[CC1970]

just been thinking about the riviera run , searched for a thread and was horrified of the stories about classic owner!!!! ther goes the plans for my first run as a new owner! i said it on that forum and i will say it again.
just because BMW own mini now we are getting this hassle but
NEW BENTLEY OWNERS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED NO PROBLEM...OWNED NOW BY VW!
LOTUS OWNERS ARE STILL LOTUS OWNERS...NOW OWNED BY A KOREAN FIRM
ROLLS ROYCE..... OWNED ALSO BY BMW AND ITS THE BEST ONE SO FAR!
ASTON MARTIN...OWNED BY FORD USA!!!!!

LIKE US ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE MADE IN BRITAIN BY THE BRITISH!!!!!

so why are we the only ones to suffer??
classic owners should see the new mini as a compliment and as for BMW keepin it instead of handing back to Rover, thank god!!

thats all i have to say in the matter and i aint going on the Riviera run.
Anry and upset, Wareham Dorset

[AprilWhine]

The gulf between the Mini and the MINI is enormous, much harder to bridge than between the other cars you mentioned. The only similar instance is Beetle to New Beetle.

Let's face it, the old and new MINIs have nothing more in common than the name. When a meet has owners of both, they have nothing to talk about. MINI owners are talking ICE and retrofitting, Mini owners just want to stop the oil leaks.

I've quit trying to force companionship that isn't there. Just be happy with your MINI friends. And let the classic Mini owners be happy with theirs.

[Tom B]

Here, Here!

Tom

[Veron781]

Quote: Originally Posted by AprilWhine

MINI owners are talking ICE and retrofitting, Mini owners just want to stop the oil leaks.

I've quit trying to force companionship that isn't there. Just be happy with your MINI friends. And let the classic Mini owners be happy with theirs.

Hehe!
So very true! I completely agree

[KPKalle]

Well said that man!! I think most of us new MINI owners feel the same - that we love both Mini and MINI. I thought the problems were only confined to the UK but to my horror, having recently been trying to arrange a run over here, I found out that the resentment is here too The classics want nothing to do with my run

Actually the guy I spoke to is a classic specialist, with a workshop full of Minis he's restoring as part of his business. He's not against the MINI per se, but the club he's in has voted fairly unanimously to have nothing to do with MINI. So if he's caught showing his face at our run he'll be blacklisted

[stephenjc]

Isn't there a number of people that own both? Since buying my MINI I have become tempted/interested in possibly buying a classic. My biggest worry being that since I am not much of a mechanic myself i wouldn't want to have to keep a mechanic on retainer. Those that own both should be the peacemakers/mediators. I wonder what their attitudes are about the division.

[twouptons]

April is right about the different interests.
I follow this board, a mail-list for first-generation Firebirds (67-69), and used to frequent VWVortex (for our Golf and, to a lesser extent, my Beetle).
The differences between people and what they want/expect from a car is pretty amazing. The Firebird folks talk all the time about NOS, but it rarely has anything to do with laughing gas. They like restoration primarily, and talk about things that no new car owner should have to (rust removal and carburator adjustment, for example).
The New Beetle folks are far more interested in ICE and chipping, and they rarely talk much about racing (though there are some...)

I don't think that the "bigotry" is entirely limited to cross-generational stuff, though. How many of the people who are really into ICE are also really into autox? I'm sure there are some, but there are some categories of MINI ownership that are a bit contradictory. We noticed it at a local MINI gathering. When we admitted we weren't really into putting our car on a track, a bunch of folks pretty much ignored us. Yeah it was a bit rude, but our interests didn't match... Fortunately we found some other people at the gathering who were a lot friendlier.

There are a lot more things we have in common as MINI owners than we do with Mini owners, but that doesn't really excuse meanness.

-Eric

[Johnny L]

Hey, all! Great posts!

You know, I always think it's funny when people define themselves by a commercial product. That someone would eschew the company of another simply because he or she has a different product indicates insanity.

I'm quite certain that if a MINI owner and a Mini owner suddenly became flatulant at the same time, a third party would find them equally repulsive!
(Sorry, but to me these things often come down to scatology . . .)

[Vanwall]

Well, I own both kinds, and I love 'em both. There are more Mini owners out there that are tolerant, even enthusiastic, but the majority seems pretty set against us, or at least the noisy ones . That said, Mini Meet West in the USA is actually being co-organized by a Mini club AND a MINI club. Most USA Classic owners seem to be more inclined to accept the new MINI, and locallyin San Diego, at least, we get along pretty good. Maybe it's a sign of the future - I would hope so.

