[Nobbc] More than you want to know about Minis

[Peter Ziedrich]

Here is one the best short histories of Minis online at:
http://www.outmotoring.com/pages.php?pageid=7 (Out Motoring)

MINIs unlike Minis have only been assembled in England at the same Rover
plant that manufactured the last decade of British Rover Minis. That may
have changed with the introduction of the new Countryman (not sure where
they are assembled).  BMW has owned the name Mini and MINI since they
purchased the company and assets it in 1995. BMW also owns the Triumph name
and has considered offering a Triumph roadster under the MINI brand (thus a
MINI Triumph).  For now the MINI Coupe and MINI Roadster scheduled for
release late in 2011 & 2012 will have to suffice.

>From what I have read, MINI will be building a small BMW car at their Oxford
facility based on the MINI platform for release sometime in the next couple
of years.

MINIs have same of the same charming qualities as their BMC relatives
including the occasional electrical problem, but are blessed with
outstanding German and American design and engineering.


Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: nobbc-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:nobbc-bounces at autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of G. Mugele
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 11:03 AM
To: North Bay British Car Club
Subject: [Nobbc] More than you want to know about Minis

Ahem...  well Greg, you have the virtue of youth; you're not old  
enough to really have this down.   However, it was not as straight- 
forward as all that.

BMC built the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor at a couple plants in
England beginning in '59 or so.  The Morris quickly acquired the sobriquet
'Mini" in popular UK vernacular.  Very soon afterward the Austin also became
the 'Mini.'  I can only guess that the appellation was the result of how
people described them.  Anyway... as the popularity grew BMC did some badge
engineering and also marketed the Riley Elf and the Wolseley Hornet, giving
them some hideous fins and  
other awkward cosmetics.  Those poor cousins were also called Minis.    
Not long after the initial introduction, BMC upped the displacement to a
throbbing hunk of iron displacing 998cc and called it the Austin  
Mini Cooper or the Morris Mini Cooper.   Those soon  became simply  
"Mini Coopers."  Time and popularity soon brought us many variants as well
as more and more powerful versions.  Those sporty ones were labeled with
things like 'S' and '1275 S.'

Around the time or shortly after BMC became British Leyland, the company
formally adopted the Mini name and the cars were sold under the 'Mini'
label.  Of course by then there were variants all over the
world: Italy, Spain, Chile, New Zealand, Belgium and a number of other
countries all had plants.  Some were factory and some were built under
license (Innocenti). I don't know who made the Mini Moke but I suspect that
it was an official BMC product.

In the 90s BMW became the parent company by buying Land Rover (Rover
Group) from British Aerospace.  At that time Rover Group was owner of what
was left of BMC.  I suspect BMW bought Rover to cover for the lack of an SUV
in the market.  When BMW introduced the X5 they quickly dumped Land Rover on
Ford and at the same time sold the rest of Rover Group (including MG) to
some British consortium.  But BMW decided to keep  
the Mini name and opted to build a new model.   The original Mini was  
out of production by 2000 or so.

The BMW Mini is related only in layout and appearance.

BTW mine was a '61 Mini Cooper.  It was grossly overpowered :) with that 55
HP beast under the hood.  I am amazed that I survived owning that incredibly
fun little car: it inspired spirited driving well  
beyond my skills at the time.   These days, with 400+ HP engines  
relatively commonplace, it's hard to imagine that 50 years ago 100
horsepower was a real handful, especially in our LBCs.

This concludes todays lecture.

Gerry






On Jan 31, 2011, at 8:22 AM, Greg Tatarian wrote:

> I'll let John answer to tell you what he wants to call his MINI, but 
> here's the deal on these cars (I know as we have a 2011 Mini John 
> Cooper Works (JCW) Hardtop;
>
> The car company is "MINI", which as owned by BMW differentiates its 
> name from the original "Mini", which, short version here, was made 
> both by Austin and Morris in the UK, and other companies overseas 
> under license during the day.

G. Mugele
mewgull at mugele.net

*** "Life in Lubbock, Texas taught me two things. One is that God loves you
and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful,
dirty thing on the face of the earth and you should  
save it for someone you love." --   Butch Hancock
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