Dealers to Mini: Do You Have A Vision?

Mini hey day is over. Those that wanted a cracker jack box sitting on the ground have them, the bulk of people want an auto that carries their stuff, friends and fits into an active lifestyle. The only one they have that does that is the Countryman that sits up higher and is a bit bigger inside. I can see them still having a model below this, but I think Mini needs to either grow some bigger versions or plan to accept limited sales to limited people.

I like the brand but very limited head room with the concept.  BMW needs to cut their losses and come up with a new direction I think.

When Mini was launched, Mini should never have been the name.... it should have been Cooper.

Then you can have the Cooper Mini, the Cooper Countryman, the Cooper Paceman, etc and jokes about "Mini being not so mini anymore" wouldn't happen.

And then, you could also have the Cooper Lineman, a 7-passenger SUV, the Cooper Brickman a "lifestyle truck", the Cooper Crossman a 5 seater crossover, etc.  It could have been BMW's answer to Mazda or Kia.

By sticking with the Mini name, they've boxed themselves into a corner.

18 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

When Mini was launched, Mini should never have been the name.... it should have been Cooper.

Then you can have the Cooper Mini, the Cooper Countryman, the Cooper Paceman, etc and jokes about "Mini being not so mini anymore" wouldn't happen.

And then, you could also have the Cooper Lineman, a 7-passenger SUV, the Cooper Brickman a "lifestyle truck", the Cooper Crossman a 5 seater crossover, etc.  It could have been BMW's answer to Mazda or Kia.

By sticking with the Mini name, they've boxed themselves into a corner.

That is the problem with brands: it was a British choice to go Mini rather than Cooper.  Makes no sense here but perfect sense in Europe.  Then again, the USA is the home of BOF pickups and SUVs and the last vestiges of large sedans (soon to be replaced by large crossovers).  Unless you live in NYC or SF or any compact large city, the Mini makes zero sense almost anywhere else.  No wonder BMW is not investing in Mini like it used to: low gas prices will do that.

Cooper wouldn't have made sense as the brand;  in the past Cooper signified a performance version of the Austin Mini (later Rover Mini).  

In past incarnations, since Mini was a model in brands with other models, its focus on subcompacts only wasn't an issue. 

As a standalone marque, it seems to run into a limitation of not having larger siblings. 

One of my faves of the recent auto show here was the countryman and that was primarily due to it being a larger vehicle. It really is a sweet package. And then I asked myself. Is this as large as a mini can get?  I got out of the vehicle and looked at the msrp. Almost 50 grand. 

Cant sell in volume if you are 'mini' at that price. 

the brand's problem is its  not-so-mini prices

Mini is the fidget spinner of the auto world.

In today's market, it sounds like Mini needs a Maxi--a 3 row crossover above the Countryman.