Biggie in a Mini
At six-foot, four-inches in height, I come prepackaged with limitations. Retailers always run out of my pant size, dress shirts are typically too short, and certain motorized vehicles are simply out of the question. Or at least I thought the latter was true. This past week, I got behind the wheel of a Mini.
I've been looking forward to the US launch of the Mini, not only because (like Vespas) it brings a little Euro flair to the banal SUV hogging highways, but to see how American consumers accept its size and style.
I happened to be at a BMW dealership recently, and noticed their new showroom full of Minis. I chatted with a salesperson for quite a while, eyeing them from a distance.
"I love it. But there's no way I could drive one," I said.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Look at me! There's no way I could get behind the wheel a car that small."
"I've seen larger people than you drive one," he said with a smile.
Well that was all I needed to hear. I slipped behind the wheel, and to my astonishment, actually felt comfortable. Me, a biggie in a Mini.
I asked how sales were going, and he just laughed. "We've got a waiting list that stretches out for months," he said. "If you come by on a weekend, you'll see a line of people waiting to test drive one."
Since then I've felt a renewed faith in car buyers. Perhaps most of the people who buy SUVs for inner city driving do it because they don't know any better. Or it's what their friends all have. But inject a bold, fun, economy car into the mix, and people form lines to get behind the wheel. Granted, we are talking about Atlanta here, where the "latest thing" is always consumed with great enthusiasm by urbanite yuppies, but the success of the Mini proves that unconventional design can succeed in the mass market; something we can all be excited about.
In the time it took to write this, I've had the Mini web site open in the background. Out of nowhere, this JavaScript alert popped up. Oh for the love of fine details.
Comments
I sure hope the minis take off to get attention off of the gas-guzzling SUVs. America desparately needs to wean itself off the middle east oil teat. The price is maybe a little high ($16-20k) for the average Joe's small car needs but it is certainly a good price for the people who bought an SUV merely for the fad status and not for the need for hauling large amounts of cargo and people over rugged terrain. The next step would be to make it an electric/gas hybrid but not advertise it is.
Posted by: Lauri at May 3, 2002 2:47 PM
They have a billboard up I-85 near Spaghetti Junction. "Goliath Lost" in bold letters on a black background. Nice.
I feel "chained" to a large vehicle (in my case, a Dodge Ram 1500 pickup) because I spend a lot of time hauling stuff home from Lowe's, and the cargo space is nice when taking wife and small child on long road trips (or even just up the road to Granny's house). But I sure would love to have something smaller and more economical for my daily commute from the north side to the south side...
Posted by: Bob at May 3, 2002 3:14 PM
I saw one last Sunday, but thought it was an old one (there's at least one in the area). Cute, cute.
Posted by: Claire at May 3, 2002 8:58 PM
Hi Todd
I'm six-foot two-inches and never felt cramped in my original Mini Cooper S [bought new in 1979] and had heaps of fun.
Because of its low centre of gravity and front wheel drive it went places the SUVs of the day were wary of.
It carried skis, diving gear, kayaks with ease. Easy on the pocket and easy to park. I miss it.
Posted by: Allan at May 6, 2002 7:39 AM
My lengthy comments::: Blog 1.5 :: Witold Riedel :: NYC ::: Let%u2019s Motor! & Let%u2019s Motor (part 2). I love the little mini commercial with the bobby. Did you see it?. Jolly fun. ; )
Posted by: Witold at May 6, 2002 9:15 AM
They aren't "cute" just because they're small. "Cute" was the most derogatory thing that people used to say about the old Macs, remember.
here in europe, Minis have a real cult following that the company plays on really well in the ads. The mini brand here is anything but "cute": it's pitched as sophisticated, even slightly dangerous.
Pity that a Ford Excretion can flatten one before the driver even turns on the hands-free mobile phone. Regardless of how tall one is, I'm not sure I'd feel safe driving a mini on US streets or highways.
Posted by: andrew at May 7, 2002 11:08 AM
They aren't "cute" just because they're small. "Cute" was the most derogatory thing that people used to say about the old Macs, remember.
here in europe, Minis have a real cult following that the company plays on really well in the ads. The mini brand here is anything but "cute": it's pitched as sophisticated, even slightly dangerous.
Pity that a Ford Excretion can flatten one before the driver even turns on the hands-free mobile phone. Regardless of how tall one is, I'm not sure I'd feel safe driving a mini on US streets or highways.
Posted by: andrew at May 7, 2002 11:09 AM
