The Many, MANY Failed Mini Reboots!

Подписаться 262 тыс.

Просмотров 483 тыс.

50% 1

If British Leyland had a pound for every Mini reboot, they’d still be in business! Ever since it burst on the scene in 1959, designers have been trying to reimagine it for a new era. In the process their failure had made the shape of the original Mini a British cultural icon, like the red telephone box, The Beatles or England losing to Germany at football! So why did it take 41 years until we got a new Mini, when it would seem to make sense to keep updating a car that was selling so well?
To find out MUCH more about these cars, I HIGHLY recommend: www.aronline.c...
Michael McIntee RU-vid Channel (Mini crushing video): / @theuptake
If you'd like to support what I do, and get early access to advert-free videos and exclusive channel updates, please consider supporting the channel from just $1 or 80p a month: / bigcar
Support me using Paypal: www.paypal.com...
Big Car merch: teespring.com/...
Twitter: / bigcartv
My second channel - Little Car: / littlecar
Sources:
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.aronline.c...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.aronline.c...
www.aronline.c...
en.wikipedia.o...)
www.aronline.c...
www.aronline.c...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.aronline.c...
www.austinmemor...
www.aronline.c...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.aronline.c...
www.aronline.c...
www.aronline.c...
en.wikipedia.o...
www.aronline.c...
#bigcar

Опубликовано:

28 сен 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 1,1 тыс.

@cloudstrife1983 3 года назад

Its always funny when the original car outlives its replacement, or is discontinued years into the life of the car that was meant to replace it. Like with multiple Volvo cars in the 80s/90s

@damilolaakanni 3 года назад

Another example of this is the Porsche 911/928. The 928 was meant to replace the 911, but was discontinued a few years later. Also, Ford with the Mustang/Probe. The probe was to replace the Mustang, but Mustang fans revolted when the news leaked, so ford had to keep both vehicles. They eventually discontinued the Probe and replaced it with the Cougar, which was also discontinued soon after. I would have included the G wagon/ Mercedes M class (later known as the GLE), but both are still in production.

@otto_jk 3 года назад

@@damilolaakanni and Volkswagen with the Corrado replacing the Sirocco

@mikeblatzheim2797 3 года назад

@@damilolaakanni I wouldn't call 20 years "a few years later", during the time the 928 was in production the 911 went through two entire generations

@award3007 3 года назад

@@damilolaakanni Dont forget the Lada Niva and Niva out living the Samara!

@EVISEH 3 года назад

Or the Hillman Hunter which was supposed to be supplanted by the Avenger, but which went on to live to 2002 as the Paykan.

@KokkiePiet 3 года назад

The BL attitude towards the Mini reminds me of the old joke, how many brits does it take to change a lightbulb? What do you mean change the lightbulb, that's a bloody good lightbulb that is, they don't make them like that anymore...

@StevenJPiper 3 года назад

I actually read that in a brummie accent...

@puffapuffarice 3 года назад

British Cars! The cars people love to hate! Please tell me why in a country where it rains all the time car's can't have a windshield wiper that works with window defogger fan going?

@tony22745 3 года назад

@@puffapuffarice Window defoggers are the work of the devil, and windscreen wipers are un-islamic. Everybody knows that.

@oi32df 3 года назад

'' How many brits does it take to change a lightbulb? '' Just one : Joseph Lucas

@KokkiePiet 3 года назад

@@oi32df The guy who had actually seen Naples and died.

@lucagattoni-celli1377 3 года назад

8:08 I like how the mock-up shows zero knee room.

@agenericaccount3935 3 года назад

Your legs *are* the crumple zone.

@jimtaylor294 3 года назад

They really should've used kids for that illustration XD. (that being all that many back seats are good for)

@KenanTurkiye 3 года назад

a) Back than they were honest. b) Back than they were stupid. c) Back than they had humour. d) All of tha above.

@DrewLSsix 3 года назад

@@KenanTurkiye than or then?

@KenanTurkiye 3 года назад

@@DrewLSsix Not sure, english isn't my first language nor do I use it daily. I mix them up always, hasn't cemented in my mind yet. Dont mind my inadequecy (spelling?). Take care.

@nobodynoone2500 3 года назад

The curent batch of supersized "minis" are the most ghastly things on the road today. Clubman? More like club-foot.

@K3end0 3 года назад

Countryman? More like Country-Sized

@oliverkalamata2753 3 года назад

Hell, the standard F56 MINI is an SUV in comparison with even the previous R56...

