Genius & Stupidity - The Mini Story
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- čas přidán 23. 11. 2023
- There are few cars that create such an emotional response as the Mini. In 1959 it was a modern, cutting-edge design, but today is a cute, old-fashioned car. It’s gone from being the height of practicality to completely impractical, certainly compared to modern cars. But that emotional response was understood by those who sought to recreate it at the turn of the Millenium, creating a practical car that nevertheless cherishes its British Mini roots. So, just why did the British Motor Corporation decide to build this tiny car? And why was the Mini on sale, almost unchanged, for over 40 years?
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Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_(M...)
www.aronline.co.uk/opinion/es...
www.vintag.es/2020/10/the-bea...
www.schompmini.com/famous-min...
www.insider.com/mary-quant-po...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMC_A-s...
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini/...
www.parkers.co.uk/best-cars/c...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_C...
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini/...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Moke
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini/...
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini/...
www.aronline.co.uk/history/bm...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocen...
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/innoc...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...
www.aronline.co.uk/cars/mini/...
#bigcar - Auta a dopravní prostředky
We had a Mini and I learned to drive in one. I still remember being able to lift it from the back and slide it in to fit in very tight parking spots. What a legend!
Yeah, on a field trip with our school (we some 17 or 18 years old) our bus was blocked at a sharp bend by a Mini illegally parked. Well, our teachers decided not to see what's coming up, but some guys just lifted the Mini to the side walk. What's the difference between getting a ticket because of parking in a no parking/stopping zone, or getting a ticket because of parking on a side walk? 🤪
Whilst in college somebody had parked blocking our landlady in. The solution 6 of us man handled it out the way.we were only 16/17 years old. I bet the owners when they came back were stumped at their car not only facing the wrong way but several feet from were they originally parked.
@@jaredwoodward919 sometimes I wish I grew up in the UK, because there are so many fun car stories from that part of the world. As much as I love muscle cars and such, I’ve always found the quirky and chipper Mini to be so much more entertaining for its size… Even if I’m too tall to fit inside. 😢
Exactly so did I!!! I could put it on a petrol can manually to change a tyre.
@@Theover4000 Unless you're extremely tall, thats pretty unlikely. Its surprisingly roomy.
Fun bit; One of the designers of the 'new' Mini for a long time denied ever being involved with the project because he felt it was a stain on his career. He only stepped out of the shadows when BMW offered him a lifetime achievement award which came with a large prize.
Why is that kinda funny for me
However you cut it, that's pretty spineless..
@@svarthofde2492 Why bother with the attention when you can just deny it. Much quieter life. If someone called you up one day and offered you a large amount of money for something you did decades ago but were a bit ashamed of, would you say no?
It's not spineless, it's making smart decisions.
@Yvolve So you have morals and shame until someone offers you enough money to forget those so-called principles. It's the textbook definition of a lack of morals or spine.
@@svarthofde2492would you tell people you'd shit yourself if no one knew?
I've had seven Minis and still have a 1979 998cc saloon which I'll never sell. Great fun to drive, truly organic motoring.
Organic?
Explain Organic motoring to me...
@alanwayte432 Unadulterated, simple, pure, the distilled essence of motoring with none of the interference associated with modern cars. If you've driven a well set up Mini then you'll understand.
@@interceptordave It is why the French had to cheat the Mini out of the 1966 Monte Carlo Rally.
1979 998 - is it "S" version with sharp response to accelerator pedal?
My aunt had one.
She was a high school teacher.
Her students would often pick the car up and carry it way up the stairs in front of the school.
They found many creative places to put that car.
My uncle made a roller setup (think poor-man’s dyno) and used it to run a compressor.
when i was in high school, the science teacher, who we all detested, owned a Mini. We did the same thing - the school had a covered walkway with the floor about 400 mm above the ground. We put his Mini up on the walkway, knowing there was no way he could drive it off. However, when we came back later, it was gone. He probably got three other teachers to help him lift it down again.
so what who cares?!
