The Mini Cooper has been one of the most iconic of all British cars ever made. How can we ever think of Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean character without thinking of his cute little Mini with its ridiculous bolt lock on the outside?
But Mini sales in the United States have been falling and despite BMW's (the owner of the Mini) best efforts, they are continuing to fall (although not so much in Europe). But why? Has the Mini Cooper lost its cool? And if it has, why?
Here is why the Mini Cooper has lost its cool in the United States.
10 It Was A Revolutionary Design
For the time it was a revolutionary design — not to mention a highly distinctive design. Not only did it make awesome use of its extremely limited space, but it was also, and still is, an unforgettable shape.
But one can only be revolutionary for so long until one's design is either mimicked or it just becomes old hat.
9 It Saved Money On Fuel
Not only has the segment of fuel-efficient cars been overtaken by the likes of the Ford Focus, but even that has in turn been overshadowed by Toyota's hybrid the Prius — and of course that in turn is trumped with the world now switching to fully electric.
How can a fully gasoline-powered vehicle compete in a world where the new fuel-efficient is zero fuel? Not only has the Mini gotten larger and the Ford Focus gotten more efficient, but the auto market is also quickly moving away from fossil fuels entirely.
8 Made Famous By Michael Cane In The Italian Job
The Mini Cooper was popularized in the 1969 British movie the Italian Job starring Michael Caine. The movie was about a cockney criminal gang that was released in Italy in order to complete a job to steal gold bullion.
Not only was the movie a big hit, but the extremely narrow streets of Rome were just right for a mini. Being a criminal movie the movie prominently featured the criminal ubiquitous car chase featuring the Mini Cooper.
7 Italian Job Remake 2003
A remake of the Italian Job was released in 2003. But unlike its old 1969 British counterpart, this one was an American cast.
In fact, critics claimed that the only thing it had in common with the old movie was the Mini car chase scenes. Still, it added a late boast for the iconic Mini.
6 SUV's Are The New Cool In The USA
American shoppers have long since moved away from mini cars. Instead, North American shoppers are much more enamored with large SUVs and pickup trucks. The best-selling vehicle on the American market is the Ford F-150.
American roads and cities are designed for large vehicles. This is the opposite of Europe where cities favor small cars and large vehicles are just impractical in the extreme.
5 The Mini Is Getting Ever Larger In Becoming A Crossover
While most models of cars tend to beef up and become larger over time (think of the early pickups in Ford's F series), in the case of the Mini Cooper, this is a betrayal of everything that it stands for.
The F series is a series of pickups. A Mini series that includes SUV crossovers is not a series of Minis. It is a series that starts with a Mini but then becomes an SUV crossover and that is something quite different from the fundamental concept of the Mini.
4 Designed To Compete With Contemporary Micro Cars
At the time because of the Suez Crisis and the (for the time) enormous cost of gasoline, microcars were in style. The Mini was borne into this world, and it was designed to compete with its contemporaries.
Of its contemporaries, perhaps the best known and most enduring was the Volkswagen Beetle. How could we ever forget to mention the Love Bug when talking about old microcars?
3 Designed To Comfortably Fit Four Adults
The Mini was designed to comfortably fit four adults. Great lengths were taken to maximize the use of space to ensure that it didn't feel cramped.
But as it's gotten bigger, it has also lost the cool factor for being so small and yet being able to fit four adults without feeling claustrophobic.
2 Was Awesome At Handling
In order to save space, the wheels were thinned and spread out further. Even the hinges on the doors were placed on the outside. The engine was flipped on its side. An untended consequence of flipping the engine on its side was that it made it very easy to handle and drive.
It handled like a Go-Cart. This made it a kinda classless vehicle and a mini sports vehicle that everyone could afford.
1 Needed To Be Modernized
The old mini hadn't been updated or changed over the decades. It was getting to the point where not only was it risking not passing the emissions regulations, but also it was risking failing the crash testing regulations (not to mention it was noisy).
So BMW released a new version of the Mini. This was bigger than the original. Purists who disliked the new Mini saw it as a betrayal of the old Mini. Still, sales exceeded BMW's expectations in Europe but are now falling in America as it has lost its cool there.
In summary, it seems the days of the Mini being cool in the USA have gone. Tesla is the new cool.