@Titan13335 3 года назад

Mini? More like Largely

@bgdrewsif 3 года назад

@@oliverkalamata2753 For what it is worth, I drive a 2016 F56 mini, which is practically a micro-car compared to the monster trucks that people drive around here in the Midwestern USA... Sometimes my mini plays hide-and-seek in parking lots when he is parked between two American mega-trucks where the roof of my F56 Mini does not even clear the base of the door windows in the passenger trucks parked beside him... Nobody around where I live in rural Ohio has ever thought of my car as 'big' lol... but I also drove a 2002 Beetle and a 2007 Toyota Yaris 2-door hatchback so I am used to 'small' cars...

@bgdrewsif 3 года назад

@@oliverkalamata2753 but I was once parked next to a classic MINI at the local MINI dealership and was utterly shocked at how tiny it was compared to my F56... Ive been parked next to quite a few R-series MINIs and while my F-series is to me noticeably bigger, I'm guessing most non-MINI people wouldn't notice much difference unless they got really close to them... but that classic MINI... that would be certain death even in a low-speed collision against a modern American SUV or Pickup truck...

@CraftyOldGit 3 года назад

My first car was a rusty Mini Super Deluxe I paid £50 for in 1975, painted at least a dozen shades of grey and with knackered wheel bearings. It also featured the famous sunshine floor. I bought a brand new Cooper in dark grey metallic with a black roof in the early 90s. I considered another in the mid 00s but couldn't find a sensibly priced one that wasn't terminally rusty. More recently, when I looked at one I realised I would no longer feel safe driving it on the road -- unlike modern cars, definitely not designed to crash.

@jamesdorrell9134 3 года назад

That dashboard from the Minki from the Honda Beat car, not motorcycle:)

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Thanks - I've pinned a comment with the correction.

@jamesdorrell9134 3 года назад

@@BigCar2 ahaha it's all good. I only know as my dad has one and I thought I recognised it.

@davidstokes5444 3 года назад

Ha, James you got there first, you Beat me to it. BTW I'm a dad and also have one in the garage.

@jamesdorrell9134 3 года назад

@@davidstokes5444 dad? 😂

@porcelainthunder2213 3 года назад

Only BMC/BL could have a big selling car and lose money on it. Then spend countless millions on several redesigns over the course of decades, and never use any of them. One correction, minis didnt have hydragas, they first had a rubber cone suspension, then hydralastic.

@donaldasayers 3 года назад

By the late 70's the production line had paid for itself or been written off to depreciation, so from then on Minis made money hand over fist, that was the real reason they didn't change it, they didn't need to, til EEC safety laws effectively banned the external seams.

@nygelmiller5293 3 года назад

@@donaldasayers from Nygel Miller - an incredible piece of information, that there would have been laws against those external seams! Up to 30mph, though, Minis were within crash test laws, and outdid the Metro, which was therefore pulled out of production, rather than because it wasn,'t selling.

@PaulinesPastimes 3 года назад

@@nygelmiller5293 I have seen the old crash test videos of the BMC cars and they did quite well for cars of that age. In an original Mini, you sit so far back from the windscreen and dashboard it probably had a beneficial effect.

@joaquinmaltes4500 2 года назад

A good conclusion to the story it is that BMW managed to make some good marketing instead of keeping the car as a "mini". Another great video of many you have done.

@beatmeierbm 3 года назад

I had a wild ride in A Innocenti DeTomaso as a passenger 😃 It felt special ☠️

@Nafeels 3 года назад

Say what you want about the newer BMW Minis, they're petite little cars with personalities that outgrows them. While German Engineering is a hassle, it's not so bad compared to Lucas electronics of the OG Mini era. I still smile whenever I see either the OG one or the BMW one on the road, and would just creep slowly behind them as they zip along the slow lanes. Great video as always! Also, the Rover's concept for the new BMW looked strangely similar to the Smart cars, also by BMW. I wonder if BMW just took Rover's design and scale it down?

@duncanjack2335 3 года назад

Not surprising really but the A112 has got a definite mini Allegro look about it.

@PigIlFigo32 3 года назад

Such as the Dahiatsu Trevis is a much better modern alternative to the 2001 "mini"

@pageribe2399 9 месяцев назад

In the seventies I had a car called the Austin America that was similar to that original mini. It had a stick shift, and I just loved it.

@cameronmurie 3 года назад

I reckon Your Big Car Channel, and possibly Ed China's Workshop, are the best Car Channels on You tube. Always enjoy your content, humour and ability to gently send up the little disasters that have been foisted on unsuspecting car owners over the years. Soon, I think you should do a video entitled " The Demise of the Car" or something like that, because the way things are going car ownership will not be for the masses any more. Cheers and thanks for adding quality to the internet.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Glad you’re enjoying the videos!