17:04 Many years ago (early '80s) a friend was very senior in the civil service, and as a sort of retirement gift was sent to Thailand for a couple of years to boost trade connections. He asked Leyland to send over a couple of buses to show off (he had arranged for the Thai Royal Family to be seen riding atop a double decker) but Leyland said they could pay full price for their world-leading buses if they wanted to try them. Thailand has Volvo double deckers these days.
Volvo bought Leyland's Bus division in the early 90's
@@marflitts But, for some reason, does not think _Leyland_ to be a fitting label.
Leyland and the entire industry were destroyed because they wouldn't ditch lucas electrics but I would also give a dishonorable mention to Smith gages.
From my own experience the Hillman my parents owned, wouldn't start if there was a cloud on the horizon.
@@iancormie9916I named my son Lucas...cuz if he ever became a criminal...the "charges" would never "stick"
@@iancormie9916 I'd put poor management and labour relations well ahead of poor equipment choices that led to that destruction.
A few years ago my wife and I hired a Moke for a day in Queensland Australia. We drove it on the highway at 110kph. It was the most terrifying fun I've ever had. 😅😢😅
try a road next time
My 67 Ford Galaxie 428 (7 liter) would do that in reverse...you could also put one of these in the trunk
You know how big Queensland is right? If you want to get further than a post office or supermarket, you're going on a highway@@DrLoverLover
I used to hire one and go from Sydney up and down the Pacific Highway. This one had the roll cage.
Wish I'd bought one - breathe on the engine a bit and it's off to the races.
@BB-xx3dv Sorry, but you are wrong. A former colleague had an early Moke, and on the freeway north of Sydney being in it was brown pants territory.
Fun fact: While Leyland was rather adamant on handing the Minis for TIJ, FIAT actually approached the film crew and were more than happy to hand out a load of 500s.
Funny to think that in an alternate universe the red, white a blue cars would've been FIATs.
I guess they might have been red white and green then ;)
I have a sneaking suspicion that the lack of proper cargo space might've been what kept it out
Would've had to wait quite a while for the Italian Job reboot, too. Whether or not that's a good thing, I leave up to you.
Wasn't the director offered a Ferrari to use the Fiats instead of Minis? Which he turned down! Or is that an urban myth?
A 1975 Clubman 1275 GT was my first car, though 12 years old by the time I got it. Absolute legend that was, loved it even though I beat the crap out of it, but it was just begging to be thrashed. Blew the head gaskets and rebuilt the engine twice, and eventually the poor little fella succumbed to rust. I remember one time bemoaning a burst radiator to the barman at the local student friendly pub. He disappeared into the back and plopped a mini radiator on the bar with my pint and pork scratchings. Cheers!
Now THAT doesn't happen very often! Great story! 🤣👍
My first 3 cars were Minis. Unforgettable the adventures i experienced with those little rag dolls. My granny drove her 1971 Clubman for over 20 years without any single problem. My Minis would leave me down during rainy weather, due to ignition problems. Thanks to Duran Duran, i always carried hair spray with me, so i sprayed it all over the ignition heads, and it would run again, hahaha...🤣😉
Hahahahaha "thanks to Duran Duran"
My wife (before I met her) put a marigold glove over the distributer with holes in the fingers for the leads.
Ah you didn't know of the "Monte Carlo" mod?
Take one of your mum's Marigold gloves and snip the tips off the fingers and thumb.
Remove HT leads from dizzy cap, pass HT leads down the fingers and the king lead down the thumb, securing tips with cable ties and now you've got a water resistant distributor.
Being right behind the grill, that is how Minis completed won so many rallies in winter conditions.
I've watched umpteen documentaries on the mini but this is by far the best. You have certainly answered so many queries and explained why it lasted 41years.
Despite its faults it has always had a charm no other car can match. Very enjoyable long may you continue.
