(Updated with edited video) It’s over. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Today MINI lost by a mere two seconds. We’ll talk more about this in the coming days (and we’ll let you all debate if a MINI can truly lose to a $90k Porsche in a race like this) but until then, you can check out the official video below.
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<p>How much do you think MINI spent “proving” this entirely predictable outcome?</p>
<p>And for the record, using MINI’s own advertising numbers, $23,000 from $88,800 is $65,800 and not $76,000 as their little parting shot would indicate.</p>
<p>Only 2 seconds! Not bad for a plain stock MCS :)</p>
<p>I gotta say that in the 7 or so years that I have been following MINI and all the advertising associated with it, I never felt that they made their clients/potential clients to be gullible or stupid.</p>
<p>Until now …</p>
<p>$38,000 per second (per MINI). This on a autocross track fitting every strength of the MINI. This would be great if we lived on autocross circuits. However the roads and highways are much closer to a race track than a autocross circuit. I would pay the additional dollars for industry leading build quality, amazing handling, and performance.</p>
<p>Still can’t help but feel that this entire endeavor went sideways for MINI. It obviously cost more than a few dollars and in the end resulted in some buzz in the automotive industry. But,while doing this creating a lot of negative replies on a multitude of automotive sites. Then a harsh kick back when the automotive sites realized that though MINI stated it was a race on the track it turns out to be a drive on the autocross built on a skid pad and RV parking area. Add to this other companies jumping on board to challenge MINI I cannot help to think this really did anything to improve the brand image.</p>
<p>2 seconds over a course that was not much more than a minute long. That is HUGE. The parting $-per-second jab was cheap and totally unsportsmanlike. You talked a huge amount of trash and then lost BIG. Just own it.</p>
<p>As a MINI owner since 2003 and staunch advocate of the brand I have to say that this stunt has really killed my loyalty. I don’t want to be associated with a company that pulls lame marketing ish like this. Totally uncool. After what has gone down the last couple of weeks, the chances of me buying another MINI have gone from near 100% to near zero. As if anyone at MINI cares…</p>
<p>Just a couple more quick things</p>
<p>Great press so far:</p>
<p><a href="http://jalopnik.com/5569268/porsche-beats-mini-at-their-own-stupid-race" rel="nofollow ugc">http://jalopnik.com/5569268/porsche-beats-mini-at-their-own-stupid-race</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/21/shocker-porsche-911-beats-mini-cooper-in-race-at-road-atlant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fautoblog+%28Autoblog%29" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/21/shocker-porsche-911-beats-mini-cooper-in-race-at-road-atlant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fautoblog+%28Autoblog%29</a></p>
<p>Great job Cory Fiedman on the great representation for a Porsche driver and the win.</p>
<p>I call total BS on Brad Davis tough for his lame explanation of why they did the autocross track.</p>
<p>Brad explains that they choose the course as it represented normal driving on streets and highway (maybe you can say that if you drive the Dragon daily). He also stats that the speed on the track can be 125mph with 80-90 mph corners and would not be safe in a stock car. What kind of BS is that! Time to ship him off to track days where I have seen stock Coopers doing that and more, or maybe he needs a trip to Germany to drive one much quicker on the autobahn on the straights and through corners. Is Brad honestly telling us that the stock Cooper S is not safe to drive in 12 states across the USA that have 80 MPH speed limits on the highway?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyEz7mOQBw4&feature=player_embedded" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyEz7mOQBw4&feature=player_embedded</a></p>
<p>besides the alleged “fun” claim (which it wasn’t)… I am still not sure what this stunt was supposed to accomplish sales wise?!?!</p>
<p>Yeah, this whole thing was a giant fail on MINI’s part. I’m glad it’s over, and I’m glad Porsche won.</p>
<p>MINI custom made an autox course to play to the strength of the MINI and minimize the huge HP difference and still got beat.</p>
<p>They need not have reached so high as a Porsche, an Evo would have done the same and you can get one for $33k.</p>
<p>I think this one back fired on them, MINI’s are great cars but this was just bad marketing.</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>That is an awesome car…</p>
<p>Why do people act surprised the porsche won? I bet MINIUSA knew that before even issuing the challenge.</p>
<p>This whole campaign was a success in MINI’s eyes. It got a buttload of publicity.</p>
<p>Whoever was talking abotu the 2 seconds being huge.
