Rocketboy's MINI Blog - Archives

Posted up in the comments section was this post:

"It's the front end of '55 Corvette!

http://www.vetteweb.com/features/0403vet_55bubble/.

Has no resemblence to a MIni whatsoever!!! HELLO!HELLO!
HELLO!"

Let's take a look at that, and more about the MINI vs the Nomad.




Now what do you think looks most like what? Besides the fact that the Corvette has a lot more hardware in the front end, the Nomad looks like a MINI with the roof chopped, and well, nothing like a Corvette.

Also, when the designer of the Nomad says "I wasn't strictly targeting the Mini, but there are certain similarities", and "The Mini really isn't terribly clever in terms of its packaging, that's what we wanted to target with this car." how can you say that there MINI was not an influence in desiging the Nomad?

Here's another eye test for you:


Quite different looking trucks, wouldn't you say? Well, not according to GM, where they sued Avanti Motors over the design. Being the small company that Avanti Motors is, it ended up in the expected out of court settlement, with Avanti having to change some of the design elements.

And just for the sake of completion, here's a pic of what the 2001 Nomad Concept sportwagon looked like:

which is, not like a MINI at all. I wonder what influenced the change in design concept from a sport wagon to a sport compact?

Sorry about the sloppy look of the pics, but my computer is still in shambles from the last 6 month reinstall.

Erik...

**UPDATE**

Ok, I found where the Nomad came from. The first Nomad concept, AKA the Corvette Nomad.
Hey, I'll admit when I'm wrong, and I'll even leave the post up.

The last Mini in international rally competition just raced it's last race, as reported by Australia's RallySport News.

With MINI embracing the rallying history of the original Mini Cooper, and a special edition MINI to be revealed at the Chicago Auto Show, (as reported by bridger.us/mini), I have to wonder how much of this is pure marketing, and how much is 'fleshing out' how much MINI fans really want to see it in competition.

Of course, this is nothing but speculation, and hopeful wishing, as according to this post on bridger.us/mini, the MINI would have to go thru quite a few changes to even be able to compete, much less win.

Erik...

I like to check out where I rank on search engines, just to see where I stand. Recently, I did a Google search for a few keywords, and much to my suprise, I found that one of my blog entries had been reposted on someone eles's blog, one that I have nothing to do with. I won't mention the terms, or the other blog, because I want to enforce the fact that if you see whole sections of my blog posted on someone elses blog, and their blog has NOTHING to do with MINIs, in no way did I authorize it, and and no way am I connected with it. The other blog in question is not a MINI blog, it's not even a car related blog. It's someone's personal and political views. I try not to make my blog too personal, and I keep politics out of it totally. That was a concious decision, which was basically the only reason I started doing a MINI Blog. I saw blogs like bridger.us/mini (now Motoringfile) and was impressed that blogs have moved from the over-personal, live journal type of website.
So, in case you're wondering how something I wrote became inserted into someone else's blog, in a way that makes me look like that I directly contributed to it, was they are using a service called Waypath. What Waypath does, is troll the internet, looking for blogs, and insert sections into someone else's blog, without your permission, or any notification. How this is a good thing, I don't know. According to the creator of Waypath, "Most bloggers welcome new readers, and Waypath is the best tool on the Web for connecting bloggers and readers with similar interests.". Yes, I welcome new readers, but what does that have to do with the fact that someone reprinted what I wrote in a way that it appears that I'm asscioated with something that I'm not? No only is Waypath a horrible idea, but it is nothing less than piracy.

Erik...

**Update**
I'm finally off the other blog.

The New York Times just posted up an article entitled "What to Expect When You're Expecting a Mini-Cooper". It's a great article about what many of us went thru while waiting for their MINI. Checking the status on-line, waiting for the 'goodies' to come in the mail, posting on message boards asking questions before I took delivery, deciding on a name for it (Mach Four), etc. It's just nice to see when a news reporter 'gets it'. Registration may be required, or you can just check out a not as nice reprint of the article on TheLedger.com.

And my wait? Ordered mid June 2002, and took delivery the first week of September. Some people were just astounded that I would wait for that long for a car. Well, besides the fact there was no way that a un-claimed MINI Cooper S was going to hit the lot, considering it was coming from across the pond, it really wasn't that bad of a wait.

Erik...
Comments?

As first posted on bridger.us/mini, Auto Express released some more photos of the MINI Cabrio. And yes, you can just barely tell that the tail lamps are not all red with a little white spot as was previously thought to be. They do still have amber, it's now at the top of the lamp, and not the middle. I think this is a much better idea, but still, I like the current lamps better.


Erik...