Just two fun facts : In Germany British Leyland is often referred to as: Britisch Elend which sounds very much the same if pronounced by a German but means British misery. In your extremely well researched video (as always I am happy to be a Patreon) you show some advertising brochure for the German market but the car depicted in that brochure for the German market has the steering wheel on the wrong side, at least for the continent. Apparently BMC did not go the extra mile to win customers on the other side of the channel
He showed some dutch brochures too
When you said "the sorts of things you did in a car in the 1950s", I immediately thought of lighting and smoking cigars.
You've got a clean mind!
A friend and I did a 3000+ mile trip around Europe in 8 days in a 998cc automatic brown mini, just turning up at random camp sites wherever we decided stop, was an excellent adventure!
3rd gear started to slip while in the south of France and in heavy rain the windscreen leaked really badly, but I fixed by smearing butter around the seal! 😂
😂
My vw rabbit (your mk1 golf) has crossed North America over a dozen times.
3,000 miles is only half way and the turnaround point 😊
Drivetrains been phenomenal.
But it is not possible to keep the water out and now I just drill holes in the floor😂
Did you say “BUTTER”?
@@horse5407 yeah! It kept the rain out for years! 😂
In his first book "Rockers and Rollers", Brian Johnson (of Geordie and AC/DC fame) notes that one could do more, ahem, exciting things in a Mini. I'm sure the fact that Mr. Johnson is 5'5" probably helped matters some, but when there is that certain urge, there will always be a way. Great story. You outdid yourself this time.
The Mini would have won the Rallye de Monte Carlo in 1966 as well but was disqualified for having illegal headlight bulbs!
Yes! It won four years in a row in my books!
Great video! The British Motor Museum not only displays the 9X concept, but also the first Morris Mini (621 AOK), all 3 Monte Carlo Rallye winners, the last ever Mini, a 'Twini' concept, a Moke, one of the first New Minis and many more.
Yes, and also the sectioned Mini that was sawn in half to show the brilliant use of space. Photos of it appear in many books on the Mini.
My grandfather was one of the 3 engineers who lead the development : )
So! My Dad went to prison and didn't HAVE to work. So wah!
My parents owned several minis before I was born... they said it was a decent car, but unreliable in wet weather. It seems the distributor got wet easily, causing trouble. They told me they bought a piece of plastic (perspex?) that was a genuine revision part. It sheilded the dizzy cap from splashes!
Our 1960 was retrofitted with a (factory) rubber shower cap.
Helped.
Merci beaucoup monsieur Big Car pour ce sujet passionnant et très bien documenté !
Le problème avec le charme et la beauté intemporelle d'un design, c'est qu'on ne peut pas vraiment le remplacer sans décevoir les admirateurs et autres amoureux des belles carrosseries bien proportionnées, un peu comme la Citroën DS, la Ford Mustang et tant d'autres icônes sur roues.. 🙏👍
The original Mini is one of the few cars that really shaped car history by both being affordable AND engineered brilliantly. Citroen's 2CV is the most similar in these criteria that comes to my mind.
What about the VW bug ❤
@@guillermoflores576 the bug to me is rather affordable and reliable and sold because of that. Don't think it stood out because of advanced engineering.
Toyota RAV4?
Engineered brilliantly might be disputed by many mechanics.
@@keithhooper6123haha
as kid in in the 80s, the "proper" mini was a thing of excitement to me and many friends (it looked like we could drive it somehow).
used to get occasional sundays out in one. left hand drive. remember being marvelled at sitting on the wrong side of the car.
amazing memories i only have to see a mini to recall clearly, when so many are dulled by time.
As a child of the 70's the Mini has always been an iconic car to my generation, but to see it on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier at 30:18 with the Blackburn Buccaneer in the background, which was arguably one of the best aircraft this nation has produced, gave me goose bumps.
Thank you for another well researched and presented video.
👍
Bit of extra information. The A-series engine that they “took from the morris minor” was originally developed for the Austin A30 and made its appearance in 1950. The engine ended its production run along with the mini. Marking the end of a 50 year production run. Such an interesting quirky and adaptable engine.
Actually it was designed way before the A30 and the Morris Mini Minor initially had a totally different engine.
The Metro used the A series engine. Did that finish it's run before the Mini? I don't remember.
