I_Am_Very_Busy_7

Mazda. If there’s one (attainable) car brand that can pull me away from my Mini’s, it’s Mazda.

“Don’t I look kind of British?” “Perhaps if you’re willing to lose 20 pounds”

Por que lo nos dos??🤪🤪🤪

It may not be their largest market by volume, but it’s still a very important market to them, not to mention a historically profitable one. So they care about the US market, even if they don’t necessarily understand it very well.

Flair here is going to make me appear a little biased lol. And FWIW I quite like my F66, dinner plate screen and all😂😂 I think they are in a weird position where they’ve been trying to branch away from their existing customer bases into new segments, particularly with the Countryman, in going after the slightly upscale CUV buyers. It’s always been a niche, and I think they maybe went a little too radical in terms of changes that alienated some of the die-hards. US sales have been solid, but if 2026 continues to be a downward trend like Q1, then it’s more cause for concern. BMW was also down, and MINI has such low volume to begin with in comparison, 10% drops look worse than they are. It still isn’t good though, not saying otherwise. The biggest thing they need to fix is marketing. They have sucked at marketing for a long time. I was on the dealer side for a bit, and they could never get their shit together with marketing. They constantly changed messages and vibes and never kept a consistent message or people in place to really give the brand a voice. Taking styling changes out of it, the current products (and generation before) mechanically are really solid little cars. But you wouldn’t know, because BMW never has addressed publicly the mistakes it made with the R56-era models that damaged the brand’s reputation severely, nor have they made any effort to promote how far the build quality has come since then. They need to get eyes on the product. Think about the Italian Job, it was basically a MINI commercial. And I can tell you, working auto shows near 20 years after the fact, people still talked to us all the time about how it made them want a MINI. But if nobody knows your product exists or thinks it’s shit based on outdated reliability reputations, it’s not gonna sell. I also think getting rid of the manual entirely was a dumb idea. US dealers were pissed about it too. The corporate heads in Germany have always not really quite understood what the brand is, nor how it exists in different markets. For example, the Aceman would have been a slam dunk in the US market if it were ICE or hybrid, AWD, and in the $35-45k range. Instead, they made it an EV, utilized a Chinese platform which has now made it near impossible to sell globally because of trade tensions which were already going on during its planning, and the only AWD option they have here is the Countryman, which is too big for a lot of prospective buyers (even if it’s done well with the more general market). I think MINI needs to take a hard look at what it wants to be, and to whom, commit to a fucking strategy, and actually tell people about it.

They don’t call them Intertrashionals for nothing…

As is obligatory 😁😁

Literally. I’m not far from the museum, been going since I was a kid. Seeing that thing up close is still, in my early 30’s, simultaneously one of the coolest and most intimidating things I’ve ever experienced.

Absolutely seconded!!

>No American plans Dammit!! But also, understandable.

Definitely the EP3 Type-R, I want one of those sooooo badly. I believe the Renaultsport Clio V6 (the bonkers mid-engine one) is also eligible this year.

To me, and this is an opinion, they missed the mark with this in the US at least. It’s too expensive for what it is, and they limited its appeal by making it electric only. With our infrastructure what it is (bad) against cooling EV demand amid lack of government support and discontinuation of tax incentives and rebates, it just was a niche product with no real home to go. Had they made it available with an internal combustion variant, or a hybrid of some kind, especially for the USDM where, as a 3-row vehicle its benefit would really be traveling with families, I think the higher price tag could have been a somewhat easier sell. But it was too expensive for most anybody wanting to make the transition to EV when there are more affordable, more established options out there in that space. Then, on the other side, it had limited appeal with older nostalgic buyers who tend to be less-EV friendly. At least here. It’s a really neat product and I nerded out the first time I saw one in the wild, but it was a swing and a miss for the US market, more so in pricing and positioning and a little bit of bad luck with the current market climate.

International is due out with a new truck in the near future, and this does appear to have their diamond shaped logo under the camo. It also has a similar grille to their most recent concept truck. My guess is it’s the new IH.

I do quite like the way it looks, seen a couple around my area as of late and I quite like them.

I used to work at a MINI dealer and they would always give us free Red Bulls when they’d bring these in for service. Pretty neat cars up close.

IT’S TOTALLY NOT A PHASE, MOM!

Heavily biased but also quite like these lol

Well this is the coolest thing I’m gonna see today.

I would be so broke if they ever put these up for sale😂😂

I mean…they have to know right?😂😂

Same with the new Mini’s. Which, I can appreciate the sentiment of wanting physical controls still, but like, how often are these people messing with their climate control when driving? I literally set it before I leave on automatic and never have to think about it.

You guys still have any of the old 362’s left or are they all retired?

If I beat you there, I’ll do the same and try to remember to report back!

I dislike most modern CDJR offerings, but I am a sucker for a ‘50’s Virgil Exner-designed Chrysler product.

They also never got a C5, though I did ask one of the staff about that and they basically said, “if they’d ever retire them we’ll get one” lol. This was years ago before they started doing so more recently. Glad to hear it’s still there, I hope to see it back on display one day, it’s a really neat aircraft.