BCNU,
Rob in Dago

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Quote: Originally Posted by AprilWhine

I've quit trying to force companionship that isn't there. Just be happy with your MINI friends. And let the classic Mini owners be happy with theirs.

The problem that I have is with the outright (and unprovoked) hostility from many old Mini owners, rather than their more understandable disinterest.

Tigger.

[pocketrocketowner]

B holes will be b holes in MINIs or horseshoes, it does not matter. It is very important to distinguish a person from a b hole. B holes come in the same shapes and own all the same sort of things normal persons do. Just stay away from them and you will be fine.

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Quote: Originally Posted by pocketrocketowner

B holes will be b holes in MINIs or horseshoes, it does not matter. It is very important to distinguish a person from a b hole. B holes come in the same shapes and own all the same sort of things normal persons do. Just stay away from them and you will be fine.

Please help how can I tell a "b hole" from a normal person as quickly as possible? If they normally blend in, like you say, what should I look out for first; there has to be some sort of give away signal before they show their true colours ....

Tigger.

[beken]

The mechanic at the MINI dealership I bring my car to (and also bought the car from) has both a classic Mini as well as a MINI. He's very knowlegeable. Loves his Mini but much prefers to work on MINIs.

I have the same problem with my Pontiac Fiero and the Pontiac guys. Seems many of them sneer at Fieros.

[pocketrocketowner]

The one that gives you the finger cuz you drive whatever you drive.....that's a b hole.
Hope this helps.....

[stephenjc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tigger, Eeyore & Roo

Please help how can I tell a "b hole" from a normal person as quickly as possible? If they normally blend in, like you say, what should I look out for first; there has to be some sort of give away signal before they show their true colours ....

Tigger.

Most b holes look like this ----->

[Tigger, Eeyore & Roo]

Thanks for your help with that

Alongside the MINI in the garage is a Triumph motorcycle, built by the new Triumph company in Hinckley in England. This organisation is entirely British owned, the bikes are nearly entirely British designed and are all assembled and largely manufactured locally. Even this didn't stop many of the die hard biggots from somehow describing them as not being "real Triumphs" and somehow being unworthy of the name - sound familiar? (Interestingly, the original Triumph Motorcycles was set up by two Germans in the first place!).

So, unfortunately, it's certainly not unique to MINI Vs Mini. Why does it have to be like this?

Tigger.

[JBA]

I don't have a MINI, but have driven the original quite a bit, in standard and Downton tuned form. The new MINI is superior in every way. Whats more it makes a profit, so funding future development, which the old pioneer never did! Ignore the green-eyed minority, as their chassis's are already deeply in the clutches of the iron oxide

[Sebby]

Me and the hubby don't own a new MINI, but own a old one.

I was introduced to mini2 by my sister who had a new MINI at the time. Old or new, they are both great cars, and i just wish people would stop being petty and just enjoy their cars ?

Why does it have to be like this ? Good Question ................

[Tom B]

It's like the Porsche people who don't feel the 928 / 924 are "real" Porsche's because their engines are in the front. Or the Ferrari people who feel that only a 12 cylinder is worthy of the marque and look down their noses at the lowly V8's. I guess some people can only feel good about themselves when putting others down.


Tom

[ziggi]

hello, sorry for my first post to be a controvertial one .....

A new mcs owner - the success of the new MINI is in part (and quite a large part) due to the success of the old mini. Part of the attaction of the new MINI is the nostalgia and pedigree of the mini.

I would speculate that the MINI is much more popular in US due to it's cult status in UK & Europe. The fact that it's a fantastic car is neither here nor there - there are many excellent cars on the market to buy. BMW have capitalised on all this, and, have made the MINI such a success they must be falling over themselves in amazement at how no-one else did it sooner. There are few car models with as much heritage as the mini.

The porsche community is very close knit - very very few see 924/298 as mentioned here - i've not met anyone like that when I owned an old 911. The old and the new porsche owners seem to have a very genuine interest in both sides.

With bikes (i am an avid and life long modern bike lover) there's the old bike lovers and the new bike lovers - not much cross-over so modern day triumph owners would probably turn their noses up at all modern machines as it's just not their thing - triumph badge or not.

So i put it to you the MINI is much more of an appealing car because of the mini - i know you all know this - so why say mini enthusiasts are bigoted - sounds like it might be the other way.