@@Derek_S the Mini ended production in october 2000, many many years after the Metro.
A friend of mine, a motor wrecker, mechanic and welder, built Australia's first road registered Mini V8 in 1972.
Practical runabout, movie star and motorsports hero. In its day, the classic Mini truly was all things to all men & served as the progenitor of an entire car segment that is named after it - the Supermini.
Truly one of the greatest automotive designs of all time.
You are truly a legend. I am so incredibly grateful for all your content. I absolutely LOVE it. Thank you 🙏
Still modern looking and still has much fun you are really driving
Very nice nostalgic review of the unforgettable Mini! I grew up in Belgium near Liège; a blue "Morris Mini" was my first car thanks to my father. l drove and loved it for5 years including college (Liège University), before eventually moving to New York in 1970. My father eventually sold it. I soon became an American and today drive a Ford Mustang GT with a 4.6 liter V-8. But I'll never forget my Mini - it saved my life at least twice when I pushed it close close its limits in the hilly Belgian Ardennes. There are two color photos of it in my northern NJ home to insure that 🚙.
Another amazing video.
I have a feeling this will be one of the best and popular videos on the channel within weeks.
Thanks
I had 3 second hand Minis in the 1990's. My favourite one was a F reg Mini City in flame red, it was immaculate when I bought it in 1992. All of them were great fun to drive. I just loved everything about them from the sound of the engine and gearbox whine, snappy gearchange and fun handling along B roads. It was cool Brittania in the 90,'s and I felt cool driving the Mini with my long 1990's hair. I am 60 now and want a classic Mini when I retire, but a good one will probably cost a bit. And now my hair is a bit thin !
It would be a duller world without it,right car at the right time.Drawbacks err rust.
Let me guess . . . bank robbery?
Better thinner hair than no hair! 🙂
The first Mini and Imp I drove in Australia were Queensland Government cars in 1963. I was a Cadet Traffic Engineer and at 18yrs old, they were such fun as well as a practical job car for the application.
The only reason I learned how to drive, I wanted a Mini, got one after my test pass in 1988, the car was a 1978 1000cc, it didnt feel like a 10 year old car, it felt like a 30 or 40 year old car, rusty, worn, but they were loved. A 10 year old car now feels almost new! Mini's came and went with me up until the mid 90's, I would dearly love to have another, but with no indoor space to keep and maintain one it will never happen. Great memories of great cars, and good tinkering to seek out more power and handling!
I had two Morris cars in the 70's: a Mini, a Traveller Woody. I also had an Austin-Healy Bugeye Sprite. All were fun cars. I took trips of hundreds of miles in the Woody and the Sprite(a second for parts). They were generally reliable, but if something went wrong one could usually repair it by one's self. Sadly I sold them when I moved far away.
I had a Mini Cooper RSP as my first car, it was like a go cart
fantastic car. derived still built today.
The Mini was my first car …. And I had 4 more for the years ahead … today I would wish, I would still have it.
It was a fascinating car.
When they started to design the Mini, they fitted the engine the other way around. The idea was to protect the ignition system, but this cause a service nightmare. So it was change around and plastic shield was fitted to the inside of the front panel. When ever serviced a mini I would remove the front grill and that made a lot of difference. They also had a very bad water leak on the first models produce and tested. The carpet was getting wet.The floor was welded to the outside of the bulkhead and this is where the water got into the car, so they modified the floor pan and the bulkhead so that the bulkhead was welded to the floor by over lapping it. That why I have bad knees now from working on the floor. I had 7 mini's during my youth. The first one was a Riley Elf mk1. I used to be taken to Saturday morning Cinema in the same vehicle. I should of just towed to the scrapyard. you name it, I repaired it over one year. 184 GWC 1863 pre-August. Martin. (Thailand)
Haha...I'm assuming you mean 1963...
