supposed benefit. </p>

<p>i guess that wouldn’t be “cool.”</p>

<p>jim, dude your thinking is corrupt. it’s not all about the value of your car and being exclusive.</p>

<p>to be honest, i’m glad that they are discontinuing my electric blue and i would also never own an american-made car. BUT, if the escort had the safety of a MINI, the fun to drive factor of a MINI, the gas milege of a MINI, the high-quality design of a MINI, then yes! i would love to see more around! it means that we have changed our idea of what is acceptable to drive, safe, efficient, and most important (to me) GOOD DESIGN.</p>

<p>dude, no one is moving into YOUR housing development, they’re just building more down the street. that’s good for everybody.</p>

<p>my reasoning is
1. sound
2. logical
3. brilliant
4. wise
5. thought out
6. prudent
7. accurate
8. should be adopted by CURRENT MINI owners/fans</p>

<p>i know those that do not “live in the development” may want to move in but
we have enough residents.. anymore residents will reduce the charm of the MINI..</p>

<p>it is already happening.. there are too many MINIS now.. there should be a test before a MINI is sold.</p>

<p>they should only be sold to certain people.. </p>

<p>one quality of that type of person would be they would want the marquee of the MINI held strong.. not watered down by letting anyone move in our development and building duplexes, tri-plexes and large housing units.</p>

<p>unbelievable.</p>

<p>“All Hail Jim!”</p>

<p>good luck with that.</p>

<p>elitist has one l.. not two.. </p>

<p>but no matter how it is spelled.. it is not a proper label to attach to upholding the uniquness and “different” factor that the MINI has (but is being diminished)…</p>

<p>i know this may not go over well but those that do not have a MINI now..
well tough.. </p>

<p>this is part of life.. it has nothing to do with being elite.</p>

<p>there are so many lots in our development.. sure we can put a new development down the road but we don’t this more developments.. we are all sold out.. there are no more houses left in this development..</p>

<p>this happens all the time..
some mutual funds are close to new investors</p>

<p>some tennis clubs are booked up</p>

<p>some dentists are taking no new clients</p>

<p>MINI should adopt the same approach.</p>

<p>NO NEW PATIENTS,, CHECK BACK LATER</p>

<p>Somewhat on topic…. Now that the U.S. dollar has just hit a new 8-month high against the euro today, do you think BMW North America CEO Tom Purves will be quite so eager to talk about the increased allocations he’ll be getting? :-)</p>

<p>For background, see <a href="http://motoringfile.com/2005/05/19/reduced" rel="nofollow ugc">http://motoringfile.com/2005/05/19/reduced</a><em>bmw</em><em>mini</em>availability</p>

<p>Wow…gone for an hour and look at all the fun I missed.</p>

<p>Yo Jim…did you not read Gabe’s post…response “A”? </p>

<p>I’d get off the caffeine as soon as possible if I were you. ;)</p>

<p>I believe Jim is just a flamer. Please pay no attention to him. Jim, find another site to flame on.</p>

<p>I, for one, welcome having a lot more MINIs in the U.S., just so that I can be sure that when my MINI starts getting into its old age and needs parts and repair know-how, there will be more independent mechanics that know how to fix it.</p>

<p>I think the MINI’s allure is that it’s cute (sorry if I sound effiminate) and fairly cheaply priced for the performance. I don’t think that it’s a vehicle for people who want exclusivity, it simply isn’t expensive or high performance enough. </p>

<p>I don’t know anyone who bought their MINI because they thought were buying a ‘cheap’ Rolls or Ferrari that people would envy.</p>

<p>Frank, above, is right, if you’re looking for exclusivity get the Elise or similar.</p>

<p>JimOhio, Go get a Morgan and leave the MINI to the rest of us that are just looking for affordability and fun!!!!!!!</p>

<p>There are two things in this discussion I don’t think anyone has mentioned. First of all, at least for me, one of the big reasons for excitement that the MINI is becoming more and more popular is that I like to see a company that I feel is doing a great thing get recognized for it. MINI is a great product, and since I believe that, it’s nice to see other people agreeing with me and helping the company be successful at what they’re doing. Not only is it just nice to see this kind of ‘justice’, it also means that more of a trend will be seen towards smaller, more fun cars, since the industry has had to sit up and take notice of the popularity of cars like the MINI. So to me this is all good news.</p>