As you might have seen down below, I ordered a set of Blizzak tires for my MINI. I've been waiting for some good snow on the ground before I posted up what I thought of them, and well, we finally got more snow in Western New York. So, as for the tires? Nice. I'm back to zooming around again. The biggest problems I've had with my MINI in the snow have been: Not being able to accelerate from a dead stop, Not being able to make it up my driveway on the first shot if I didn't shovel since it last snowed, and sliding when I'm making a turn. Well, I'm back to being the first one off at a stoplight (making sure there's nobody running it first, of course); I made it up my driveway, no problem, when it had a good four to five inches of snow on it; and my car goes where I want it to now. It's made my ASC go from the thing that makes my car go slow, to the thing that helps my car to go where I want it. I cannot recommend getting a set of Blizzaks more. I also am yet another person who had a really good experience ordering from The Tire Rack. About a half an hour after I placed my order on-line, the sales guy called me up to make sure I knew that they were not runflat tires. How's that for taking care of your customers?

Erik...

***UPDATE***
I almost forgot. Another huge difference is that potholes, which are always worse in the winter, are much less jarring. I love the 'feel every pebble' feel of the runflats and the standard rims, but it's nice to have the extra rubber between the MINI and the road when we get into a freezing/melting cycle.

***UPDATE #2***
Tonight there was freezing rain on a thin layer of hard packed snow. The Blizzaks handled it like a champ.

Comments?

Yes, I know, few updates lately, I've been ill. Which is almost a blessing in disguise, because I saw something on Tech TV's Tech Live. They were doing a story about the Detroit Auto show, and I happened to see something which caught my eye. What was it? The New Chevy Nomad. Which looks just a WEE bit like the front end of a MINI. Click here for a huge pic from Autospies.

Coincidence? Well, according to an article by BBC's Top Gear, it's not. And I'm wondering if MINI/BMW is currently calling their lawyers.

According to the article,

Simon Cox, Director of the GM Advanced Design UK studio in Coventry, is the man behind the Nomad. He says: "I wasn't strictly targeting the Mini, but there are certain similarities. I wanted this car to have real personality, something the Mini clearly has - it has a character, a soul. The Mini's appeal also crosses a lot of generations. You can equally imagine younger and older people driving it. While the Nomad is very compact, it's lower, wider and much more flexible," he says. "I envisage it being used by business people, families or the sort of driver who'd want to paint a great big white stripe down the middle of it and take it to a track."

Also...

The moves to make the Nomad a more practical proposition than the Mini further stretch to the rear seats. "The Mini really isn't terribly clever in terms of its packaging," says Cox. "That's what we wanted to target with this car. It's a proper four-seater, where the Mini is strictly speaking a 2+2."

Simon Cox very CLEARLY had the MINI in mind. That, along with the VERY similar front end, the roundish grille, the oval-ish bug eye headlamps (with 3 sections even), and the a very MINI-esque profile, makes this, to me, VERY clearly a knock-off.

Erik...

I just got my first hit from a BMW owned domain... Hey, glad to have you here...

I finally broke down, and picked up a set of Bridgestone Blizzak and a set of steel rims for my MINI. I'm really noticing the difference that a year of wear and tear on my OEM tires makes. If you're interested in getting a set yourself, the status of the tires that are a 'standard' winter package, the 185/60QR15 Blizzaks inventory status is dodgy at best. They show up as 'special order', or not at all. The sales guy that I was in contact with, said that they are all out for the season, and that I'd have to buy the 195/60QR15s instead.

From an article posted up on Yahoo Finance.

"Goodyear is the world's leading manufacturer of run-flat tires, with applications on the Chevrolet Corvette, Mini Cooper, various BMW sports cars and others."

I finally found out when the Buffalo Auto Show will be. According to Business First, it will be February 2nd to the 8th.

Unless the weather is terrible again, I'm sure I'll be there this time...

If you're looking for when the Auto Show is coming to your neck of the woods, it might be listed here, at the bottom of the page.

After a delay, I finally got a chance to do a mockup for the front...




Again, the focus is moved downward, along with the chrome. As reported on bridger.us/mini, the pics are again from www.mini2.com. This bumper is believed to have the chrome package which includes the rings around the fog lamps, which to me, is the worst aspect of this re-design. I'm also not sure I like the wide open black plastic mesh under the plate. It might be just a trick of the camera, but I can see way too much structural metal for my taste. Also, again, this for the MINI Cooper, and not the S.

My theory is that MINI is trying to make more difference between the MINI Cooper, and the MINI One, which have virtually the same exterior. Of course, this now makes the MINI Cooper look sportier which blurs the lines between the Cooper and the Cooper S.

In the first part of my super-secret project, where my bad photoshopping skills are revealed to the world, I thought I'd try to give everyone a better idea on how the redesigned rear bumper will look. I first learned on Bridger.us/MINI, about the photos that were leaked to MINI2.com about the new parts, and was not quite sure what I thought of them, as they were just close in shots of parts. Also, what's the fun of reporting that someone reported something that was reported on? So, I figured that I'd try to photoshop the parts on a MINI, to get a better idea. Well, here's the first step.



