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MINI's mini-suv finally has a name. Auto Motor und Sport (via motoring.co.za) reports the maxi-MINI will be called the Crossman, continuing their theme of names that start with "C." The not-so-mini MINI will be built by Magna in Austria, marking the marque's first foray away from the UK's auto industry. MINI Magna expect to produce about 45K Crossmans (Crossmen?) a year after the model's 2010 launch. Crossman consumers can opt for front wheel-drive or all wheel-drive. So now we'll have the two-door Cooper, the Cooper convertible, the four-door Clubman and the Crossman. It shouldn't be too long before BMW completes the bastardization of the MINI brand by producing a pickup version, maybe called the El CaMINI.
I’m not concerned so much about brand extensions. I am concerned that this vehicle is a MagnaSteyr product. I have lived with a 2004 X3. Nothing personal against the company, but I find the build quality is better in Spartanburg. Has this been anybody’s experience?
Wouldn’t a MINI SUV really just be a wagon?
I’d be a cross man, if i had to drive something so fiercely ugly. Hopefully the finished product is a bit more tasteful.
What an ugly cussed thing that is.
Wasn’t there an original Mini truck? So if they brought it back wouldn’t it just be bringing back history instead of bastarization?
I was getting all ready to defend the Crossman. In principle there is nothing wrong with a slightly bigger, tougher MINI. But then I saw that it’s a 4-door. For some reason that pushes it over the edge. It looks like an Impreza Outback with the face of a trout.
If any vehicle needed all wheel drive the Mini is it.If you live in a climate where it snows more than 3 inches,leave your 2WD Mini in the garage.Though I will say the square back end makes them easy to push.
The net effect is decidedly prissy. I’m not seeing the redeeming “bulldog” stance of the previous generation Cooper in this thing. Suddenly I’m having a hard time seeing it in the new Cooper, too. Hmmm.
There already has been a MINI pick-up, so where would the bastardization be in that? In fact, the Crossman is the only vehicle (CUV, SUV) that I think MINI should skip. I’m still waiting for the Moke buggy and the panel van.
Yes, ugly, and amazingly cool. I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
Needs to be a two door with a soft, or removable top.
There already has been a MINI pick-up, so where would the bastardization be in that?
All you’re showing is that MINI has a history of bastardization. That doesn’t mean that such a strategy is a good idea today (if it ever was). The difference today is MINI is no longer a sensible “economy” brand, and I’m pretty sure BMW wants to stay that course.
I want the dualie model, with dubs. Or imagine the six-by version!
I think it looks pretty damn cool. But seems awfully misguided for the brand. Like Porsche building the Cayenne.
the “not-so-mini MINI”? huh? the !MINI isn’t a mini. this latest atrocity is just more of the same from its germanic overlords …
I don’t get what all the fuss is about. We have often decried the lack of cool, funky, economical wagons. Isn’t that exactly what this is? This thing isn’t an “SUV” as many have said, it’s a little wagon based on a car. Why does that offend so many people? You know there are people who have to haul stuff, occasionally, wouldn’t it make more sense for them to be in a little wagon like this rather than an overbuilt SUV?
Why all the hostility? I think it’s cute and AWD would definitely be a plus in the Rocky Mountains. A cool alternative to Subaru can’t be a bad thing, can it? Anyway, it’s much better looking than most CUVs (except for the Infiniti FX which is gorgeous.)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Man, that’s a rolling nightmare: A gigantic Mini. It’s kinda like Mothra: while a moth/butterfly may be cool, multiply its size and it’ll start to devastate Tokyo.
I was originally looking forward to the Clubman, but the more i look at them, the less I like them. Too cutey-cutey.
BMW should learn from the Smart debacle: Daimler had a great product (albeit grossly overpriced) and then tried to expand it, only to fail miserably, and despite the fact that the Smart roadster was a lot of fun to drive.
Frank Williams: The not-so-mini MINI will be built by Magna in Austria, marking the marque’s first foray away from the UK’s auto industry.
A version of the original BMC (Austin, Morris, et al.) Mini was built by Innocenti (under license from BMC) from 1961 to 1976 in Italy.
And let’s not forget the Mini Moke, sort of a 2-wheel-drive version of the Jeep CJ.
If any vehicle needed all wheel drive the Mini is it.
Seems like the addition of AWD to the Mini would make for one heck of a Rally car.