Trying to figure out what happened to this thing. I’m not far from the USAF museum and saw it in the outdoor air park (as shown in the last pic) but one time it was just not there. Hasn’t been since then. I fear it’s maybe ended up scrapped :(

This is the only acceptable answer

THANK YOU! So much this.

Came here for this comment, wasn’t disappointed lol

It seemed like it was more the cost to develop the car to market would have made it really expensive with the propulsion systems they were wanting to give it (hybrid and-or electric), there was talk it could be a six-figure car. And at least in the US, people already think MINI’s are too expensive at $30-40k, so it was just going to be a really tough sell for what they wanted to do. They were really shooting high innovation-wise, which was kind of its downfall. IMO, they should have either just kept it simple and used the existing UKL architecture and not been glued to making it alternative power, or invested in their own small vehicle skateboard architecture upfront, which would have likely saved them significant headaches down the road since they currently can’t sell their EV offerings in North America as they are built by Spotlight Motors in China and face heavy tariffs. It was a really niche product within a niche brand and it just never really found the right amount of support nor did it have the volume potential because of how bespoke and radical they were trying to make it.

I worked at a MINI dealership for a little while, and there was serious consideration to bringing this car into production. In the end, the cost to develop a viable platform for what was ultimately going to be a niche model just outweighed any potential sales I think they thought they could achieve. We were all bummed when it was finally cancelled though. It’s a shame their two-seater offerings died with the second gen and it got no third gen model, right when they finally started getting built really well.

I want to preface that I’m not a driver, but I am a nerd lol, so I did get to sit in one of these when it was shown at MATS the first year it launched, and I was amazed at the amount of room and visibility it had compared to the 389 they had sitting next to it. I really think they look good, how do you like it so far?

Any guy who would paint his truck up like that would go to a minister’s funeral dressed in feathers.

Looks to be a steel coil hauler, they have it enclosed in the center section, and down below the trailer deck, as it’s safer than having it on an open flatbed flush with the deck. BT runs in my area and I see them once in awhile with these.

That’s rad! Scary, but rad lol

Yeah there newer model range isn’t half bad looking for the most part. Garbage mechanicals but that’s to be expected.

I’m not a Stellantis guy, but honestly I think it’s a nice looking update, definitely a lot more modern. It’s likely to do quite well with its intended market.

It happens every new model generation lol. It was the same for me with the new F66, and as you can see by my flair, I got over it😂😂

The third gen Mini Cooper (F56), I absolutely hated it when it came out. I then proceeded to own one for 7 years lol.

This. Been a MINI owner for a long ass time and worked on the dealer side as well. The Gen3’s and newer are incredibly solid but the R-chassis, especially the Gen2 with the Prince engines, are absolutely not a good move. Unless you’re like planning to take it apart anyway or do a project build.

Really both

I kinda get it. For most people, cars are just like appliances. They want the one that will last the longest with the least headaches. It’d be like me buying a washer or dryer. I just want a dependable brand that I can buy, use, and forget about with the exception of expected maintenance. For many people, that’s what a car is to them. That being said, I’ve liked the new Toyota products, they’re a lot nicer and certain trims significantly flashier than they used to be.

TIL the CX-50 is made in Alabama

Appreciate the detailed response, thank you!

Just out of curiosity, what did you dislike about it? A friend of mine has one and seems happy with it, but I’ve not had the chance to drive it?

I was more referring to things like people freaking out about the taillights being different and it suddenly not being “worthy” of the brand, stuff like that. If you hate it for the reasons you mention, you’ve likely hated most of the modern iterations and I respect your consistency. I suppose it comes down to what it’s being compared with. In the US, it’s still amongst the smallest new cars you can buy while still being engaging to drive and not being a tin can. If you compare it to the original Rover era, it’s giant. But even the Gen 1 BMW gens were having trouble passing increasingly stringent safety regs, so not much they can do there. End of the day, it’s different strokes.

I agree it should still be offered for those that want it, or at least on the JCW versions which have a higher take rate as you point out.

I have a 2025, though a Cooper S, and I’m really enjoying it. Had a 2018 S 2dr prior. I think it’s a great car. A lot of the MINI “purists” are butthurt about it for tons of IMO really arbitrary reasons. But I quite like it. The one thing I do understand is people being mad about the lack of manual, that’s truly unfortunate. But, I think the DCT is quite good, it’s got a much peppier low end compared to the old 6spd auto. Can be a little jolty off the line initially from a cold start but overall it’s been nice to experience so far.

No problem! It’s a super cool show, I highly recommend checking it out!

As a longtime Mini owner, I don’t hate the side profile, it reminds me a bit of a Gen 2 Coupe or Roadster with the “reverse hat” look. Not a fan of the direct front or back, it looks too much like they tried to smush the Rover Mini look in between massive pontoon fenders. I think the first gen R50 was a much better homage while looking modern and compact still.