[Nobbc] More than you want to know about Minis

[Greg Tatarian]

  Hi Gerry,

On 1/31/2011 11:03 AM, G. Mugele wrote:
> 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.
Well, that was a fun and informative lecture, but I think you may have 
prepared using the syllabus for the wrong course. ;-) .   I 
intentionally minimized the history of classic Minis, since that wasn't 
what we were talking about. The question Clif raised was how to refer to 
John's MINI. Not that I didn't expect someone to take up where I left off...

>
> The BMW Mini is related only in layout and appearance.
Such is the fate of many British car makes and models...
Acknowledging the inherent risks of quoting Wikipedia, here goes:
Minis are assembled at Plant Oxford 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_Oxford> in Cowley 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowley>, United Kingdom, where around 
4,700 people are employed.^[2] 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_%28BMW%29#cite_note-1> Engines for 
Mini cars are produced at the Hams Hall Plant nearBirmingham 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham>, United Kingdom, which has 
around 800 employees.^[3] 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_%28BMW%29#cite_note-2> Mini 
sub-assemblies and pressings such as doors are supplied by a plant in 
Swindon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon>, United Kingdom, where 
around 1,000 people are employed.^[4] 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_%28BMW%29#cite_note-3> Minis are 
primarily developed in the United Kingdom by BMW's Development 
Division.^[5] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_%28BMW%29#cite_note-4> 
Around 217,000 Mini's were sold worldwide in 2009.^[6] 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_%28BMW%29#cite_note-5> .

I'm only half British, and the other half Armenian, and none of my 
British friends would call me British, so I guess we would have to call 
the MINI a car of the world.

I resisted buying or MINI (not Mini) for many years, until I drove one. 
Heritage vs. current parentage aside, the JCW is an outstanding car to 
drive (ask the Lotus Exiges and Elises we led recently on a GGLC drive), 
and one heck of a lot safer, more comfortable and more rugged than it's 
namesake from lo those many years ago.

BTW, the REME club has a mix of Minis and MINIs, and from what I've 
seen, the respective owners do speak to one another (probably when a 
Mini needs a tow). ;-)

Cheers,
Greg

>
> Gerry