In Australia the need for families to have a 'second car' was noticed by Harold Lightburn who bought a British design that had never gone into production and developed it into a mini-car suitable for Australia. The Lightburn Zeta came out in 1963. It was the same length and width as the Mini but had more room inside because of its station wagon shape. It was much lighter than the Mini, having a strong but light tubular steel chassis and a fibreglass body. Its weak point was its little 324cc Villiers two-stroke engine which coped well enough in city traffic but had a very limited top speed. I bought one second hand in 1966 and it was fun to drive but no match for the Mini.
Both my father and father-in-law had 1959 MIMIs in Canada. Because of their superb road handling, the frequently showed their dust to contemporary bloated dinasours from north american manufacturers.
My first car was a Morris Mini 850. The starter was on the floor, but when it rained, it would stop.The distributor was right in front at the grill. It used more water than petrol but what a lovely little car. Wish I still had it.
The starter button on the floor was the best feature, with a young girl find a reason to stop in a remote place, turn the key and say the car will not start. There is more room in the back than many people think with the front seats tilted forward
My brother's father in law was on the team which developed the automatic transmission for the mini.
Apparently it was thought at the time that an auto would be impossible to implement on such a light, underpowered car.
He's quite proud of what they were able to achieve.
The automatic transmissions were a dismal failure of zero longevity and the chagrin of many mistakenly ordered them.
I was a young mechanic and knew to stay well away from “trouble” so I suggested the Leyland Dealer(defunct Brentmor in Cheltenham Melbourne) should fix their invention. Big mistake! The owner was suicidal after 18 months of bs lies and deceptions why it took so long. When I went to pick it up for the client, I wisely got the service mngr to “show me” how well it was repaired as I lost all faith.
Tow truck was summonsed 5 minutes into the “test” due catastrophic failure.
In court the judge ordered the two of us to be compensated for all our time and to buy any car the client desired from any other dealer at the price she paid plus interest.
Sad to say Dealers haven’t changed much. They still cannot always fix their factory mistakes.
@@AGRADEMECHANIC Dealers don't have much say in how the cars are designed and built, and are more interested in selling than fixing, apart from replacing parts (at the warranty's or owner's expense) until either the fault or the customer goes away.
@@AGRADEMECHANIC WOW! Thanks.
As mentioned, there were many countries where the Mini's were produced which had very distinctive designs/ models. E.g. Australia had unique doors and handles, which were different to the UK. South African produced a 1275 Cooper S equavalent clubman called the GTS and also made a unique model called a Mk3 which had a standard round front and a Riley boot. What I believe was unique to South Africa was a Clubman convertable made sometime between '82 and '84.
To add to the Monte Carlo Rally win statement - They actually won it 4 years in a row, but in 1966 the first 3 cars (all mini's) were disqualified for invalid aux light bulbs.
The Marvelous INTRO
I love it since the video combined w/ the First Beat of moving music....
The Mini will go down as the most iconic ever made and it set the trend for cars in the future it made front wheel drive cars acceptable infact we can thank the Mini for our Suzuki Baleno and of course other front wheel drive cars we have owned
As a small thing to add:
The Spanish facilities BL had actually ended up in the hands of FIAT, then sold to VW in 1979.
The factory still thrives to this day as the manufacturer of the Polo (which they produced since the second generation in the early 1980s)
The Authi (that's the Spanish company who ran the factory under BL) Mini 1275 GT is now today regarded as a collector's item among Spanish classic car fans. And for a good reason...
Who would thought a factory who started making Minis would also end up making German cars? (and from the competition too!).
Also, I'm a big fan of the channel. I always loved the good old classic Mini. For me, it was like a tea kettle: simple, practical and quintessentially British.
Thank you.
Well done, a very succinct and informative video. I learned to drive in one, and, on practicing a hill start on one lesson, I pulled the hand-brake, bracket and all, away from the floor panel it was supposed to be welded to. Such a shame that a company that had so much going for it was betrayed by appalling management. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Perhaps in that stressful time of learing to drive Robert, you didn't realise your own strength.
Great documentary on an iconic car- thanks Big Car!
In 1964 I lived in Paris and drove a VESPA 400. It was a great car for parking but the horse power to weight ratio was wrong. I needed more HP.