1/4 mile drag race – 2 seconds is huge, on a autocross track that takes over a minute it’s decisive but not huge.</p>
<p>I wish a lot more came out of this for mini, but I don’t feel like it was the all out disaster some were claiming it to be.</p>
<p>I will say that I wish mini did this more respectfully. There has been a huge drop of playful fun from the first mcdowell video until the finish line. Porsche could have done their decline a lot more gracefully as well.</p>
<p>Lots of cars have lost lots of respect over the last couple weeks. I think the best way for mini to redeem itself is to accept hyundai’s offer, and to follow through with class. I’d hate to see them with a 0-2 record in this jumbled publicity mess, but they really need to bite the bullet.</p>
<p>My car makes me haapy. I don’t want to look at it and feel like it’s a dick.</p>
<blockquote>that.guy wrote:
You talked a huge amount of trash and then lost BIG. Just own it.</blockquote>
<p>I couldn’t agree more. It’s a bit of a sore loser to challenge a car in a different class that’s priced way above Mini’s and specifically designed for the course of challenge, then when lost turn around to argue price difference to justify the loss.</p>
<p>Mini was never known for its speed (especially on the tracks). It’s known for its agility and maneuverability — the challenge only demonstrated that Mini is not a track race car. It serves only to ridicule Mini owners in their false belief of what their car is and isn’t.</p>
<p>And another thing… Why single out Porsche, except that mcdowell is a former employee? If they were expecting loss as much as they could have been, there are much more expensive (and hilarious) options.</p>
<p>The 85-90 grand it takes to buy a carerra s is way less than a lot of cars in its class. 38000 dollars per second is pretty cheap, especially compared to some $200000+ supercars that would be more or less useless on any autocross course.</p>
<p>I’m not as mad as I sound. I still want a mini vs. 911 poster.</p>
<p>My last comment is still awaiting moderation but just have to call out Brad Davis on his reason for racing on the skid pad and RV parking area.</p>
<p>Bring on MINI vs Hyundai – imagine if MINI lost that one, too!</p>
<p>This is one of the lamest, least-exciting, non-event videos I have ever seen. Looks like some amateur YouTube video. And just what was the point of this – they had to know the MINI would lose – now they just look like wannabe weenies, clearly outclassed (in racing, 2 seconds is an eternity) by a vastly superior machine, and pissy about it.</p>
<p>All it did is remind me of my desire to own a new Porsche one day.</p>
<p>Absolutely embarrassing.
This debacle can only get worse if they accept the Hyundai(!) challenge. Even if MINI wins, they’ll still lose.</p>
<p>Well, I wasn’t sure about this stupid campaign before and now it just proves what a waste of time it was! It’s pretty much been said above but I think this actually takes something away from the MINI image than gain anything. I mean, you try ‘punching above your weight’ on a crap excuse of a race track and still get hammered! As said 2 seconds is a big gap in racing, and even more so on such a small track. Let’s just be grateful it wasn’t on a proper course. Maybe try this little exercise again when you decide to release a 250-300 bhp AWD JCW GP!</p>
<p>And what about doing the same thing, but this time using a JCW or a GP? Would the result be the same? I don’t think so…</p>
<p>I attended the event and regardless of whether or not it accomplishes anything for MINI it was a fun event. For the expense you would hope is pays dividends 😉 The race was interesting but not terribly exciting.</p>
<p>The event was a blast. Good representation of MINIS, good food, a handful of MINI items, and free track time.</p>
<p>Yeah, the track time was the highlight of the event for me and will stick out in my mind. Daughter and I both had our MINIS out there and it may take a week before that grin disappears off her face :-)</p>
<p>I kind of have the general sentiment everyone here does. Why? I posted this comment in the other article too late for most to have read it. JD Power and associates quality ratings are out. Porsche is no. 1, Mini, no. 30. How about a challenge in quality?</p>
<p>Not to take anything away from the comments above as I agree that it was a useless stunt. Porsche wasn’t going to show up because they lose even if they win. Expected to win so nothing to be gained. But I am curious if there are any track experts out there that can distinguish the advantage, if any, of starting positions. Porsche started with a couple of hairpins when it really didn’t need to work the engine for speed. The Mini had to accelerate into the far part of the course from go. Wouldn’t the Porsche have the clear advantage in that regard, especially given that it’s finish would also be based on momentum as well on that final straightaway?
That said, still a lame stunt.</p>
<p>This is spin and damage control on MINI’s part, like a political campaign gone seriously awry. Good to take a break once in a while and switch to coffee. Here is what MINI should have done:</p>
<p>had a clear objective going into this. Was it to have fun and build owner loyalty through participation? If so, great. So focus on that and bring other cars to “battle” but make no puffed up claims that you’ll beat those cars, just see what happens.</p>