@shankarbalan3813 3 года назад

An excellent history. I own a 2012 Mini Cooper and have always loved minis …they are the most lovable little cars in the world.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

The Renault Twingo is better!

@ocallaghan3865 3 года назад

Any kei car is better

@shankarbalan3813 3 года назад

@@ocallaghan3865 I guess you’re right in terms of dependability and reliability and cost of running and all but despite its foibles one can’t help loving the little Cooper…

@louisbeerreviews8964 3 года назад

@@BigCar2 kei car

@margretsdad 2 года назад

I owned a used 1961 Mk I from May 1967 to August 1968. It had difficulty coping with Southern Califoria freeways. A dozen miles at 65 mph and she started to overheat despite the 'tropical" radiator fitted to US-market cars. The overheating was ironically paired with an unwillingness to start on cool SoCal morinings --no freezing nights no snow. Don't get me wrong for a purchase price of $200 it was a fun and surprisingly reliable ride --once it started.

@Peter_2jz 3 года назад

Thank you for the amazing video! Frank did a one of job with the modern mini design man is a genius

@engineerinnewyork 3 года назад

You did not mention that Mini and other BMC cars were made under license in Spain beginning in 1963, and over 140.000 cars were made. The company, Authi, was ultimately taken over by British Leyland. Spanish minis were somewhat more luxurious than their British brethren.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

But this was just an assembly job. They didn't work to restyle the car.

@robertdarby1039 3 года назад

The problem with the original Mini is that it lost money. It only turned a profit in the last few years of its production life when volumes were low when all costs had been fully amortised and the pricing was more reasonable. I was told by an insider in 1977 that Ford put a Mini through their production cost control department and worked out that Austin Morris could not be making a profit on it. AM had no similar department at the time, so Ford knew it was losing money before AM did. Some reaserach into why the car was expensive to produce would be interesting.

@johnnodge4327 3 года назад

The Honda Beat was a small Japan only 2 seater convertible,of which many made their way to the UK as Grey imports.

@NLBassist 3 года назад

Great video! very well documented, so much news, new pics I've never seen before. Great!

@shannon7002 3 года назад

I loved my original short bonnet mini. I towed a large ski boat with it all over Wales. Had seat two in the back on the road, two on the bonnet up the ramp..

@jadams3427 Год назад

I think BMW bought Rover because UK left the ERM, and suddenly, people in Germany could buy a Rover for the Skoda prices at that time.

@lukefosterphoto 3 года назад

I've been waiting on a Mini based video from you for years! Love it! I had a 1983 Austin Mini Mayfair as my first car back in 2012 and HATED BMW Minis because thats just what you had to do. Today I drive an '05 Mini Cooper and you can definitely see the design influences passed over and driving position that makes you feel like you're in a go-kart.

@eins2001 3 года назад

Sorry you have to put up with a BMW mini

@handsoffmycactus2958 2 года назад

Love Minis. Love the classic and the new ones, especially the Union Jack headlights. No other car would be able to get away with that nor make it work

@brunocalico 3 года назад

Great history about the Mini. I would like to watch a video about the mini lookalike such as the Daihatsu and the Nissan Micra.

@frenhiiop1271 Год назад

A great video of the dysmal affair the BL was back then. I noticed a little inaccuracy at 13:51 though - the instrument cluster from a Honda Beat motorbike... The Beat was a small K-class sportscar, not a motorbike, although Beat's clocks really did resemble a bikes instruments' panel, deliberately so, for Honda was and is the world's biggest motorcycle manufacturer. Keep up the good work!

@johancoetzer2165 3 года назад

The Mini had hydrolastic suspension, not hydropneumatic. That was Citroën. Much more elaborate and expensive.

@VolkerHett 3 года назад

Back in 1981 I had an Innocenti Mini DeThomaso. British drivetrain with Italian quality 😊 My sister found the first rust hole in the hatch when I brought it home from the dealer. I already knew then that the wheels weren't balanced. The next day on my first long road trip (60 miles) the car broke down because the alternator wasn't torqued down to specs and thus worked itself loose and tried to jump to freedom from the engine bay. So it was towed back to the dealer and it took them just a month to fix the generator. Picking it up again, the wheels still weren't balanced but there was rust on the doors. They assured me, the wheels will be balanced during the first inspection and that's normal to do it this way and the rust issue will be fixed then, too. So I drove it a couple of times on that long road trip to work until I found a broken wheel nut on the front left wheel. Back to the dealer it went ...