<p>Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, Jim sounds like a small man whose importance is self-determined by the uniqueness of his possessions. I don’t see the importance of this. Paul touched on this issue: it’s just a car! Sure, it’s an <em>awesome</em> car and I couldn’t be happier with it, and it plays a big part in my interests, etc, but it doesn’t define who I am. The fact that MINI sells more or less cars may make me happy or not for the company and for society, but it doesn’t affect my enjoyment of my own car. Let’s face it, owning a MINI may be unique but it’s not like they’re impossible or extraordinarily expensive to get. And even if they were, this, in my opinion, would not be reason to get all haughty-taughty about owning one. If you define yourself by the car you drive or the other possessions you own… get a life! This seems to be especially common in areas where no offense, but people don’t have much else to be excited about. I did live in Chicago for two years so I am not speaking ignorantly. Maybe if more people got passionate about the things they were <em>doing</em> with their lives, they would be less obsessed with the whole keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality that seems so common across the modern world.</p>

<p>That is all.</p>

<p>I appreciate Jim’s point here — when something becomes so common that it appears as merely another carbon copy in the heap, it tends to downgrade its charm, and can be received as ‘ordinaire’, regardless of its many other positive attributes. As such, it may lose some perceived appeal as unique and different by some (e.g. what has Harley Davidson evolved to?).
There’re many reasons why we own our MINIs, and for many the charm of uniqueness and ‘think different’ is among those reasons. That said, IMO it doesn’t appear the MINI’s status as a unique, different and cool is threatened by over population for a long, long time. G’day!</p>

<p>BodPod is the only one as smart as me so far and intelligent as me and have what is best for the MINI in mind..</p>

<p>though we differ as to the timing of idea of “too many MINIS on the road”.. he thinks it is in the future. i think it already happened..</p>

<p>look.. i did the research on the MINI long ago.. i read the car mags.. i did the research. i knew when to order..</p>

<p>if you failed to take advantage of the early years of the MINI, that is your own doing.. i say.. put up a sign</p>

<p>NO NEW PATIENTS..
try the dentist down the road</p>

<p>NO NEW MINI SALES..</p>

<p>you missed the boat
boat left the pier
plane took off
train departed</p>

<p>Ah Hello.
There are a number of classic cars that fetch very high values even though they were made in pretty high numbers. Most of these cars had about the same or higher yearly sales numbers.</p>

<p>Early Mustangs
Early T-birds
Early Cameros
All Corvettes
Pontiac GTOs
Mid sixties Cadillac and Lincoln convertibles
Late fifties Cadillacs
BMW 2002(Look how many are still one the road and the devote following)
1960’s Mercedes 250 SL(Ditto)</p>

<p>Any car that is well designed, of good productuon quality and captures the publics imagination will become a classic, remain desirable AND retain it’s value.</p>

<p>I’m with Jim, I think only someone who enjoys a MINI for what it really is should be able to have one. Oh wait, that means that Jim should not be able to drive a MINI. I don’t know about anyone else, but I do recall one of the great things about the Classic Mini is that everyone from royality and rockstars down to the humble butcher could own and enjoy one. I also would argue that the parts for a MINI are expensive enough as is. Do you want to start paying more for your MINI and it’s upkeep just so you can be the only one on your block with a MINI? Sounds like Jim is suffering from a case of “MINI-Flight”. He’s afraid that his car value will go down if ‘undesireables’ buy one also. No wonder why he equates the situation with his property value. Welcome to the 1950’s. Population, Jim.</p>

<p>while I don’t agree with the idea of it being only sold to certain people. It’s odd that people are criticizing him so much because he wants a level of exclusivity. I mean everybody likes to think of themself as unique and different. What fun is there if EVERYONE was driving a MINI. I know it’s extreme, but don’t bash him for wanting something unique as we all do. </p>

<p>as for the comment of it being just a car. To many enthusiasts, it’s never just a car. Sure many share the view of it just being a material good, I will never say that my MINI is just a car.</p>