<p>Or, alternately, is it to build credibility for the currently sold MINIs as performance cars? Then before you start throwing down and trash talking, do your homework. Bring a JCW with JCW suspension rather than the pathetically softly sprung R56 S. Run a similar tight course beforehand with various “big dog” cars like the P-car and see what “weight class” a factory JCW with JCW suspension is really in, handling-wise. THEN – and only then – start up the nose twigging press machine.</p>
<p>MINI lacked singleness of purpose in this PR stunt.</p>
<p>Result? “This demeans us both.” (credit to The Simpsons)</p>
<p>Where to start on this…</p>
<p>1.) when first announced, conceptually loved the idea
2.) was still on board after Porsche ducked out
3.) thought the Rocky video was brutal, but now looking back, compared to the race video, at least it was a professional product
4.) facebook drama, i.e. delayed video posting, lack of a live feed (this is 2010?!?!?) was JV
5.) A+ for MINI drivers who got the track time, if you were there, at least that experience was positive, thank you MINI for bringing in the public – some well deserved credit there
6.) big picture – maybe this was covered somewhere else… why roll out a S instead of a JCW? I can see why you may not want to bring out a GP, but if we are going to lose, let’s put our best foot forward and tighten up that 2 second gulf – not that the stock JCW is anything to crow about (i.e. suspension, output… but oh boy, we get red piping on leather in 2011…)</p>
<p>One more thing: Brad Davis’ inane comment about stock cars not being safe on the racetrack so that is why they are running an autox track?! Come off it man! Seriously, put down the koolaid and have a cup of coffee… then tell us again why you are not running the big track, and with less disingenuity this time please… don’t insult our intelligence.</p>
<p>The announcer needs a caning too… Dude you are not running a carnival ride (“Did I hear you say faster?! Did I hear you say yeah?! …”). Who are these cheeseheads that have taken over MINI? Not cool dudes, just not cool.</p>
<p>A few points. First, Porsche didn’t “duck out.” They declined.</p>
<p>Second, as to why MINI didn’t bring a JCW car to the event, I think the answer is simple: base price of a JCW car is $29,500 before you add any options. The price gap between it and a 911S wasn’t big enough.</p>
<p>Kudos to MINI for letting attendees have some track time. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the only thing they got right in this exercise.</p>
<p>Can you really put a price on being a winner?</p>
<p>Coincidentally I saw my first MINI TV commercial ever yesterday. For leasing. Not cute or clever either. If the car hadn’t been in the shot it could have been for any vehicle… or furniture. This is a media blitz?</p>
<p>Maybe they should have rolled out a base Cooper to get a bigger price gap if that was the goal. I thought the point was to show how well a MINI stacked up against a Porsche whether MINI won the race or not.</p>
<p>Lame. Super-lame.</p>
<p>Thousand one-thousand two. The time difference between a mid $20K Mini and a near $90K Porsche. Says a lot of good about the Mini.</p>
<p>The over-analysis in these comments and the claims of “spin” and “lameness” make me laugh.</p>
<p>The majority of press accounts will be superficial, and most of what the public will consume is simply the fact that a MINI and a Porsche raced each other.</p>
<p>I think MINI USA is perfectly happy with the seed they’ve planted in the stream of consumer consciousness, and the low advertising cost that achieved it — and they should be.</p>
<p>I think what was proved here was how many of you took this much too seriously. Hope you all are disgusted enough to never come back and we can be spared all this racer boy posing.</p>
<p>It all does not really matter in the end. Mini still lost…Last…0….did not win…..</p>
<p>How abouth them cheerleaders!</p>
<p>Still anyway you look at this it was no doubt a fun day at the event. From the look of the crowd I think I saw about 40-50 people watching the events. It seems that the video and results went wildly against any positive spin for MINI. So in effect this was just a very directed advertising blitz with those in attendance. Likely not a cost effective behavior.</p>
<p>One thing MINI, I think whomever came up with this idea (guessing an advertising agency) should be fired on the spot. I really can’t think of any positive spin out of this.</p>
<p>i’m just amused that MINI used a mini cooper S rather than a JCW… might have made that little bit of a difference if they really cared but then again if it’s just S badge vs S badge then oh well…</p>
<p>i mean they should have at least used JCW suspension… it’s a factory option, and the Carrara S has it’s factory sports suspension… standard mind you but it has it none the less…</p>
<p>To me, one lap around an autocross course doesn’t prove anything. The cars didn’t even run the same course because they went in opposite directions. Could you imagine roadraces being determined in one lap? Indy 500?</p>
<p>It was all a marketing ploy and not worthy of all the hype leading up to it. If we’re gonna race . . . lets have a RACE!</p>
<p>Driving my GP through the leafy lanes of Carlisle, MA recently, a partially hidden police cruiser was checking for speeders, didn’t get me, but a few moments later a sleek black Porsche was heading into the waiting trap.