@kevindell8038 3 года назад

Only problem with my 1979 Innocenti De Tomaso that I imported from Germany to UK was rust! Sold it to an enthusiast to restore in 1988 as it was too far gone to get an MoT…it was already on its second set of front wings and third exhaust by then!

@VolkerHett 3 года назад

@@kevindell8038 Sounds familiar, was it blue metallic? 😊

@kevindell8038 3 года назад

@@VolkerHett it was indeed metallic blue…how did you know, or was it just a good guess since the De Tomaso was only available in four colours at the time ?!!

@VolkerHett 3 года назад

@@kevindell8038 Mine was metallic blue, but I got it in December 1980. As it turned out later, it had been standing for more than a year outside some 100 meters from the autobahn. Back then they used loads of salt in winter 😀 which didn't help with the rust issue at all.

@filthyactatareasonablepric4297 3 года назад

OG Mini reminds me of Clarkson's comment on LFA (Paraphrased) It’s so good they don't know how to replicate the magic

@CrusaderSports250 3 года назад

@@rastas_4221 the first thing was the bonnet didn't open enough so you always bashed yourself on the catch, and it all just went down hill after that😊.

@andygreen7314 2 года назад

Got me an r53 Cooper S, drive it more than my 997, great little car for everyday town and country lane driving.

@Eatcrow 2 года назад

Frank Stephenson won the design of the new BMW mini by imagining its evolution in the intervening years Genius! 👍🏻

@peteb1051 3 года назад

I have loved the original Mini since I was very young. I'm 48 now. In the 80s I could name every limited edition. Had all the brochures. Poster's. Even now collect the Corgi version. Unfortunately never had the real thing. Didnt learn to drive until I was 33. And being 6ft and not small wasn't an option. And now got arthritis and the price of them even less chance. So I have an 03 Cooper. The original is the best car ever. Thank you for this.

@fivish 3 года назад

I was 6' tall in 1970 when i passed my driving test and fitted into my 1961 mini by getting the Paddy Hopkirk seat brackets to move the seat back a few inches and the Paddy Hopkirk steering wheeel rake adjusting bracked to lower the wheel which I had replaced with a 12" one. Fitted in quite nicely. The car was a nightmare of breakdowns, rust and expense.

@peteb1051 3 года назад

@@fivish I heard they rusted quite well. Typical of the time I suppose. My stepdad had a mark 2 I think it was in about 79/80 but less said about him the better. I think that's where my Mini mania as it is came about. I would still love a classic.

@nowind37 3 года назад

where is the Ford Fiesta story

@patw2697 3 года назад

Any chance of the Opel manta story, my all time favourite car. Btw Your work is fantastic, you're way better than top gear

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Thanks Pat. I'll likely do it at some point, but I don't know when.

@BenjaminGrimley 3 года назад

I've had a bunch of minis but my favourite was my 1966 Mk1 Super deluxe.

@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188 3 года назад

I had a new 1966 Morris Mini, no choice of any models besides the one in Denmark (oh, Cooper and Cooper S!), and it definitely was a car that wasn't really finished with leaks, faults and odd solutions (Who got the brilliant idea to connect + from the battery, to the frame?) anywhere you searched, and many where you didn't even try to look for them! But I loved it then, as it was my first car! But for years I have now had german and french cars, which have functioned - except one BMW 320, which was only 9 months old when I sold it again, and still with a factory warranty. I didn't use it that much, as it was mostly in a shop for free repairs!

@CrusaderSports250 3 года назад

@@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188 electrons flow from the negative to the positive, so positive earth is technically correct even if not intuitive, positive earth was common on older vehicles and when I started driving it was something to look for when installing things like radios, eight tracks, and new fangled cassette players. 🙂.

@volvo480 3 года назад

Why BMW never went with the K-series engine in the new Mini and opted for an obscure Brazilian design instead is beyond me.

@ItsFriscoBaby 3 года назад

Probably because it was shite and plagued with problems

@jkk244 3 года назад

The engine was a Daimler-Chrysler design with BMW input. BMW had contracted with Chrysler for the engine prior to the merger with Mercedes, and Chrysler engineers did most of the work. So BMW was obligated to purchase the engine from their rival, Mercedes. But it’s a great engine.

@iainhunneybell 3 года назад

Did that Defender flip at the point the clip ends? Looks awfully like the rear it about the flip up and over!

@macjim 3 года назад

It’s amazing how often BL shot itself in the foot… finally shooting itself in the head.

@boboutelama5748 2 года назад

Honestly, the mini of Morris stays a very immortal car. It's actual BMW clone isn't even small anymore. What makes the Mini cute was lost in the process. I heard some little brands are re-doing new Minis that look like Morrisse's... but for 100k. But I would love an oldschool Mini to be mine if it where still available.

