Someone go get my Clonazepam. MINI has announced that it's building an SUV-type product, and cyber-mag Winding Road has the shots to prove it. Forget market share, ignore the ever-present push to increase sales numbers at any cost. The MINI Cooper was specifically, consistently and persistently sold as the anti-SUV– not the ante-SUV. This type of "every brand, every niche" mindset is killing the car industry, one BMW SAV, Mercedes hearse, Bentley hybrid, Audi city car, Lexus hypersport sedan and $29k Cadillac at a time. While most of those propositions are merely Three Stooges ridiculous, the MINI SUV (a.k.a. "Monte") has a major problem. It's not mini. It has to be quite a bit bigger, quite a bit heavier. It'll probably need (in some sense of that word) all wheel-drive. Oh, and a larger engine. At best, all that changes MINI from Mini to "Regular." Unless the new MINI SUV has Suzuki Sidekick off-road abilities, PASS.
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This is really disappointing.
A Mini has always just been a Mini to me. I could possibly extend my embrace to the Clubman, but an extension to a SUV/SAV type thing? No way.
But I wonder, if BMW doesn’t want Mini to be a one-trick pony, what else can they do to keep the brand fresh, focused and true? Forever churn out new versions of the Mini and that’s it?
CellMan:
Kind like the 3-Series– without the wagon and the X3.
I suppose this is where people who like SUVs will say, “but MINI will be able to make a kickass SUV and it will still be kind of small so this is good for the brand because people will grow their understanding of the brand!”
Boooooooooooooooooooo
I thought the clubman was foolishness enough; I know they’d been kicking around this SUV silliness for a while. Again, sacrificing long-term brand value and mindspace for short-term profit, muddling brand expectations, etc. Asinine.
Isn’t it a little late to be jumping on the SUV bandwagon. I mean everyone else is downsizing and they plan to inflate there cars. Lets move from and exploding market to a dieing market, that’s a great plan.
Maybe BMW is tired of MINI and they want to pull a Saab so they don’t have to work at it anymore.
How is a Mercedes hearse brandicide? When I was a small kid, every hearse was a Mercedes. Now just the other day I saw a Mondeo hearse.
Audi city car… just remember that the Audi 50 came out before Volkswagen had the Polo.
I kinda like the concept, except for that nasty Toyota Tundra-esque front surround.
It doesn’t look like an SUV to me, it looks like a streched version of the mini – kind of a mini station wagon.
Maybe they’re just using the term SUV because it’s sexier than “wagon.” I wonder, would the SUV-phobes at TTAC be as dismissive of this if it were called a wagon?
Hang on everybody. Seen a Rav4 lately? Pretty imposing vehicle. BMW X3? Not very compact.
MINI will be stepping into a hole in the market here–a truly small AWD wagon. This spot was recently vacated by the Subaru Impreza, for example.
A rough-and-tumble MINI that you can take to the ski slope? I think it will be a big hit.
As “UN” mini as it is, the Clubman has a history; Mini in it’s original had more variations than the Bush administration has ways around the constitution. The “Clubman” was one such variation. So I fail to see how this is “brandicide” when it is historyically based.
Hell, I’m looking forward to a new version of the Mini Pick-up truck and Bread van…
NB: the vehicle shown here is the Clubman. The vehicle Mr. Berkowitz is talking about is called the “Monte.”
I thought the “Clubman” was coming out early next year as a stretch Mini, not an all wheel drive mini-suv. I’ve seen the pics of the production Clubman, so I doubt that this is the same thing (unless they are not using the name for the one in the pipeline). The comments above were right, historically the Mini line had quite a bit of variety. Would an all wheel drive Mini be good? I can’t see that it would be too good, after all the extra weight would deal a blow to the svelte handling of the mini. But who knows…I like little ‘utes myself and maybe there is a significant number of folks willing to plunk down some cash.
I’m just curious what they think would be accomplished here that can’t be accomplished with the X3.
I can understand the impulse to do some brand extension, but I would think that a couple of zippy little odd-ball sport cars and compacts would be better suited to the brand. I question how many buyers are going to want a not-so-mini MINI over the long haul.
Anyone remember the Smart Formore? Yeah, that went well.
Eh it looks a lot like Clubman with 4×4. That would be an SUV in terms of advertising (no doubt with a nudge and a wink), but not in physical size. I mean it says that the monte is based on the clubman, and I could imagine a raised, strengthened clubman with 4×4 would be able to hop rocks very well.