I flashed my lights to warn of the danger that lay ahead, the driver acknowledged with a wave and eased off.</p>
<p>Each to their own as they say, MINI is fun and I am sure Porsche is something to their owners, but respect of each other is common to both.</p>
<p>I think this porsche video is sublime.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/1697301" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.vimeo.com/1697301</a></p>
<p>peace and love</p>
<p>Clearly this was a failed attempt at publicity. I don’t think more than a handfull of non-MINI drivers even knew about this event. MINI knew they were going to lose and they did. Kinda like calling out the neighborhood bully and then getting your A** kicked…. embarassing.</p>
<p>Couldn’t agree with Gary and lavardara more. Even with a loss on a BIG auto-x course, the MINI made it quite close. 2 seconds is a big gap when you’re talking <em>serious</em> motorsports. That is NOT what this was about. When you’re just an amateur driver looking to have some fun at an auto-x or track day, the MINI is going to be quick and nimble enough to be a lot of fun. No, it’s not going to be as capable as a Porsche, but if you can be within even SEVERAL seconds of one, that’s going to be just as much FUN for someone just going out there to have a good time… Which is 99% of people who buy almost any car, even Porsche,and certainly MINI. Unless you’re incredibly experienced, you’re not going to drive either car to it’s potential anyway, and you probably could’t tell the 2-second difference between the P-car and the MINI, either. So for the vast, vast majority of people, those few seconds ae completely negligible, and the fun factor is EQUAL… Thereby making the Cooper seem like a smoking deal as far as fun for the money. Sure, the car blogs and the people who want to seem like track experts will complain about the track size and time gap, but the “regular people”, who account for the vast majority of the population won’t be nearly as critical. Those people will consider MINIs in the future (the whole point of the event), and the track-expert wannabees who would never have considered a MINI in he first place will continue to complain.</p>
<p>MINI: 1
Wannabees: 0</p>
<p>I totally agree with Blainestang!!!</p>
<p>Wham. Well put, Blainestang.</p>
<p>Actually Blainestang I can only speak for myself but I am not a race driver but I have been through decades worth of autcrosses and more track days than I can remember. Still love so much about MINI for its ability on the track and have always fun, however a Porsche killer its not.</p>
<p>Guess my issues still remain –</p>
<p>Bait and switch advertising – think the spin would have been better if they would have just played this above the board.</p>
<p>Snarky comments after loosing – the comments from both Brad Davis before the race and on the video at the end of the race.</p>
<p>MINI really didn’t focus on the “fun” factor they seemed transfixed on the performance end. I think this would have been a great event if they could find a way to quantify the “fun” factor of a car.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Snarky comments after loosing – the comments from both Brad Davis before the race and on the video at the end of the race.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ultimately I think they should have not focused on Mr. Davis since he doesn’t represent the brand.</p>
<p>I cant believe how many of these so called “MINI owners” love the fact that MINI lost. I didnt expect MINI to win, but why get so bothered over them starting the challenge in the first place. Porsches and their owners love to string themselves so high. It’s hard to find decent, good to talk to, porsche owners. Thats one of the reasons I love MINI’s, the owners (read typically), love to talk about the car and to others, not just about that it’s a porche and its fast. Yeah sure Porsche loves to flaunt it’s racing heritage, then they create vehicles like the cayenne, and panamera.
Yeah porsche, when I think about pushing a racing heritage and sticking true to it, I think a utility vehicle. tools</p>
<p>I’m curious – I thought there were going to be 4 heats, each reversing the position for the two cars. We only saw one on the video – did they run more? Was one starting position faster than the other? In the video the direction Porsche went in included a full run at the short straight. I’d expect that to be the faster of the two starting positions.</p>
<p>You folks slamming the ad agency don’t know what you are talking about. I suggest you stick to trying futilely to insert other race cars into a scripted PR event.</p>
<p>Hmm so Lav your saying that a add agency should not be judged for the efforts, interesting idea. From the self admitted little I know about add agencies they live and die by the feedback on their efforts.</p>
<p>I agree with that Gabe, I think it was Brad trying to deflect some of the criticism over the “bait and switch”. If anybody did that it should have MINI with their tongue-in-cheek approach (even though I think they should have left it alone).</p>
<p>I have to say this was pretty funny. I wonder a few things about the mini’s spec. Did it have a mechanical LSD? Was it wearing the runflat tires? Did it have the sport suspension? It would be nice to see the spec of that mini. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t have the suspension or the LSD.</p>
<p>One thing that people seem to overlook is the fact that this seems to be the beginning of a longer marketing campaign. At the end of the video mini basically is saying there will be a next time. Maybe they’ll race the porsche next time with a 2 seat coupe / JCW?</p>
<p>Also it seems that it would have been a better fight to pick on a VW GTI or something like that? Those cars are definitely more closely matched with the GTI suffering the weight/handling penalty. I’ve autox’d against those and even the really fast guys can’t catch mini cooper S’ but it always ends pretty close.</p>