@graememay5983 3 года назад

The original BMW mini was in fact a secret BL creation. I worked for a certain well known motorsport company back then, and we fitted 2 cars with roll cages for their High Speed Testing, Engine was a K series if I remember. That BL design was one of the reasons BMW bought BL, they saw the future profits....

@boing615 3 года назад

It breaks my heart that the Spiritual concept wasn't chosen. I thought it was *perfect* a 21st century groundbreaking car that matched the originals Jack Russel personality with a totally new form and equalled it's bold packaging and forward thinking nature. Compare that to what we got..... they replaced a 40 year old car with a cast iron, transverse engine in a two box steel body with......exactly the same. It was a derivative styling exercise where the Spiritual embodied the spirit of the originals concept but in a forward thinking design. It was also beautiful and remains so although maybe not in 4 door form.

@jimtaylor294 3 года назад

Personally I think the 9X was the real lost oppotunity. For a spuritual Mini I'd buy one of that Innocenti, or a Nissan Micra (1st or 2nd gen').

@islaws4589 3 года назад

@@jimtaylor294 2nd gen Micra has many styling cues from the MK3 Mini and was much more Mini in concept than the Beemer version which is more of a retro pastiche. Must admit tho a friend has a BMW Mini Cooper roadster and it is a lovely thing :)

@jacobzimmermann59 3 года назад

I disagree, in my opinion it was the BMW pseudo-retro design that turned the Mini into a true classic and more than just a cheap entry-level car. It may have been a British icon before then, but it was an icon in the same way the Trabant was an icon of Eastern Germany: not something that one would necessarily want to carry into the future. The Spiritual concept was much in the same vein as the Peugeot 1007, Toyota Porte and the various Japanese Kei cars. Those were never particularly popular on Western markets and certainly none of them ever generated any emotional attachment. But they made the right choice and thanks to that, Mini lives on better than ever.

@islaws4589 3 года назад

@@jacobzimmermann59 Well yes, there's no doubt that they scored a hit with the new Mini - it's now a successful brand in its own right - it's just that it no longer fulfills its original brief.

@jacobzimmermann59 3 года назад

@@islaws4589 I get what you mean, it's just that the original brief is now a very difficult, competitive and hard-to-get-into market, with entire brands like Dacia devoted entirely to it. Similar iconic cars like the Renaults 4 and 5 are being brought back as high-tech EVs that will be targeted at trendy, well-off urbanites, not the original emerging suburban or country low-middle class. Besides, the Mini suffered from high production costs back then, let alone today... The only way for Mini to survive and prosper was to become a fashionable premium product and fortunately they got that right.

@AlistairSaldanha 3 года назад

Please could you talk about the Maruti 800: "Widely regarded as the most influential automobile in India, about 2.87 million 800s were produced during its course of which 2.66 million were sold in India itself. With over 31 years of production, Maruti Suzuki 800 remains the second longest production car in India, next only to Hindustan Ambassador."

@fsfs555 3 года назад

I really liked the original Minis. The Cooper and ERA models were something else. The BMW Mini is a BMW through-and-through: good fun to drive but expensive to purchase, run, and service. And you will frequently need to service it, probably as soon as the warranty is out. As with any post-1995ish German car, lease; don't buy.

@reitsmaassociates 3 года назад

Excellent review!, how you find all this material is incredible, thanks

@simonedaishi5290 3 года назад

0:22 *_losing to Italy_

@TA_Plus_Hemi 3 года назад

Why is everyone talking about voice modulation? I subbed for your style of speaking. You have your own idiosyncrasies that make you Big Car.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

And it's not how I normally speak. Bit weird that. I go there when I'm "in the zone" when recording.

@ibast1 2 года назад

Interesting side note: Daihatsu did a variation of the Mira called the Mira Gino that was styled after the mini. Used to see them quite a bit on the roads in Malaysia and always did a double take. production was from 99-04. More true to the original mini concept than the BMW mid-sized cars.

@jwades77 3 года назад

the original mini survived so long mostly because it was plain cute, and some kind of national treasure. But having owned a few, they were usually a total ongoing battle to keep on the road with MOT's and stuff. Other classics such as Hillman Imps and 2cv's were much better designed cars, though they also had faults. great video BTW.

@adrianmonk4440 Год назад

The BEST salesman for the Mini was Mr. Bean. Bean drove a 1977 Leyland Cars Mini 1000 Mark IV in Austin Citron Green, with the bonnet painted matte black.