I bought an early Mini-Cooper. It was a real fun to drive, but, ...... I had carbon monoxide problems. As an aircraft engine engineer, I went looking for the cause, and found it at the engine exhaust pipe to the exhaust muffler joint, that became bell-mouthed from acceleration and deceleration of he car which rocked the enine back and forth on its mounts.
I wrote Issigonis about the problem, and at his request took the car back to BMC. His engineers, instead of putting a piece of flex pipe in the exhaust system to solve the engine fore and aft rocking, added two extra clamps to stop the engine from rocking. I drove it with the factory made modifications, but a few hundred miles later I was back to my carbon monoxide in the car problem. That's when I dumped the Mini as fast as I could and never bought another British car.
Has any Mini-Cooper owner ever experienced the carbon monoxide blow-by problem?
That was great, entertaining and a lot of fun so many things I didn't know. Thank you very much
Great video packed with facts nicely done my dad bought a mini when we lived in England for 10 pounds my experience with driving a mini was I rented one when I took a page 3 girl out to a show in London I now live in California! Great mini memories!
At one time in everyone's life they must have have had a mini what a wonderful little car.❤❤🎉
As a mini owner having had 4 of them, this little gem is still the favourite car I have ever had.
I appreciate the vids. I remember seeing a few original Mini's and Mini Cooper's growing up in Cali. I also remember the BMW Minis of the oughts and tweens decades that were wildly popular with yuppies and chicks. I appreciate your documentary, my ni'a.
Brilliant documentary, I've got a mk3 mini made in late 74 which I've owned since 99', I'm only the second owner, the first owner kept a record of all the journeys he made in it! Wish I'd carried on the tradition. Its currently off the road as I've had to do a fair bit of rust/welding work and I'm going to put an alarm on it. Such enjoyable cars to own and drive.
Thanks, I had several Minis over the years, and fond memories trying to bolt on new rear sub frame with only a rusty shell to bolt on to.
Surprised they went on till 2000, by then I was driving Range Rovers.
Yes there is a thriving community of enthusiasts still maintaining and building new ones on new shells. Project Binky shows just how much can be packaged into such a small shell, if it ever gets finished.
I had no idea that the Countryman was created that early on. Interesting.
Thank you very much for making a video about my all-time favorite car 😊👍.
Thanks so much for this cool documentary!
Yet another great documantery....respect for all your hard work putting this together. Thank you! 🙏🏼
Great video. I remember as a kid in the early 70s I had a book about sports cars that had the Mini Cooper in it. I had no idea they were produced into the 90s!
Another wonderful view many thanks
"This might be a very long story, but it is also the Mini story." I hit the like button at this point of the voice over.
This is a great punchline.
THE most fun car I have ever driven and I've driven lots of different cars like Lambos, fast Fords etc. Still wish I had E97 HHD!
I've been looking forward to this one!
3:28 I love that you used a map of the Netherlands as an example.😄
Yes, "The Italian Job" was fun, but I'd say the Mini platform's most iconic outing is in the quirky British Sci Fi outing, "The Prisoner." The official vehicle of "The Village" was the Mini Moke. They also popped up occasionally in the only slightly less quirky, but longer lived show, "The Avengers" (the real one with Emma Peel).
I had a Mk 3 Riley Elf as my first car in the late 70s and one cold morning the window winder broke. I went to three different British Leyland dealers before I found a replacement as it used a different fixing compared with normal Mini's. Crazy! Yes, and it was also 3/4 inch wider and built alongside MGs at Abingdon.
I Love the Riley Elf and Wolsley Hornet, with their "big car" grilles and proper dashboards (well sort of!)
3/4" wider? I wonder how... bigger wing mirrors?
Excellent as always, thank you.
I'd like to hear stories about Benz w140 from this channel as this.
Thanks for doing this video, I really enjoyed it and now want a mini...
First class video about the original Mini! Great use of film, nicely paced script and good narration. Starts very interestingly with a rejection of the Suez crisis as a reason for the development and success of the new small car. But it is true that Leonard Lord said he wanted to sweep all the bubble cars off the road. Which did happen exactly as intended.