<p>JonPD: I agree that there were things they could have done better or differently… No doubt. I’m mostly saying that the people who think it was meaningless to race on the auto-x track or claim that the 2-second gap is HUGE are kidding themselves and/or do not represent the vast majority of car buyers. If someone is a professional racer where their livelihood is based on miniscule .01 differences in times across multiple laps of full circuits, then sure, this was little silly. However, acting like it’s totally embarassing and beneath them just makes them look like cocky douches who have their heads too far up the butts that they are ignorant of the fact that to MOST people, 2-seconds is a negligible amount and that $75,000 is not. This challenge wasn’t made to prove to real enthusiasts that the MINI is the best option or comparable to a Porsche, it was to show the other 99% of people that they can have a comparable amount of fun in a MINI as you could in Porsche under many circumstances… Which is true, and is what most potential MINI buyers will take away from this.</p>
<p>Regarding the other “races”, yes, there were a total of 4. Essentially, the Porsche won by 2 seconds every time.</p>
<p>I’ve never had a problem with MINI the brand or MINI the car. I bought one in 2003 and would probably still have it, had it not been totaled. I am considering purchasing another one for a daily driver.</p>
<p>My problem is with Jim McDowell and the advertising agency that came up with this farce. Round one could be considered “fun” by some, but the rest of it was just annoying.</p>
<p>They spent a whole lot of money and appeared to have positive reactions from maybe a few thousand people who were probably already fans and owners.</p>
<p>I’d prefer to see MINI spend their money on bringing down the price or bringing up the content for the money or improving the initial quality scores.</p>
<p>Regarding the spec on the Cooper S, the mechanical LSD is no longer available, so I doubt it had that, and it was on RunFlats. I can’t say for sure about the Sport Suspension, but supposedly the car’s sticker price was 24xxx, so it didn’t have much in the way of options.</p>
<p>@Blainestang with that information I’m guessing I could have closed that 2s gap with my ’07 Cooper S</p>
<p>:-)</p>
<p>You’re comment about the real-world and ‘most people’ is entirely correct. Many people should take away the fact that the mini is CLOSE to porsche performance for so much less cash. I agree. The unfortunate part is that the internet is a very angry and negative place. Which I think MINI should have considered before kicking off such a marketing campaign. Cars for some reason are <em>especially</em> polarizing.</p>
<p>Blainstang I do hear you.</p>
<p>An autocross is a fun run for sure and I am not discounting it. However I strongly disagree that driving on the road is closer to autocrossing than it is to racing on a track. Remember this was a 2 second win for Porsche on a track that fix every strong point of the MINI and few of the Porsche. If they would have done the full lap on the actual race course the time difference would have been epic.</p>
<p>Yet another car site expressing their view on this test:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.worldcarfans.com/110062226946/mini-loses-race-against-porsche-911-in-pr-challenge-video" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.worldcarfans.com/110062226946/mini-loses-race-against-porsche-911-in-pr-challenge-video</a></p>
<p>You guys are too serious!</p>
<p>I certainly see what you are saying, and I am not saying auto-x is more like the street than the track. The truth is neither of them are anything like the street.</p>
<p>From a pure motorsports perspective, the campaign certainly paints the MINI as much closer to the 911 than it is.</p>
<p>However, from a driving-fun perpective, which is what is relevant to most people, it paints them as being similar, which is true. Just look at all the comments from current and former Porsche owners on MINI forums… or visit a site like Rennlist and see how many Porsche owners daily drive MINIs because they are incredibly fun and yet still economical enough to drive every day.</p>
<p>In serious motorsports the P has a big advantage, but in real life, where tenths of a second aren’t the difference between 1st and 7th place, the MINI is relatively comparable. That was the point and that’s what I think most legitimate potential MINI customers (normal people, not internet track “experts”) will see.</p>
<p>Wow! Reading the comments here -from the “usual suspects of course”- makes me think that some of you guys are just too old for this brand (both age and/or spirit wise).</p>
<p>This was done for pure publicity and fun. Of course, they didn’t use a JCW, because seeing a stock MCS race a stock Porsche will burn that image into whoever is watching (e.g., potential future customers), as opposed to “well, that’s a higher priced JCW, so, what’s the point” statement? If MINI USA really wanted to win, it could have been a JCW car, but the aim wasn’t that…</p>
<p>Some of you should really let it go if you dont want to suffer from an aneurysm soon.</p>
<blockquote>Hmm so Lav your saying that a add agency should not be judged for the efforts, interesting idea. From the self admitted little I know about add agencies they live and die by the feedback on their efforts.</blockquote>
<p>No what I’m saying is that somebody that either 1. has so little perspective that they have taken this tongue in cheek event so seriously, or 2. refuses to relax and take it lightly even when they know its tongue in cheek, is likely the last person who has an even perspective on how well this promotion has come across. You are living in your own private idaho.</p>
<p>The race is the symptom. Negative marketing is the problem.</p>
<p>A stunt is measured by how cool it looks when pulled off. When Travis Pastrana jumped a Subaru over the Pine Street Pier, and broke a world record, that was a cool stunt, worthy of Red Bull and Subaru.</p>
<p>MINI running its mouth and losing a race they created in their favor isn’t a cool stunt. I can understand people here trying to soften the blow to MINI, and that’s fine. I am not out to get MINI either. But they made a mistake in thinking a big mouth equalled a cool stunt. Their stunt failed, and backpedaling with “it was only a joke, lighten up” is weak. If they had won, would it still be a joke to MINI?</p>