<p>Mataku.. that’s the point, but in reverse. The great thing about the MINI is that it’s NOT exclusive. That we can have such a great performing car, one that’s safe, well designed, without being as rare as a Lotus. What fun is it if everyone’s driving a MINI? Great Fun. No more being stuck behind slow moving SUVs that have to slow down for every turn. More room on the roads, more room in the parking lots, cheaper repairs, gee… it’s starting to look horrible, isn’t it? If he’s that obsessed with driving something that’s unique, and by unique he means that he’s the only one within a 50 mile radus with one at any given time, buy a Smart. That’s a car that’s never going to get any sort of market penetration. Or how about a used GEM. That boat has already left. Or how about a new style T-Bird. Not only did they not sell many, but they stopped making them.</p>

<p>even the headline screams tackiness/wal mart/ford/GM/mass market appeal</p>

<p>MINI SALES SOARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 16%</p>

<p>better headline would say</p>

<p>MINI SALES STOPPED.. IF YOU FAILED TO GET YOURS, “OH WELL”</p>

<p>If you bought the MINI because it was going to remain exclusive, I’m sorry, but you were working from a false premise. It was intended as a mass-market car, aimed at not only the buyer looking for a great deal on a great performance car, but also at the relatively uninformed casual buyer, no matter how clueless. Even with its fairly low production, it all adds up over the years, and its relative worth will be measured by its reputation, not its VIN numbers. It’s already a benchmark car, often showing a clean pair of heels to many more expensive rivals, and not just in performance. </p>

<p>The best thing about the MINI in the long run will be the effect it has on the average buyer’s perceptions of other small cars compared to the MINI. As in the ’60s, other manufacturers will be forced to offer better cars than they have before, if we’re lucky, and that’s the triumph of the new MINI, following in the original’s steps. It’s sad that even some MINI owners seem to overcompensate for their own shortcomings. 😉 If you feel the need to be elitist, remember the lesson of the porcupine and the Porsche.</p>

<pre><code> BCNU,
Rob in Dago
</code></pre>

<p>I can’t believe all of this over an increase of 523 MINI’s vs. May of 2004! C’mon, let’s think about this. There were a grand total of 523 more MINI’s sold in the US for May 05 vs May 04 and all the sudden it is being compared to a PT Cruiser???</p>

<p>If you are so concerned about your MINI being exclusive well then make it exclusive. With all the color combos and options it is hard to find two identical MINI’s out there. If that isn’t good enough there are a number of mod’s out there you can do to increase the exclusivity of your MINI. Heck, go out and get a custom roof graphic made…I did. My wife and I are huge Toronto Maple Leaf fans so we had a 3′ by 3′ Toronto Maple Leafs logo put on the top of our MINI. Check out <a rel="nofollow" href="http://home.rmci.net/dougball/tml2.jpg"> this photo</a>. If you are concerned only about the value of your MINI then sell it now and invest in something like real estate!</p>

<p>I most definitely understand the MINI is not an exclusive car, hell, I was able to get one. </p>

<p>but i will NEVER say that I want everyone to own a MINI. There are those who will not appreciate the MINI for what it is. Those that just want it cause it looks cool. Or those that don’t even know how to drive and talk on the phone while they drive. I do not want those who have no respect for the MINI or safety of others to have MINIs. Sure i’d rather they had MINIs than SUV’s, but almost anything else, i’d rather they have that.</p>

<p>Also, although the MINI is too impractical for the average American, there is no saying that it will be in the future. Too small? not if they come out with a four door, or even worse, the SAV. too foreign? horrible argument, foreign cars are the most sought after, i.e. mercedes, audi, even hondas. (unless by foreign you mean bizarre, but how bizarre would a MINI be if everyone was driving one?) impractical? how bout adding a few more cup holders, a useable glovebox, and softening up the ride? </p>

<p>Despite all this, I do not believe the MINI will become like what honda’s are and I do no defend the argument of it being limited to only certain people. However, it just seems odd to me that there are very few who understand Jim. I’m sure we’d all like the new MINI owners to be as enthusiastic about ownership as those who got the 2002’s.</p>

<p>People like Jim are why American is so poorly regarded throughout the world.
As can be seen from the comments on this thread, the vast majority of Americans are sensible level headed people but the vocal minority like Jim give an awfull, but memorable impresion of americans, and it is this bad impresion that sticks in peoples minds.
I know “freedom of speech” means everyone has a right to air their views, but Jims views seem to be against freedom, ie restricing who is actually alowed to buy certain cars.
Maybe Jim will do the decent thing and sell his MINI to someone who deserves and isn’t just buying it as an investment.</p>