That said I don’t love the Clubman’s looks already, suvification is unlikely to help.
So this is the mini Cayenne? If BMW wanted to develop more Minis they should remember Mini=interesting and small. If they want to expand the brand, build a 2 seater roadster to compete with the MX5 or MG-F, or what the hell build a pickup version of the Clubman, since the classic Mini had pickup and van variants on the station wagon.
This third MINI is proof that BMW needs to suck it up and buy Volvo.
The Clubman is just a Mini station wagon. I have no problem with that, especially since the old mini had an equivalent. But an SUV? Puleeeeeze!
Shades of the new xB
I think everyone will be supprised when the van comes out. get it Mini-van.
I own a MINI, if BMW wants to kill the brand, its their call, someone will take its place. anyway its a way to keep interest alive, eventually everyone who wanted a MINI will get one, then what do you do? And since the pool of people who condider MINI is smaller than say a Honda Civic, you sell your market out faster.
I hope Mini commit brandcide very very soon. I hate to see what Mini has become. It started off as a cheap, cute little knockabout and now has become a fashion icon with no charm what so ever! The same happened with VW’s Beetle. Initally, cheap, lovable car and now? Fashion statement!
Also, with petrol and oil prices rocketed and uncertainty with supplies, what a great time to annouce and SUV(!)
Yay(!) an SUV from “Mini”(!) If it has “Mini” in the title, then it must consume less fuel, right…..(?)
Let’s see that argument get around CAFE…….!
We talk about brandicide but didnt mini have a range of models as mini is trying to do now. The Clubman provides the room that the original gave, making the mini more practical, something that will appeal to families wanting a fun practical vehicle. Check that box.
They did have a fun off roady type vehicle called the Moke which i guess has inspired the latest creation. Which leads to how vehicles are downsizing, we’re always moaning about how SUV’s are garagantuan monsters waiting to suck the planet dry. As mini is jumping on this future band wagon, that is smaller SUV/downsizing, fair play. Tick that box too.
Check out the Kia Soul as another funky small C/SUV (also search for some of the cool speculative renderings of the mini SUV on the net while you’re at it).
Companies globally are exploring this, why shouldnt mini play with their heritage and make a buck from it in a market that is going to grow, because people want this?
add me to the list of disappointed punters. the current !mini is too big for my taste. how could an “suv” version be any better?
Well given that the new “mini” was pretty much a “maxi-pad” in size anyway, it is not a real surprise that they just continue the bloat.
What they should have done is gone smaller and cheaper even. Something more akin in size to the original mini to take on the city cars like the Smart and Fiat 500. Sure, they couldn’t sell it in America cause American’s fat asses wouldn’t fit, but in Europe they would have done well.
“every brand, every niche” is exactly the plague that is killing most companies.
As others have pointed out, there was a precedent for producing a “wagon” version of the new mini because BMC/Leyland produced various such versions of the original mini.
However, there does seem to be some confusion here about the original Mini “Clubman” model. The “clubman” model was a front end re-styling job with a few other spec changes. It wasn’t specifically a wagon. The clubman was produced as a regular 2-door car with a regular trunk and also as wagon too (or “estate” as the Brits would say).
The wagon versions of the minis were generally just known as the “Mini Estate” though there was a very popular “woodie” style paneled wagon called the “Countryman”.
For anyone who is interested in the original mini or any other car from the BMC/Austin Rover days – there is a superb website at http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/ which chronicles the cars and the history of the industry over there.
I know it has been said a few times on this site, but if you want to take a glimpse into the likely future for the US domestic car industry – just take a look at the slow but inevitable collapse of the British car industry ( or even a decade or so earlier the powerful British motorcycle industry ). Yes, there are many differences between the US and British companies but the key issues are depressingly similar – complacency in the face of growing competition, arrogant management, adversarial labor relations, lack of product investment when times were good leading to the inability to catch up on limited development funds when the crunch really came.
OK, back to BMW minis. I think the small wagon concept they want to introduce with the Clubman has a lot of merit – but agree with the majority of other comments here on TTAC that a Mini-SUV is a dumb idea. It does seem to fly totally counter to the whole concept of the BMW Mini as unique, trendy and well….. er, small? Why would a brand that virtually has a niche all to itself want to jump on a crowded band-wagon with everyone else? I guess that the obvious answer is to broaden their niche which is presumably beginning to get saturated? But you can’t help feeling that by trying to expand their target market this way they risk doing more harm than good by watering down the original concept?