<p>Brand apologists are a curious breed… if MINI listened only to the “happy echo chamber” you do realize there would be no compelling reason to improve the cars’ performance, marketing, quality, etc.?</p>
<p>A medieval road sign to sum it all up:
“That way lies brand caricature, a perilous and most ignoble end.”</p>
<p>Luckily, I believe MINI thinks otherwise, and is watching responses here and elsewhere WITHOUT immediately discounting the critical impressions and opinions (both from non-owners therefore potential conquest sales and owners enthusiastic enough that they follow MotoringFile).</p>
<p>And goat plays the apologists card..</p>
<p>Where is C4? I miss him so much :)</p>
<p>Wow… We all need to get out more….</p>
<p>Well Lav no offense but so far the totals looks like about 50/50 for the appreciate/dissenting comments so far. Also take note of the various autoblogs and the comments on them and you will see 90% of them are nothing but scorn towards MINI in this event.</p>
<p>Gabe what do you think of a poll about this Porsche vs MINI event?</p>
<p>I think I’ll just take a break from reading anything else about this event here or on MINI USA’s Facebook page. An event that I really looked forward to has turned a bit sour. I think Jim McDowell should make one last funny video, to recapture the original spirit of the event. Eat crow, but do it right, do it funny, and wrap this up with a neat little bow. Goal of this campaign: get people talking about MINI. Goal achieved. Now…I want a closer look at that new BRG…</p>
<p>Goat, I guess I am a “MINI apologist.”</p>
<p>There is a big difference between someone who can see the value or purpose in something and commend MINI for it, and someone who just blindly agrees with everything MINI does.</p>
<p>I was talking to Natalie (don’t remember her last name) who is with Marketing/PR for MINI yesterday, and while I aknowledged that I thoroughly enjoyed the event, I mentioned that there were still many of us (motorsports enthusiasts) that would like to see more REAL motorsports involvement by MINI, something that’s lacking, especially in the US.</p>
<p>So, I think yesterday’s event was overall very good, but that there were some room for improvement in this event and other areas as well.</p>
<p>However, it seems that anyone who doesn’t litter every one of their posts with complaints about the JCW, Countryman, and/or MINI in general is now a “happy sounding board” for MINI.</p>
<p>I agree that just being a blatant fanboy is useless, but so is grasping at straws for something to complain about in virtually every imaginable topic.</p>
<p>If I completely misconstrued your post, I apologize. I am growing weary, however, of the persistent negativity toward every single thing that MINI does. I disagree with some the decisions and directions, but if people don’t temper that with the occasional aknowlegement of positive aspects, their opinions lose objective credibility, IMO.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for anyone else, but I am not disappointed at the result of the race but rather how this whole gimmick of a campaign was handled.</p>
<p>Like someone else said above, they should have at least picked on some exotic brand 10x the price of a MINI (Lambo let’s say) if they really wanted to have some fun and do a David and Goliath type race.</p>
<p>MINI should have just had two drivers show up and after some pomp and circumstance, unveil one of each of these. It would have been an epic battle and way more MINI ;)</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>Oops, image markdowns apparently don’t work :)</p>
<p>I suggested children’s pedal cars from each brand!</p>
<p><a href="http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/scootercatalog_2111_20295281" rel="nofollow">MINI Pedal Car</a></p>
<p><a href="http://shop1.porsche.com/filestore.aspx/zoom.jpg?pool=pdds&type=article&id=WAP+C24+002+17&lang=en-us&filetype=zoom&version=1" rel="nofollow">Porsche Pedal Car</a></p>
<p>This was freakin’ fantastic! I would have never thought MINI would only be just under 2 seconds slower… crazy! I really thought they would lose terribly. Congrats MINI, congrats Porsche.</p>
<blockquote>i mean they should have at least used JCW suspension… it’s a factory option, and the Carrara S has it’s factory sports suspension… standard mind you but it has it none the less…</blockquote>
<p>Actually, it’s not a factory option at all. Strictly dealer-installed, which means paying extra for the labor (and paying for 2 suspensions, since you’re also paying for the one installed at the factory).</p>
<p>It -should- be a factory suspension (and standard on the factory JCW), but that’s for another news item. :)</p>
<p>I have mixed feelings on the whole event. I definitely enjoyed the buildup and excitement, and to a large extent I believe it was BRILLIANT marketing because of how much publicity and interest it generated, way beyond MINIs own funding.</p>
<p>How I feel about it in the end may well depend on what more MINI (esp. Jim McDowell) has to say in the post-op. Hint: Total silence on the matter is not a good thing.</p>
<p>The fact that this generated so many comments proves that people were interested. There is no such thing as bad publicity, and a lot more people are talking about MINI now. I expect that if the MINI had won, the tome of the comments might have been different, but really, I don’t think anyone thought that would happen. It’s all about publicity, and I repeat, there is no such thing as bad publicity!</p>
<p>BTW, I am picking up my 4th MINI next week, a Cooper Camden.It will replace a 2007 Cooper S.</p>
<p>@Dave MacMini</p>
<p>In the pre-internet era, I think “no publicity is bad publicity” was true. It cost a lot of money to get your name out, so when someone talked about you, they were doing you a huge service.</p>
<p>Today, publicity is cheap and oftentimes just noise. The fact that we’re posting here doesn’t mean MINI won any great victory for publicity. We’re trapped behind desks for 9-12 hours a day, passing time talking about stuff that doesn’t really matter.</p>
<p>Enthusiasts have their opinions of MINI, aside from marketing. On the other hand, the non-MINI masses haven’t learned anything here–no one in his or her right mind believes a MINI is a serious competitor to Porsche, except in some specific cornering statistic that, again the masses don’t clue into.</p>
