MINIUSA Sales down a Staggering 27.4% For April
It looks like a tight supply of key models crushed MINIUSA’s chances of matching its sales increase from March.
Official News: For April, MINI USA reported 3,481 automobiles sold, a decrease of 27.4 percent from the 4,796 sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date, MINI USA reported a total of 13,732 automobiles sold, a decrease of 12.2 percent from 15,635 automobiles sold in the first four months of 2016.
MINI Pre-Owned Vehicles
– In April, MINI Certified Pre-Owned sold 1,055 vehicles, a decrease of 3.6 percent from April 2016.
– Total MINI Pre-Owned sales were 2,940 vehicles in April 2017, an increase of 15.9 percent from April 2016.
– Total MINI Pre-Owned sales year-to-date were 10,495, a 15.8 percent increase from the first four months of 2016.
<p>That should fix it self once the Countryman is fully onstream. Per your reporting, BMW isn’t planning on a major update of the front fascia of the F56. I’m a serial buyer–7 MINIs in 13 years. Countryman has moved to far upmarket, I can’t bend down & fit into a Clubman, and I just don’t like the F56. What the hell am I going to do next?</p>
<p>Wait out the new Countryman to hit the CPO market, which I know goes against everything you do for cars. That being the case, I got nothing.</p>
<p>I don’t doubt it. I’m on my THIRD engine on my F56 (including the motor the vehicle shipped with) and I have been fighting BMW/MINI NA for them to give me warranty coverage on this recent engine drop. The car was just under 50k, which means the moment the engine work was done under warranty, it ended. My question to them is with their lack of quality control, why the hell can’t you warrant my engine? I’m a serial BMW’er, I have a 5.5L meth injected E60 M5, F15 X5D, used to have an R55 Mini as well….they spat in my face. BMW’s current direction is so unbecoming and you can see the corporate side really breaking through. There was a time where I thought BMW was FIELDS above Audi and Mercedes, what now do they offer that the others don’t? It comes as no surprise to see ANY sort of decline. I’m a huge BMW fan since as far as I can remember and am pushed into a corner because of the brand I love. Reading the “facelift” article about the F56 and seeing the engine revisions was the cherry on top of my sad birthday week.</p>
<p>I don’t think this has anything to do with tight supply. My local dealership has a parking lot full of brand new cars that nobody wants. I’m sorry, but as I’ve said since the F56 was revealed, it is unbecoming to the general public. People aren’t excited about the way they drive these days, people don’t want a Ford Fiesta sized car at a BMW price. The R56 was considerably less expensive, much more fun to drive, looked a whole lot better and wasn’t trying to be dull to ‘attract’ a new audience. This is BMWs problem across the board. They ditched performance focused everything in the pursuit of softening up to appeal to an audience they thought was there. Well I’m sorry, it hasn’t worked. When a BMW 5er is called ‘quick, but mediocre otherwise’ you have a serious problem. When a 3er comes in last place against a Lexus, Cadillac or Jaguar you know you’ve messed? up. Alfa Romeo is the new BMW. Their vehicles are more performance focused, generally more affordable, look better and have the uniqueness that BMWs used to have. MINI at this point might as well pack up and leave the US unless they plan s major overhaul of going back to their old ways. I don’t see this happening as the powers in charge of BMW group don’t seem to care about real driving pleasure anymore. It’s all about perceived performance and little more.</p>
<p>Well well well said. BMW’s motives have changed entirely. And, back to the F56- I’m personally a big fan of its exterior appearance, interior quality. I wouldn’t say previous generations were ugly at all, I am just a fan of the modern design and slight familiarity to the Porsche 991 chassis 911 on the front end. I also appreciate the LED headlights.</p>
<p>However, the soft driving characteristics PISS me off. I drive hard, I track hard, and I purchase with the intent to build my cars as I have always in terms of upgrades so for the the F56 is the perfect chassis given it’s room for improvement in the suspension department. I also appreciate the vehicles power and that it has no problem to 150.</p>
