The Austin Mini was a legend that spawned a whole revolution in auto industry itself. The vehicle portrays the prototype and model upon which most American and Canadian built cars are built upon. That is a front wheel drive, transversely mounted engine highly fuel efficient vehicle which although small in size seat 4 adult passengers.
Thus at first glance at this car will be given and have the impression that it is a very car. Yet with the then revolutionary front wheel drive , sideways mounted engine the interior compartment has no large middle "hump" in the floor to take passenger and cargo space away. On top of that the Austin Mini and its Morris Minor re-badged product offered an innovation which was not introduced into American cars until Ford , on its deathbed introduced women into its "focus groups". The Taurus which saved Ford at the time from extinction had side pockets in the door for storage. Believe it or not many drivers and passengers of original Minis used those side pockets in the doors for carting home groceries and the like from the supermarket and shopping. Interestingly even when GM attempted to copy the success of the Ford Taurus and its Mercury Sable product they - with a limited mindset - missed the boat with this simple feature which auto buyers and owners clamored for a lot more than styling and more chrome. The Lumina was essentially a lackluster me2 copycat product with side pockets in the doors wide and big enough only for a few folded maps.
Did the Mini have problems and drawbacks? Were there mistakes or shortcomings in its design that Mini owners of time overlooked, put up with or hoped that the factories and designers back in the UK would fix? Yes. However you must remember that this car was both innovative , versatile and filled a market niche yet basically untapped by the other auto makers except for say Volkswagen with its rear wheel drive , aluminum air cooled engine product - the Beetle. The biggest markets for Minis were the export market - the North America, perhaps Europe and far distant Australia. Yet the car was produced initially and essentially for the domestic UK market with British right hand drive. To make for easy right hand drive factory installation or later upgrades the dash was very simple with a large speedometer placed in the middle and two symmetrical fairly plain off-sides. "Idiot lights" were also placed center and there was room for larger more accurate and informative oil and temperature gauges to be placed in the middle areas as well.
This Austin mini still hits the road these days. There was even a point in time when this car was one of the best race vehicles to line in the race track as the "mini Cooper It is not only a display in the race track though because it has bagged a lot of titles for several high profile competitions. This only goes to show how efficient the built of Austin mini is. That is exactly the reason why many of this type are still seen driving on the road even today. You can see them in most national roads worldwide but most especially in Great Britain. Car collectors are very eager to have Austin mini as part of their collection. They can go as far as paying the high price of shipping just to line this up together with their other car collection even in spite of workups to convert the vehicle from right hand to left hand drive. What amazes auto collectors and non collectors alike is the worldwide admiration of these vehicles. Mini clubs and clubs seem to exist throughout the globe. Yet to drive a Mini is to comprehend why.
In the end if there is one footnote to early, pre-BMW Minis it was that people loved them. They honked at each other as they drove by. Mini clubs were formed worldwide. On top of that a sleeper racing version was built out of this tiny economy 4 cylinder car that would zoom ahead seemingly out of nowhere. This was the veritable Mini Cooper version of this automotive line.
Thus at first glance at this car will be given and have the impression that it is a very car. Yet with the then revolutionary front wheel drive , sideways mounted engine the interior compartment has no large middle "hump" in the floor to take passenger and cargo space away. On top of that the Austin Mini and its Morris Minor re-badged product offered an innovation which was not introduced into American cars until Ford , on its deathbed introduced women into its "focus groups". The Taurus which saved Ford at the time from extinction had side pockets in the door for storage. Believe it or not many drivers and passengers of original Minis used those side pockets in the doors for carting home groceries and the like from the supermarket and shopping. Interestingly even when GM attempted to copy the success of the Ford Taurus and its Mercury Sable product they - with a limited mindset - missed the boat with this simple feature which auto buyers and owners clamored for a lot more than styling and more chrome. The Lumina was essentially a lackluster me2 copycat product with side pockets in the doors wide and big enough only for a few folded maps.
Did the Mini have problems and drawbacks? Were there mistakes or shortcomings in its design that Mini owners of time overlooked, put up with or hoped that the factories and designers back in the UK would fix? Yes. However you must remember that this car was both innovative , versatile and filled a market niche yet basically untapped by the other auto makers except for say Volkswagen with its rear wheel drive , aluminum air cooled engine product - the Beetle. The biggest markets for Minis were the export market - the North America, perhaps Europe and far distant Australia. Yet the car was produced initially and essentially for the domestic UK market with British right hand drive. To make for easy right hand drive factory installation or later upgrades the dash was very simple with a large speedometer placed in the middle and two symmetrical fairly plain off-sides. "Idiot lights" were also placed center and there was room for larger more accurate and informative oil and temperature gauges to be placed in the middle areas as well.
This Austin mini still hits the road these days. There was even a point in time when this car was one of the best race vehicles to line in the race track as the "mini Cooper It is not only a display in the race track though because it has bagged a lot of titles for several high profile competitions. This only goes to show how efficient the built of Austin mini is. That is exactly the reason why many of this type are still seen driving on the road even today. You can see them in most national roads worldwide but most especially in Great Britain. Car collectors are very eager to have Austin mini as part of their collection. They can go as far as paying the high price of shipping just to line this up together with their other car collection even in spite of workups to convert the vehicle from right hand to left hand drive. What amazes auto collectors and non collectors alike is the worldwide admiration of these vehicles. Mini clubs and clubs seem to exist throughout the globe. Yet to drive a Mini is to comprehend why.
In the end if there is one footnote to early, pre-BMW Minis it was that people loved them. They honked at each other as they drove by. Mini clubs were formed worldwide. On top of that a sleeper racing version was built out of this tiny economy 4 cylinder car that would zoom ahead seemingly out of nowhere. This was the veritable Mini Cooper version of this automotive line.
About the Author:
Austin & Morris Minis sold in the former British colonies rebadged , as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor, until Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969. The Mini was again marketed under the Austin name in the 1980s. Homepage link here.
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