MINI USA Sales Up 27% for January 2015
The first sales figures of the year are in! The result is good but don’t get carried away by the headline above. With 2,543 vehicles sold during the same period last year, January 2014 was MINI USA’s lowest sales volume since 2010, which puts in perspective the 26.9% difference with January 2015. When looking back at previous years, January 2015 is only 454 cars shy from matching MINI USA’s best start ever and that was back in 2013. I guess that [sticker issue](https://www.motoringfile.com/2015/01/25/minis-delivery-stop-for-the-cooper-model-due-to-incorrect-stickers/) didn’t help. Click through for the full model break-down.
Based on our conversations with MINI Executives during NAIAS, the goal of the US subsidiary for 2015 is to regain 2013 sales levels and while it’s too early to tell, they seem to be in line with their forecast. MotoringFile’s prediction is that they will actually beat their 2013 record of 66,576 cars sold. Now if anyone is interested in sharing their guesstimate, I’m sure Todd won’t mind throwing an additional stick of butter for the winner.
<p>Maybe Americans aren’t buying it in droves because it’s so preposterously ugly?</p>
<p>Both 1 series cars from BMW made me look twice when they were launched.
Eventually I came to appreciate the good looks of both cars. But this
Mini – it really is a dog’s butt of a car. That honking great nose and
those pig-in-lipstick tail lights. It really is dreadful to behold.</p>
<p>Then
last week I watched a woman pull up in the new 5 door. It must have
been £30k worth of car because it had EVERYTHING. And really – the first
thought that came to mind was pantomime dame (that was the car). Then she got out of the car – she must have been 70lb (15lb of which was make-up) wearing skin tight clothes, 5 inch heels with a platform and boobs like a couple of bazookas. She tottered around to the other side on her heels with the gait of a dockworkers dog and dragged an overdressed, loudly squawking kid out of the back and off to the shops.</p>
<p>And it hit me. BMW have made the car ridiculous so they can sell it to ridiculous people.</p>
<p>Fluffy Teeth,
What hole did you come out of?</p>
<p>Hello. It’s like this dpcompt. When a man and a woman meet and like each other very much…. Oh. I’m not going to give you the birds and bees story. Ask your mother to explain it. It’s enough to tell you that I came out of the same kind of hole that we all did. Why would anyone ask that question on a car blog? It’s a bit weird. The Mini is not the only troll around here.</p>
<p>You sound like those women that critique celebrity outfits at red carpet events. The voice I imagined for you while reading your post was really quite amusing.</p>
<p>Yeah. That voice in your head. That’s the person they made the new Mini for.</p>
<p>I just can’t comprehend the type of person who willingly goes onto a blog dedicated to a car with the sole purpose of making fun of said car. Such a weird phenomenon.</p>
<p>Don’t feed the trolls, you guys. They need attention and outrage to live. Let their little diatribes wither on the vine.</p>
<p>Do you seriously believe me to be a troll? What is your definition of a troll?</p>
<p>The blog is dedicated to a whole car brand – and there are some great cars in the Mini brand. But I think this new model is a cynical move by BMW. There is less emphasis on the mininess of this Mini. That nose is extra length that has to be parked – no use in a city car. And it’s extra length is a big styling problem when used in conjunction with the classic mini look. I understand that BMW makes the Mini as part of a platform share with the small BMW branded car, but it’s not true to say that it has to have that big long nose – a short one is do-able – just not cheap or easy. But they want to charge premium money for the product it should be right. There is also a greater emphasis with options on this car in as much as the customer has to add more options to make a complete car than on the older models. All this goes against what makes Mini Mini to many. My last Mini was a beauty – 2011 Cooper S convertible, but it had to go a week before the warranty ran out because it had been a nightmare of unreliability & poor customer service for the first three years. I would be happier if they concentrated on making the car right and reliable rather than offering options that distract from the actual driving of the car. So – I guess it’s a case that if I don’t think they’re doing an entirely great job with that car I’m going to say it. I know a lot of people find that a ‘weird phenomena’ in these days of illiberal liberalism where dissent is fast becoming against the law – but I would say that if you take a remark about a car so personally (as many people so obviously do around here) you may be being a touch over sensitive. If you think the car is perfect, why not tell me why you think I’m wrong?</p>
<p>“but it’s not true to say that it has to have that big long nose – a short one is do-able – just not cheap or easy.” I can’t take you seriously when you don’t even know the specifics of the car you are commenting on lol. Pedestrian impact standards is what made the nose that long, there needs to be a certain distance between the engine and the bumper.</p>
<p>I disagree with you that it’s so straightforward. And out of everything I had to say, that’s all you can come up with?</p>
<p>I don’t need to say anymore 🙂 Nothing will change you nor is it my job to do so. Can’t fix stupid.</p>
<p>Enough.</p>
<p>Interesting to see the Roadster sales up. Still think this model sits well in the MINI line up. Will be sorry to see it go.</p>