<p>So let me get this straight… According to Jim MINI should change their slogan from “Let’s Motor” to “Only the first 50,000 can Motor?”</p>

<p>Jim did you buy your MINI because you were the only other person on your block to have one? If so, (and just in case you haven’t figured it out yet) you’re in the minority…</p>

<p>MINI’s first question to ask on the test..</p>

<p>yep, that’r right.. MINI should only sell MINIS to the following</p>

<ul>
<li>people with good teeth </li>
<li>no acne scar</li>
<li>never lived in a trailer</li>
<li>do not wear jeans (sign of drug use)</li>
<li>parents not divorced</li>
<li>not divorced themselves</li>
<li>does not watch american idol</li>
<li>dues not say “huh”</li>
<li>thinks blanketing the world with MINIS is good for the brand</li>
</ul>

<p>i know you will not like the truth..
not my fault you have bad dental hygiene and want to see MINIS on ever corner..</p>

<p>smart people practice good dental hygiene..</p>

<p>smart people did the research on MINIS five years ago and got on board..</p>

<p>johnny come latelies in sports – worst kindo fans</p>

<p>johny come latelies to MINIS – worse kind of MINI owner.. the proof has been shown in this thread..</p>

<p>unworthy to not own a MINI
not even worthy to drive in one</p>

<p>Well, Jim. If you’re good for anything, it’s for a laugh. Your last comment was so out there, I can only think that you have been completely misrepresenting yourself. How can anyone who’s being serious actually hold the opinions you just espoused?</p>

<p>I’ve got to give it to everyone else. They have all been very civil. With the drastic change in tone in Jim’s last post, I think he means to rile people up.</p>

<p>And, Jim, if you are being serious, you’ve really got to reintroduce yourself to the rest of society. Get some perspective and chill the f<em>*</em> out.</p>

<p>oh yeah… if you have to finance your MINI purchase, you would not qualify to own a MINI…</p>

<p>i had good parents.. they taught me to save.. to work hard. not to squander my money on beer, WWE/fka WWF pay per views, tattoos, drugs… </p>

<p>people should not take a loan out for a car.. it is better they not squander their money, save up and pay cash.. </p>

<p>and a MINI owner cannot have tattoos..</p>

<p>ever watch the show cops?</p>

<p>almost all of the those dirt bags have what in common?</p>

<p>well i will tell you</p>

<ol>
<li><p>bad teeth</p></li>
<li><p>wear jeans (i never saw one in neatly pressed khacki slacks and a cotton button down collar shirt)</p></li>
<li><p>no shirt of t shirt</p></li>
<li><p>bad language</p></li>
<li><p>smokes</p></li>
<li><p>lives in a messy house/trailer</p></li>
</ol>

<p>so that is one more test for MINI owners.. no tattoos..</p>

<p>i know you will say.. how not everyone that has tatoos is a low life..</p>

<p>well most of them..
why put yourself in that category..</p>

<p>this is a bit off point though.. the main point which i contend stronger and believe in more is that more MINI sales dilutes the brand
dilutes the uniqueness
dilutes the charm of it
makes the car blend in
removes the buzz around the MINI</p>

<p>if you cannot see that
if you cannot understand that</p>

<p>you have a a total lack of basic business/marketing knowledge.</p>

<p>i am 100% serious..
the less MINIS i see the better.
how is this so hard to understand
the less i see, the cooler MINIS are</p>

<p>Why am I feeding this troll? I’m almost inclined to believe that he really is not a troll. That he really does think that Upper Class Whites should drive a MINI. That he is nothing but a cleaning product for female body parts (Gabe, feel free to remove this if you find it too inflaming. If you don’t, please change my ‘nice’ way of putting something the actual product I’ve described.) To Jim, making the MINI a British answer to the Beetle is going against what Mini stands for, based upon his ‘research’. I have no idea where he did his ‘research’, because as I stated above, and he duefully ignored, the Mini was the great equalizer. </p>

<p>And if you’re wondering about where I figured that it’s only whites that he wants in a MINI, take a look again at what he said. If it’s not the same exact attitude that spawned ‘White Flight’, I’ll eat my hat.</p>

<p>(PS to Gabe.. Just to make it clear, I’m trying to be as tactfull as possible, but I won’t bat an eye if this is edited or removed)</p>