My brother had one and when i borrowed it .I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT . THAT WAS 40 OR MORE YEARS AGO , 40 YEARS LATER i AM STILL DRIVING MINIS, AND OWN A COOPER EXCLUSIVE. AND STILL USE MY FIRST MINI NUMBER PLATE
My dad had a works mini van which he got to use outside of work time, and did we use it! Our family of five crammed into the van along with other relatives… plenty of cushions helped.
Travel forward in time, my commanding officer in the Air Training Corps (2496 squadron ATC) took myself and several other cadets to a sporting competition; that didn’t break the record for how many people could be crammed into a mini but it was surprising how we did it!
The metro was a worthy replacement but why did they continue making the mini, which cut into the metro sales?
I changed so many of those rubber drive line joints I can't count them!
My Dad owned 3 Mk 1 Minis in the 1960's the Morris Mini Cooper was his favourite been a favourite of mine all my life 😎
LOVE this channel!
Leyland Mini continued production until about 1978/1979 at their factory in Zetland, New South Wales - the suburb is now entirely apartment blocks. From around 1970, Australian Minis all had the Clubman front end and rectangular tail lights but they kept exposed door hinges.
Aussie minis has wind-up front windows well before the UK models. I just tried to find specific dates but my Google-fu has failed me 😢
Another superb video 🙏 and one close to so many hearts
I had three, two 850’s and finally a Cooper 998. Brilliant little cars. Many years and different cars later I had to hire a car and it was a current model mini in 1987. It was pretty awful. Such a shame.
BMW certainly did a good styling job on the later (current) Mini but having tried one it felt rather small and cramped inside and I’ve heard from several people in the motor trade that their reliability wasn’t too hot although I think that has improved now.
Many thanks for your time in producing this super documentary 👍
Two hundred and forty- six thousand viewers have been waiting for this one.
Thank you.
I learnt to drive in a 1275GT mini, my older sister’s car! Loved it.
My Grandfather worked at Cowleys management and my Mother had a Saturday job driving the new Minis off the production line. She said that the Cowley workers hated their Longbridge plant workers and would purposely damage new cars being driven to Longbridge and strike for the smallest thing, such as one side of the factory having chocolate biscuits and the other side didn't. 😂
Very interesting, thank you
Awesome, tonight's viewing sorted. My favourite car
My first car was an Australian made ,1963 year, Morris 850. Slow, unreliable and prone to rust, I still remember it fondly. Up to nine tenths it was a very forgiving vehicle for an inexperienced driver... :). With 20/20 hindsight, BMC should have engineered a hatchback into the 1970 bodyshell and put the Issigonis overhead cam engine into production (and shared that engine with the 1100, Allegro, Maxi and Marina to spread costs).
Although I avoided buying one, those improvements are my thoughts too. Had either the Mini or 1100 had a decent engine, I would have bought one. BMC/Leyland _could_ design a good engine, but seemingly only when they did it under contract. But they seemed to miss every opportunity to either move with the times or seriously address the problems they had. I never understood why the three FWD cars were all stuck with 4-speed gearboxes with no synchromesh on 1st (and therefor an odd choice of ratios) when so many competitors had much more modern drive lines.
And why not *fix* the BIG problem in the rain - that distributor sitting right behind the grille? These should have been simple things to change.
I know that a new engine would have been expensive. But when the car was selling so well they did not take the opportunity to design a really modern one and keep the sales moving upwards. That baffled me. The A and B series engines dated back to the old bore-size limiting taxation system!!! They were obsolete before the first Mini rolled off the line. The Cooper and Cooper S sales justified a new engine, would have paid for it's design, and that would have revitalised both the Mini and 1100.
Although Citroen CV2 was at least a decade before the original Mini, the Mini was the FWD car that caused the massive shift in it for most and later all small cars. That is likely its greatest legacy. Some Mini's were officially sold LHD in the USA and Canada but pollution and safety regulations kept them out of the USA after 1967 and in Canada by 1972-3.