<p>On the whole, this marketing exercise was a wash. It created noise, and bored guys like me are posting about it, but that doesn’t mean the money they spent on publicity, or more importantly, MINI’s credibility as a serious company making enthusiast products, was worth the expenditure. It’s about building a brand, not with gimmicks, but with character. MINI knew (knows) how to do that. It just wasn’t done here, IMO.</p>
<p>I really find it funny how some of the commenters are saying that this campaign was “lame” or a “fail” without having any true matrix to gauge how successful or unsuccessful it was.</p>
<p>From a PR standpoint, an armchair evaluation of the comments on this blog alone tells us they’ve succeeded in achieving a strong viral buzz. I’m not sure why folks are getting so wound up by this, when it was obviously just that, a viral PR stunt.</p>
<p>Going up against a giant like this, you can see that MINI isn’t trying to take away Porsche sales, but rather make a statement about it’s own performance capabilities. Paring up against the EVOs and Hyundai, although fun to watch, would send a completely different message.</p>
<p>In the end, if you’re not seeing the fun and cheeky tone of this promotion, it’s obviously struck a nerve with you – which probably entertains us even more.</p>
<blockquote> It’s about building a brand, not with gimmicks, but with character. MINI knew (knows) how to do that. It just wasn’t done here, IMO.</blockquote>
<p>Did you not see the MINI Mavericks, Desktop Decoy, Men of Medal or the Hammer & Coop stuff? LOL!</p>
<p>It’s the quirky gimmicks that helped build this brand.</p>
<p>Hear, hear, Richard ;)</p>
p>@Richard</p
<p>That’s funny, because the people defending the promotion seem to be more passionate in their views than those who are going, look, it makes sense on paper, but the gist of it doesn’t make sense, and therefore failed to strike the requisite chord.</p>
<p>We all know a successful stunt when we see it. We’ve seen many of them from MINI. There was no need to convince people, or worse, to try to shame people into being quiet about their questions/issues about these prior campaigns, because there weren’t any questions or issues. They were brilliantly pro-MINI without trying to be something that MINI wasn’t.</p>
<p>I have no personal issue with anyone who liked this stunt. I don’t need the stunt explained to me, either. I got what it was trying to do. It literally failed to do it, because MINI lost to the Porsche. As a marketing effect, it cannot be judged because sales-to-marketing is very hard to tabulate, but it is a high-profile campaign. However, the point remains, being high-profile is not equal to being respected and admired in this day and age.</p>
<p>There’s no need to go after people who disagree. There is evidence on both sides, and the fact that we’re posting here says more about MINI’s brand heritage, than this stunt itself. Because believe me, I would not bother to post on HyundaiFile if they chose to do this exact stunt against Porsche.</p>
<p>If MINI made a career out of this polarizing marketing, then maybe fewer would care in the long run. The class of MINI is like Apple, they don’t/shouldn’t need to climb into the trenches with anyone, even Porsche.</p>
<p>Yes, as I hit submit, I recalled the ultra-famous Mac vs PC ads, but Mac won every single one ;)</p>
<p>When the marketing hype is set aside, what’s left is something of significance. This event focused our attention on two very different cars that are the product of a common vision. That vision was to design and build a thoroughly modern car that paid homage to a classic design–to take an old, well-loved model and make it new again. The people in these two companies accomplished this seemingly contradictory challenge in fine style. The fact that we could admire both these special cars together on a bright summer day is, by itself, worth celebrating. I like to imagine that Ferry Porsche and Alec Issigonis looked down and smiled.</p>
p>@Doug</p
<p>Not since Windows 7 came out.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+Begs+for+Mercy+Asks+Microsoft+to+Stop+Airing+Laptop+Hunter+Ads/article15708.htm" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+Begs+for+Mercy+Asks+Microsoft+to+Stop+Airing+Laptop+Hunter+Ads/article15708.htm</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/microsoft-exec-says-apple-asked-them-stop-airing-laptop-hunters/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/microsoft-exec-says-apple-asked-them-stop-airing-laptop-hunters/</a></p>
<p>@Doug
I hear ya. The fanboys can be as bad as the haters.</p>
<p>As far as the campaign goes, perception is subjective. Who really knows if this will help or hurt the MINI brand?</p>
<p>BTW, maybe its because my first comment was after yours, but it wasn’t directed to you. My first comment was for general consumption and that explanation was to merely articulate my own understanding of the stunt – not to inform.</p>
<p>Apologies if it appeared that I was going “after people who disagree”. That wasn’t my intent. I just wanted to point out the humor I have towards some folks who are so passionate about their opinions but don’t bother to support them – where you have.</p>
<p>BTW, As intrigued as I am about the buzz this campaign is getting, I’m not completely on board with the brilliance (or lack of it) in the overall strategy. But I’m just one man’s opinion.</p>
<p>Umm…was this really a stock R56 or was it a JCW?</p>
<p>Pause the video at the 4:00 mark. There’s definitely a JCW badge on the lower grill…can anyone at the race confirm what kind of car was used?</p>
<p>I personally think haters and fanboy labels should be retired. The greatest thing about the brand is the huge number of different people and views in it. I generally would hope we could get into a honest discussion without boxing views different than our own into a corner.</p>
<p>Good job Richard and Doug for your comments above, nice to see the discussion with out rancor at each other.</p>