It’s hard to say how big that thing is from the shots, and the third one is just a 3d image that has absolutely nothing in common with the spy shots (why is it in the article anyway? It’s a retarded render that’s been floating around the web for at least a year, I know I saw it when the last “Mini is making an SUV” panic broke out.) It looks like a slightly larger Mini with dual exhaust and double doors in the back – the fish-eye perspective of the second shot distorts it quite a bit, but you can still see that it isn’t nearly at SUV-like height.
If anything, that looks like an AWD Mini wagon. And that isn’t a bad idea at all, or even “brandicide”, whatever that is – if that awkward word is supposed to refer to a perceived brand suicide and is applied every time a car manufacturer makes a vehicle that’s slightly different than expected, then every car brand in existence has killed itself many times over
f8, almost every car brand in existence has indeed killed itself many times over, certainly the American brands, I don’t think that’s much of a question…
There is no listing of specs anywhere on this vehicle. Seems like people are jumping the gun thinking its going to be another escalade.
So its a 5 door Mini with AWD? Sounds like a Cross Golf to me. It’s certainly not the H3. Where’s the problem?
I think the “brandicide” drama ignores that most of the potential market for this car don’t remember the original Mini and care much less.
I have to join Boston Tea Party in saying that I’m not only not bothered by more variants, but really expecting them. Personally, I’d like to see if I like the MINI take on CUVs as much as I like the Mazda take. I’d like to see a MINI pickup and a MINI van after that.
I think the whole “brandicide” thing is silly anyway. The only place I see people getting worked up about “brand image” is here on TTAC. Certainly the buyers don’t care. I know that the fall of the Detroit 3 is often blamed on “poor branding” but it’s really poor products that are killing them, not branding.
The idea that each brand should have a distinctive personality is a fetish of a few brand lovers out there. I know brand-worshipping Porsche-o-philes were horrified when the Cayenne came out, ditto with Audi-lovers and the Q7. So what? Will people refuse to buy a 911 because Porsche makes an SUV? Will a potential buyer disdain the Quattro because Audi makes an SUV? And will an image-conscious econo-phile turn his nose up at the Prius just because Toyota also makes the Tundra and the FJ Cruiser?
Where on earth did the notion come from that each brand was supposed to be “pure?” That’s just weird. It’s like saying “I heard your brother was convicted of embezzlement so I won’t do business with you.”
Mini is a hot, desirable car. The Mini-wagon is obviously intended for those people who have said “gee, I’d love to get one of those, but where would I put the baby seats and the golf clubs?”
Mini-pickup? Mini-van? Why not?
Another small CUV!!!????
Nooooooooooooo!
There is now a market for a small SUV, as there are none left. If it’s not a cheap jeep with style, they should just leave it in the idea bin and do somthing else.
I know that the fall of the Detroit 3 is often blamed on “poor branding” but it’s really poor products that are killing them, not branding.
It’s not an either-or argument — both are important. The product problem and the branding problem feed each other, and are not mutually exclusive.
First of all this is not a Mini… it is a MINI!! Big (no pun intended) difference!.
The Clubman model is an original Mini model even though it was NOT called a Clubman!! It was called a Countryman or a Traveller. For some reason BMW did not have enough money (or the correct information) to purchase the rights to buy the name back from the BMC. Clubman referred to the horribly ugly square nosed minis of the 70’s. (there was the Clubman and the Clubman Estate – read Wagon). But as history showed, NOBODY liked them!! They quickly reverted back to the round-nosed Minis!!
So tell me, why would you use a name that is associated with a big mistake?! I have no idea!! I can’t believe that BMW couldn’t work out getting Countryman or Traveller?!?
That would be kinda like Ford releasing the new version of the Mustang and calling it a “PINTO”!! JAJA
Of course the US market knows nothing of the clubman so it works here!!
I am curious what people on the other side of the pond think about using the Clubman name?
As far as the SUV thing, well… just remember, this is MINI!! NOT Mini! I know there is just one leter difference, but BMW is not BMC!!
Bring back the Riley Elf!!, the PU!! Hell… Give me a Moke!!
I do have to say, even though I have owned a ’63 Traveller for 11 years, I sure enjoy having a car that starts every morning, heats up more than just one leg in the winter, drives in a straight line as well as it does on the corners, and driving through a puddle doesn’t shut the lights off!!
I am certainly considering the new “Clubman”!! It sure would look cute in the garage next to her great grandmother!! :D