<p>Now these are all enthusiast real nichey type things that I’m willing to work with, which don’t apply to the other 98% of consumers. I’ve watched my favorite company sell themselves out just to line their pockets. Seeing the countless stupid decisions BMW has made with introducing so many unneeded models (X4, GT cars), them switching to electric steering (which is a characteristic I CANNOT get used to in my F15 diesel X5, M sport WITH M adaptive suspension).</p>
<p>In the end, your Alfa comment is almost spot on. I’d agree 100% if they offered vehicles in manual and didn’t go through FCA’s quality control. Even AMG cars can run around a track, even Chevy is now focused on doing what BMW USED TO DO!!!!!</p>
<p>The worst part is that electric power steering doesn’t have to be bad. VW, Porsche, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, and others have all managed amazing EPAS systems. Take the 911 for example, and it still has real feel, great weighting, etc. VW graced the MkVII GTI/R with great EPAS too. Same goes for the other companies I mentioned. I think if Alfa catches on here in the US, which I hope comes true, we will eventually see manuals come here. I think Jaguar will eventually do the same with the XE. I owned an R56 S LCI 6MT and loved it. It was handsome, laser focused and rode like a true performance hatch should… Firm. Yes it was a little too firm for some, but then again, MINIs are too small for most so who cared? Nobody who was in the market for a Mini In the US did at least. That was what made the cars so fun and different than the Toyota Yaris rolling around every other street. The B48 engine IMO lost a lot of the zest that the N18 had, and I’m not the only person to feel this way. Even Burger Tuning dynoed them both and was surprised to see the older, 25% smaller engine put out higher HP and torque across almost the entire rev range and it made power all the way to redline, whereas B48 dies off anywhere past 5500RPM.</p>
<p>I switched to a GTI after getting fed up with the reliability issues I had (nothing as serious as the guy who’s on his 3rd engine), but still it was enough to force me to sell it. Mainly electrical problems and overall cheap parts, which BMW is still known for. My MkVII GTI has every feature you could think of (parking assist, ACC, DCC, blind spot detection, etc.), the absolute gem VAQ differential that is bar none the greatest FWD innovation in the past 50 years, and with the dynamic chassis control I can literally make my car go from comfortable to as firm as my old Mini with the push of button. When I test drove the F56 it was still brittle over bumps, yet leaned like a sailboat in sharp curves. I don’t quite know how they managed to achieve such a weird combination. The ‘damper control’ on the MINI felt like it wasn’t hooked up to anything. I couldn’t tell a single difference between comfort and sport.</p>
<p>But what really sold me on the GTI was its engine. I regularly get over 35 mpg on the highway at 80mph in a comfortable car that seats 5, has 5 doors, a large boot and I’m pushing over 300WHP</p>
<p>300 WHP sounds lovely in a 7 GTi. And I’m the guy on engine no. 3. That’s what happens when you have 1 of the first 14 launch editions here. And I saw the burger test between the B48 and N18, but on street and track I’ve had not a single problem pulling hard on older Mini’s. Truth be told (and while this shouldn’t be a hot hat he’s strong point..) the highway is where the car truly shines, in spirit of it being a BMW I guess. That was my issue with the R55 I had, quick but not fast. And dude…….brittle over bumps while slope-ing in turns, how the hell did they achieve that!? Always irritated me to death, and adds a false flag to steering input. I just ordered Sachs coilovers, all power flex bushings, a strut bar, mini challenge rear tie bars, and alum control arms. I’m not playing on this build and after a corner balance the car will drive like my other machines. Like you, I could careless how tough a little hatch feels (as the previous generations) on the comfort end. I’m just annoyed at the company for not being who they were when Pierce Brosnan was James Bond. Everyone and everything changes, thats fine. But keep directions true to heart, dilute as little as one can. Just do what Porsche does for Christ sakes.</p>
<p>If I didn’t decide to move forth with building this thing, it would’ve been e46 M3 or Golf R as a replacement.</p>
<p>My other comment still is awaiting moderation… It’s interesting how this sure doesn’t show you to freely Express opinions unless they are exactly what MF wants.</p>