@stanwest3529 3 года назад

In my opinion the problem with all the mini replacement designs is that they used the same 10in wheels with a bigger body it looked just wrong

@plee4790 3 года назад

13:51 Honda Beat is not a motorbike. It’s a small convertible coupe.

@koolstup 3 года назад

I’m now living in a fantasy alternative universe where the Innocenti Mini replaced the BMC mini in 1975, the BMC Mini stopped production in that year, and the world is a better place 😵‍💫

@lesklower7281 3 года назад

Loved the clubman also the mini like the new mini built by BMW but they have made it to complicated and because of this lots of things go wrong and it is expensive to repair

@NOWThatsRichy 3 года назад

This channel was mentioned on talk radio today, they were discussing the festival of the unexceptional.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Amazing!

@johnrideout7124 3 года назад

If the original mini was re-made today with galvanised sub:-frames and the improved engine/gearbox modifications it would sell just as well as it did in the 60's

@global_nomad. 3 года назад

except it wouldn't becasue it would have a 0 safety score as well as no mod cons and be burdened by emisions kit

@Fillo. 3 года назад

makes me think of the mini clubvan, who remembes that?

@-DC- 3 года назад

Used to be taken to school in one utterly crap and wonderfully lovely all at the same time.

@williamwildcat 3 года назад

@zindrolin 3 года назад

Love the Lego in the background 😁👍

@ravenouself4181 2 года назад

I'll be honest now. The Rover "New Mini" design that BMW threw away looks a lot cuter and a lot more like an evolution of the Original Mini than the BMW "New Mini". Don't get me wrong, the BMW one is brilliant, but I want the Rover one.

@glockwraith 3 года назад

frank stephenson's BMW mini design is so nice

@alynicholls3230 2 года назад

what i find funny is rover chopped up the mini to fit the k series, if they had ditched the rover metro gearbox it would have fitted. now the k series is a recognised upgrade, tuning companies sell fitting kits, mine has a daihatsu gearbox, though there are options(even using the metro box.),lol. wallies

@stephenbanyar1874 Год назад

If only Nik Blackhurst was there to fit the K-Series, because he can fit anything into the Mini!

@-DC- 3 года назад

BL to MG Rover for the budgets available some incredible engineering was produced, Much Missed

@DCV321 3 года назад

It is a crime that the hydrolastic suspension system was not further developed. Today's computers and materials could easily have solved its short comins and the result would have been a much smaller and lighter suspension system! Words cannot describe how cool it was to ride down Hardscrabble road at speed like it was riding on smooth rails when any other car would have been shaking teeth loose.

@klx100 3 года назад

I really enjoy watching your videos :D!! Keep them coming :D Warm regards from Sunny Malta in the Mediterranean ;)

@DavidLee-im8tg 3 года назад

I just got and and for a Mini Cooper giveaway.... I know you don't have any real input as to what ad goes in your gaps but that was serendipitous.

@adrianmonk4440 Год назад

Seemed like British Leyland pi&&ed around a lot with numerous development studies BUT NO CHANGE, MISSING MANY OPPORTUNITIES. On top of it, the British were loyal to the Mini look; yet, needed a larger export market for more profit.

@piotr.leniec-lincow5209 2 года назад

About 1973 in London Auto Show a saw a Mini in a Royal Version . Very posh .

@stevenlangdon-griffiths293 3 года назад

No mention of the horrendous bmw engine that was totally crap. The reliability problems of the rest of the car. Also overlooked. The price and service costs of running this version didn’t get talked about either. All in all the new mini is a let down once out of warranty.

@45libs 3 года назад

13:51 Honda beat wasn't a motorbike, was a kei class sports car :)

@aldob5681 3 года назад

never ask to engineers like me to draw the exterior part of a car...

@smurfsrule9680 3 года назад

Yeah we can tell........got about as much design flair as my dad had.

@Ichijoe2112 2 года назад

There was always that one rumor of there being an even fuglier Peoplemover than the Fiat Multipla. Today I've seen it the Mini Spiritual.

@dominic6860 3 года назад

Love the video, always liked Minis new and old. One question though, wasn't the Honda Beat a K car roadster and not a motorbike or did I not know that there's a Honda Beat motorbike?

@PaulinesPastimes 3 года назад

I always laugh at those BMW X1s in drag with MINI badges stuck on them. There is nothing mini about them. Never figured out why BMW couldn't find a place for a spare wheel in the Mini replacement. Also that 'Bob the Builder' interior was hideous. Interesting to see all the failed attempts at replacement, chaotic BL.😊

@johnbee1574 2 года назад

13:55 wasn’t the dash from a Honda beat car not a Honda beat motorcycle? Good video though :)

@simonlloyd7557 3 года назад

Ive got an R53 Cooper S JCW as a weekend toy. Ive had lots of much more powerful, more expensive cars, but the Mini is just such amazing fun. I would hate to use one as a daily though...Its just too impractical, uncomfortable and fragile...Then there's the never ending oil leaks. I only do a couple of thousand miles per year in it but I spend more per year in maintenance than I do for my Audi S3 daily.