<p>Hmm….So MINIUSA brought their top of the line Cooper S and challenged it against the middle of the line CarreraS at a short autocross track of which back straight was shortened and halved. Cooper is just a kart with metal carriage, and thus was more suited to this kart track than the CarreraS. Nevertheless, the CarreraS gapped Cooper S by 2 seconds.</p>
<p>To me, it sounds like the drastic price difference did its job well.</p>
<p>So, sounds like we are all in agreement that this ‘Porsche Challenge’ was a colossal mistake that did irreparable damage to the MINI brand. Great. Let’s move on.</p>
<p>Dear mr. McDowell, can we order t-shirts with logo “We did not beat Porsche”, “We eat Porsche’s dust” and “Porsche>MINI”? What serial numbers of these t-shirts?</p>
<p>I do want to mention that even though I’m a bit at a loss with the strategy of this campaign, the execution was brilliant. The use of the available social media, the art direction, the production value all seem on par with a quality MINI campaign.</p>
<p>I have to admit, the MINI brand, for me, was getting a bit stale – so good or bad, I’m glad their thinking outside of their comfort level.</p>
<p>I think if the Mini had won it would have just cast doubt on the intentions of the course design. The outcome proves that it was laid out in good faith, an attempt to equalize their strengths. And the result is was very nearly equal.</p>
<p>Mini’s win or loss really has little bearing on the success of the campaign. It would have been worse to win and stand accused of setting it up. It was truly the best outcome. Mini has no shame in losing by 2sec’s to a clearly stronger car.</p>
<p>Hey, they even got Joe Rogan as the MC. So what if MINI lost. It was fun, as this professionally-edited video finally shows. Now capitalize on it and make the posters and T-shirts available to buy.</p>
<p>And where’s the photo of Jim wearing his Porsche Beat MINI T-shirt.</p>
<p>Frankly, this tongue-in-cheek series of promos and events has been entertaining. Brad Davis was right—MINIs are Fun Cars</p>
<p>colossal mistake? a failure? maybe it’s me but i see it as a big success. it got all kinds of different talking about the mini. people who normally wouldn’t even look at or consider the mini. this is from my own observation at my work place. for the record there are only 3 of us with a mini in a place with over 800 people.</p>
<p>many non hardcore “enthusiasts” thought it was a great little way to get the word out about the mini. they also realized that it was tongue in cheek.</p>
<p>Over 80 comments? Since Minis goal was to get attention and get people talking I’d say this is a win for them.</p>
<p>Good points rolling in on the back 9 of this thread.</p>
<p>My commute is over an hour long each way, mostly on two way state highways. I have the pleasure of waving to fellow MINI drivers twice a day. I also get to open her up two Interstates for a few miles and take one gorgeous off ramp with a S turn on the inbound leg.</p>
<p>I have never driven a Porsche and probably will never be able to afford a new one, but I doubt the wicked smile on my face on that S turn would be significantly larger, the MINI is a total blast as a daily driver.</p>
<p>I am not sure that totally comes across in this marketing effort, but for those who are motivated to test drive a MINI will have an opportunity to experience it first hand.</p>
<p>Would love to see the ‘twins’ against the 911 in a few years…</p>
<p>I thought the whole thing was a cheeky, tongue-in-cheek, bit of advertising fun. I think that people are trying to read way too much into all of this.</p>
<p>A big WELL DONE! to all involved. Thanks for the show. Wish I could have been there to have a chance to drive the course for myself.</p>
<p>Dude… “Over 80 comments? Since Minis goal was to get attention and get people talking I’d say this is a win for them.” and most of them saying how dumb this was. So, if the goal was to get negative attention, yes, they did.</p>
<p>But last time I checked negative attention was well… negative.</p>
<p>True, Rocketboy – and lets not forget the whole reason for this lame stunt. Guy that planned it used to work for Porsche – was “let go”. Got a job with MINI. Decided to plan a stunt that would make him look “cool” and at the same time stick his finger in his old employer’s eye. Figured they could stack the deck with a track specifically set up for the MINI. Didn’t work. Now both MINI and this guy….. FAIL!</p>
<p>It was a nice event regardless of what the outcome was. Mini could have won.. Sorta disappointing for Brad. He has been racing Mini’s since what? 2002?</p>
<p>Worthless comparison. This proves the MINI may be more “cost effective” on a staged autoX course. I’m disappointed at myself for even spending the time to post this.</p>
<p>The worthwhile comparison would be, how many seconds SLOWER would a MINI be around a real course? In a real race on Road Atlanta, that difference would certainly put you at the back of the pack. The money you saved on the car would guarantee a loss every time! So what’s the point?</p>
<p>I don’t remember anyone from MINI actually saying they thought the MINI would win.</p>
<p>MINI did think it would create a ton of publicity and it did exactly that.</p>
<p>They accomplished what they set out to do. I’d call that a success.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what class handicap SCCA would have given the Mini vs. Porshe? I’m curious if this was a real autocross how they would have matched up accounting for PAX.</p>
<p>@JeffG The actual car that they “raced” was a Cooper S. For whatever reason, the ~2 seconds of JCW footage got spliced into the middle of the race footage. That car was there on Monday, and it did run the track (hence the video), but it wasn’t “raced”. I’m not sure if the editor didn’t realize it was a different car, or if he figured no one would notice (I noticed it immediately, too).</p>
<p>@Young. The Cooper S is not the top of the line MINI (and it didn’t even have the sport suspension or LSD), and while the MINI may be smaller, the 911 actually has a significantly shorter wheelbase, so it’s not as if the Porsche was set up with a HUGE disadvantage… They just neutered some of the power advantage.</p>
<p>Over 100 comments here and counting. MINI USA marketing FTW.</p>