Of course, it's a bit out of perspective, and if I would have thought ahead, I would have used a BRG MINI to paste the pics on, but eh, for a first timer, I've seen worse. My take? The lamps don't look as bad as I thought that they would, but in the same token, the don't look as good as the old ones. Now, if they would have went with the RED/WHITE/AMBER look, like the old boxy lamps from the classic Minis, I'd be be happier with the change. But making the lamp all one color, with just a inset reverse lamp makes it look rather dull. And the rear fog just looks weird in the middle of the bumper. (Not to mention, this totally kills the quick brake light trick, with using a jumper to make your fogs supplemental break lights)

And the bumper does not look a heck of a lot different. They changed the focus from the middle of the bumper to below it. It's more of a add something, take something away.

Either way, it just makes me that much happier that I bought my MINI when I did.

Coming soon:
The new front end

A huge thanks to dbmini.us for another exchange of links... and for getting me the Configurator. Secret project is in the works, stay tuned...

As the site's actually being updated with some degree of regularity, I'm removing the word 'Useless' from the title. I guess it's just my way of making this more 'official'. (I just made some banners for sigs too.. oh well...)

Also, a big thanks to Gabe over at MotoringFile for the link back.

And last, but not least, I'm looking for a copy of the MINI Configurator program that was making the rounds a year or so ago.. I lost/threw out my copy, and there's a project that I'm hoping to do soon, but I can't do it w/o the configurator. If you can point me to one, please, drop me a line at Rocketboy@Adelphia.Adelpha.net (and as always, remove one of the adelphia to get it to me...)...



Ok, so I almost forgot one last thing... I'm also looking for a way to set up comments pages. Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to do this in Blogger? Thanks...

Just when I thought I was done, I happened upon this quote:

"For the first time, I found myself looking up at what seems like nearly every other vehicle on the road and wondering why people stick themselves in such oversized rolling horror shows when they could make driving the main event in a Mini."

from Autoweek's 2003 Long Term Test Update. The quote is at the bottom of the article, by someone who "has never shied away from driving big trucks". Not only is it nice to see a convert, it echoes a feeling that I'm quite confident that many of us MINI owners have had. I want to drive the road, not float over the top of it.

In what is probably one of the strangest metrics I've seen in quite some time, Business Wire is reporting that the MINI Cooper has the highest Total Delight Index for the category of Small specialty Coupe, according to Strategic Vision. It had one of the highest Delight Index, only bested by the BMW 7-Series (Luxury Car), Mercedes SL (Convertibles(Greater Than $30,000)), and two Luxury SUVs.

I have a feeling that they didn't put as much emphasis on cupholders as JD Powers did...

Up on MINIUSA.com, there's a rather nice section about how the MINI designed. Hopefully MINIUSA will post up more of the design drawings, as they are always quite cool to look at. How about some wallpaper sized pics MINI? I'll have to ask and see what they say...

MINI Of Canada has a rather nice section about winter driving. There's videos, driving tips, and a winter driving quiz. Granted, most of the info should be common knowledge for us Western New Yorkers, but hey, it's never a bad time for a refresher. But two more tips, A: Powered Wheels Slide, therefore, Un-Powered Wheels do NOT Slide. The long and the short of that is sometimes it's better to put your foot on the clutch and drive, than it is to hit your ABS. Trust me, next time you're in a snowy, but empty, parking lot, try turning with your foot on the break, and the ABS active, and then with your foot on the clutch. You'd be amazed how not panicking and hitting the breaks helps. this is why I avoid automatics like the plague. you lose a LOT of control during the winter And tip number 2, or B:, if I'm following the counting system I started, don't forget to clean off that roof! The last thing that you want happening is a 3'x4' sheet of ice crashing down on your bonnet when you come to a stop, or even worse, smashing into the windscreen of the guy driving behind you...

At the Dale Association, my mother, the owner of Akron Grove Bath Products will be teaching a class about making your own bath products. At their Center for Lifelong Learning, she will be showing people how to make their own Snowflake Soap, Bath Bomb, and Sugar Scrub. The cost is $27 for Members, and $41 for non-members for this 2 hour class, and you get to keep the soap mold, and everything else you made. If you're interested, give Dale Association a call at 433-1886, and ask about the 'Pamper Yourself' soap making class...

We now return you to your regularly scheduled useless blog...

---Update---
The classes are long over, but that doesn't mean that you still can't visit Akron Grove Bath Products...

For thoes of you who purchased the Harman Kardon sound system upgrade, I guess you can consider your purchase even more justified than before. Edmunds.com recently rated it to be one of the 10 Best automotive sound systems in car under $30,000... Good show.

According to Indystar.com, MINI has yet another cool give-away, this time at the auto shows. "...and Mini Cooper had holographic trading cards that showed off its cars.". Let's hope that they bring them to Buffalo also. Or at least, maybe we'll see the dealers getting them sometime this year. (Speaking of which, did anyone grab the 'missing' trading card? If so, and you have a scan of it, drop me a line at Rocketboy@adelphia.adelphia.net (remove one of the adelphia) so I can post it up...

According to The Washington Post, the MINI Cooper is out... and the Scion XB is in...

I'll have to keep that in mind...