@aaronjaben7913 2 года назад

at 11:22 you can see something fall off of the car onto the ground!

@MortanAMrk 3 года назад

mini mk6 still looks beautiful, love so much how it looks

@joeidaho5938 2 года назад

Some of the efforts to redesign it looked like the early Datsun and Toyota cars.

@SMlFFY85 3 года назад

The "new" Mini has been around so long now I'm sick of the sight of it and I've been saying that for at least a decade.

3 года назад

It's funny how they couldn't fit the engine in the Minky, makes one appreciate Project Binky that much more.

@jesseoneill9680 3 года назад

Great video! You should do the Toyota Land Cruiser story.

@thehwguy4293 2 года назад

Thank god they picked Frank's design.

@marvwatkins7029 3 года назад

The forced suppressed laughing style of speech is too much. But my family owned a new, what I call a BMW 1 Series with the ambient mood lighting, etc. The Clubman and Countryman are less 'cute' and 'adorable', but admittedly are a lot more practical, if also of course, more expensive. An excellent presentation overall.

@pharoahegypt 3 года назад

Funny, how that only a few weeks before you posted this video, England actually beat Germany in the European championships, for once. Yet the quip stayed in?

@BigCar2 3 года назад

I went on holiday before I recorded the voiceover, and if I'd re-recorded it while I was away it would have sounded really obvious (having audio from two different times, let alone two different locations sound similar is a black art). I could have done something when I got home, but I couldn't think of a better line.

@torstenscholz6243 3 года назад

That line has really aged poorly. 🤣 Isn't it enough that we Germans have lost every war against Britain?

@d.marques4700 3 года назад

Excellent presentation!...

@arsicpedja 3 года назад

LOL looking at that Rover AR 6 I see Zastava Florida xD

@tetchuma 3 года назад

The fact that British Leyland never turned the mini into a hatchback, just blows my mind.

@dlevi67 3 года назад

Italian ad soundtrack at 9:23: (Boy) At last, we sit comfortably (Dog) And I'm comfy too! (Narrator) Innocenti I4 - it will take you far

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Thank you! I'll add it to the subtitles.

@jatzbethstappen9814 3 года назад

!! PLEASE READ BEFORE WATCHING !! anyone else noticing all the Hobbit Cops in these videos? Is now the time to start picnicking? What about the canapes? Why doesn't anyone think of the canapes?

@dlevi67 3 года назад

@@jatzbethstappen9814 Possibly because they are not smoking what you just did.

@dlevi67 3 года назад

@@BigCar2 You are welcome!

@jatzbethstappen9814 3 года назад

@@dlevi67 Oh, and here I was thinking it might be due 'canapés' not being recognised linguistically in certain regional Italian dialects, due to the influence of the Latin-based languages (such as substrata, superstrata or adstrata) in particular areas. Thanks for correcting me.

@tattyshoesshigure5731 3 года назад

Had two of the original Minis back in the ‘60’s & absolutely loved them, & I had no problems at all running them. Fast forward several decades & I bought one of BMW’s ‘new Minis’, and what a total pile of sh*te it was! I left it at Stanstead Airport while we had a week’s holiday abroad, and when we got back I found the thing wouldn’t move - the brakes had inexplicably become locked on. I finally managed to get the thing going by building up the revs & suddenly letting the clutch out, but the brakes were not happy & made a disconcerting knocking sound all the way home. When I contacted BMW about the issue they said “have you left it outside for a while lately?” Er, yes… aren’t cars meant to be used outside?! Apparently it was a ‘known fault’ which fortunately was fixed under warranty, but there were several further mechanical problems which cropped up after the warranty had expired so I decided to cut my losses & get shot of it. Without doubt one of the worst cars I’ve ever owned!

@alfaradbean 3 года назад

Very interesting channel!

@glennpowell3444 3 года назад

Having owned a few original minis as much fun as they were they were so outdated.A mate had a 2000 late model and it was rotting badly inside a couple of years and was expensive against the Japanese competition. No wheel arch liners,the seamed panels and a very asmatic engine.Hated the damp with its Lucas ignition etc.They were iconic in looks but never really altered underneath. Even the the dreaded rear radius arm bushes could only still be upgraded to aftermarket needle bearing setups using independent parts. The subframes rotted like cheap tin. Great fun though but left in the past.