I fell in love with MINI from the first time I drove one! Finally bought my first mini in 2022 (R60) and it was every bit as fun as i imagined! Loved it so much I had to get my hands on an F60 so I found a super pristine low mileage F60 and traded up and I love it! That was a few months ago and then a few weeks ago I took delivery on a super clean R53 JCW so I can have the best of both worlds! I have my fun Family MINI and my fun work commuter MINI!
See also the Flanders and Swann one-upsmanship song "Sounding Brass"which includes the following exchange:
Flanders: "My car horn goes _AH EE AH EE_ , your car horn goes _HOOT HOOT HOOT!_ "
Swann : "I just bought a Mini Super!"
Flanders: "A what?"
Swann: "A Mini Super!"
Flanders: "Oh, yes, I've got one in my boot."
`Great vid! Almost strange you didn't do this before:) I see a pt.2 with Frank Stephenson coming!
I have one of the bmw minis, a 2006 convertible s and its been an absolute treat
My first car was a Clubman 1100, Effin loved it.
Here in Australia, one of my car crazy brothers became a Mini nut in the 60s/70s, one of his Minis was a 1275cc van that he worked on for more power, he used to drag race the local V8 brigade for a 44 gallon drum of petrol, most of the time he won!
Nostalgia on four wheels!! I am old enough to have started driving the first Mini offering with sliding windows wire cable door release and door pockets that filled with water every time it rained. Then a couple of company vehicles the original van with a basic inside then luxury a Mini Clubman, and now a BMW mini cooper. All of them have been fun to drive and reasonably cheap to run except the BMW version. Would not have missed the Mini for the world.
Good video. My first car was a 1960 minivan, 0-60mph in about 2 minutes that rusted to bits😃😃Now I drive a Tesla S Plaid 0-60 in 1.95 seconds (well my son does). Thansk again.
another great video 👍👍👍👍👍
Uhhhh finally, as a Mini R53 owner, ive been waiting for this, yes there is no lack of Mini story videos, but as a fan of the channel i did want to see it here, and next the BMW era with a Frank Stephenson interview lol 😅
Excellent, as usual !
I drove my friend's mom's Mini around Weimar back in 1996. I had first ridden in it around Berlin in 1991. I couldn't get over how roomy it was relative to its size and how much it felt like a go-kart with a body. It was a fun little car to drive even though I got lost in Weimar. I almost bought a new one in 2003 but decided it was too expensive at the time. I looked at the second gen in 2007 but passed since I'd have to order and wait for a manual. Sis bought a 2022 convertible and it seems like a limo compared to the original.
What's mom
@@malcolmcowan9554 You don't know what a mom is? How did you get here, test tube?
I grew up in France and my family had two cars: the family sedan/saloon, a series of Ford Granada Ghias, blue metal with black vinyl roof. And a Mini they probably bought back in '66.
Eventually that Mini was a replaced with one of the first Minis with an automatic.
That sucker kept breaking down, so my parents traded it in for what I remember them calling an "Austin Princess". It was like a Mini, but with a difference face and a fancy interior. They were folding tray tables for the back seat passengers.
And then we moved to the US and the cars stayed in France.
You talked about the Mini Moke, but didn't mention The Prisoner. That's unmutual. :)
I had a couple of Minis in the 80's, a very tired 1000 from circa mid 70's that was very well past it's bet to put it politely. My second was a clubman estate 1100 that was brilliant. I still miss that car to this day. Back then trying to get the management to make a long or short term decision resulted on over long meetings without a decision needing further meetings that would have the same result. I've not driven any of the redesigned Mini versions but my old Clubman estate will always have a place in my heart for a perfect mix of cost and fun.
Your content is always a joy to watch... We'll done... Keep up the good work... Can you please tell me what the white vehicle was in background at 14:00? Thanks...
oldconceptcars.com/1930-2004/austin-zanda-1969/
Anna Wintour of course also drove a MINI. The ultimate fashion endorsement.