@michaelnedsmar9106 3 года назад

The original Mini was named so because its size , Mini short for " Miniature " The car earned its name as other then the Bubble , Peel P50 and the fiat 500 it was the smallest mass production car of its day . Unlike the 2 cars above it had 4 wheels , could carry 4 adults at a push it had another space in the back for a couple. of bags of shopping and could cruise at 60mph and they were cheap to buy at around £6500 in todays money Fast forward to 2021 Minis you see now are not cheap starting from £16.000 they are not miniature , but medium sized cars maybe they should be named Medis .

@benmoore8537 3 года назад

Great stuff, please do a video on the illustrious Toyota Corolla. It to has a very long history, What do you think ?.

@BigCar2 3 года назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9j6M4834Vx4.html

@Bigdave123 2 года назад

Amazing content.

@ChipmunkRapidsMadMan1869 3 года назад

Kids today will never know how fun our dangerous little tin cans were. I miss the 750kg cars of the 70s and 80s

@timo9084 3 года назад

Allways lovely to watch you productions E! Would be epic ,)

@jameslewis2635 3 года назад

This really shows that the management from BL saw the world differently from everybody else. Not so much as through rose tinted spectacles as a blindfold by the looks of things. If you have a successful product that continues to sell well, why look to replace it with something completely different? To me it would have been far more productive to iterate on the design rather than waste money on expensive replacement projects. Sure, the engine was small and underpowered, but swapping out Mini engines for more powerful motorcycle engines was a common hack by enthusiasts. Even if it meant buying engines from another company that would have been far less costly than trying to develop a new one on your own. And what did they eventually try to replace the Mini with? The Metro, the worst car I have ever had the misfortune to drive.

@desposyy 3 года назад

How exactly would the metros suspension have improved the minis handling? Comfort maybe but not handling

@BigCar2 3 года назад

Erratum: The dashboard for the "Minki" came from the Honda Beat car, not motorcycle. I recorded the script before Euro 2020 got started, so the "England losing to German" thing is already out of date!

@YetAnotherGeorgeth 3 года назад

Just replace Germany with Italy!

@P45K141N3N 3 года назад

As we say in Finland: "one swallow doesn't make a summer".

@andrewdrabble8939 3 года назад

Yes it was played in 2021 but it was still referred to as Euro 2020

@BigCar2 3 года назад

@@andrewdrabble8939 I think it's because they'd already had a bunch of t-shirts printed up...

@jtomos 3 года назад

I really love your content, some vids I watched several times, subscribed to your second channel as well. However I have to point out an unfortunate annoyance. It seems (sounds...) you raise your speaking volume too much at the end of sentences, paragraphs. I understand that modulating the volume is a speaking technique, but you overdo it. I don't even want to image how disturbing it might be on headphones.

@AlexTenThousand 3 года назад

Hearing these stories, it's no wonder British Leyland crashed and burned so hard once the government stopped keeping them afloat at the end of the 1980s.

@rosewhite--- 3 года назад

Any idea how many millions they demanded and got in those days?

@DCV321 3 года назад

Sir Alec Issigonis was a genius way before his time. British management was different story.

@darrenjones3681 3 года назад

The government stopped keeping them afloat because the unions ruined the British motor industry, let’s face it the only real survivor is JLR and that’s mainly thanks to Ford and Volvo keeping it alive and it starting to flourish again for a few years now owned by Tata who to be fair has made more massive investment than any previous owner, worth watching Clarkson Car years death of the British motor industry tells it straight, the i9x leyland never built kind very much looks like the original fiesta hey?as most of British industries including the steel industry the Unions brought the country to its knees thanks to Labour governments in the 70s , power cuts, uncollected bins for weeks, you name it they were either working 3 day weeks or on strike , people particularly younger people seem to be aware of this, and largely a lot of people who do with half a brain would never trust lunatic labour leadership like Corbin as they too would end up bankrupting the country with unrealistic socialism crap

@KenanTurkiye 3 года назад

All these fail stories reminded me of the Japanese Kei class success.

@ReddoFreddo 3 года назад

@@darrenjones3681 You think they don't have unions in Japan, Germany, the US and France? Lol.

@kalkhalinzhui1753 3 года назад

Honestly, I feel like a true Mini reboot, and reboots of popular affordable cars like the Fiat 500 and the Volkswagen Beetle in general, should embody the affordable, utilitarian and charming aspects of the original. If a manufacturer can't retain/improve what made the originals great while eliminating further weaknesses in the design, then it's most likely nothing but a nostalgic cash grab.