It seems almost too coincidental that not long after famous NPR Car Talk brothers Tom and Ray (Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers) launched their crusade against the SUV with the catchy, "Live Larger, Drive Smaller" slogan, that the new MINI Cooper would launch its new ad campaign, "The SUV Backlash Starts Here."
"Basically, this is the new anti-SUV vehicle," says Aimee Canterbury of International Autos in West Allis, the only authorized MINI dealership in Wisconsin.
The MINI, the smallest new car sold in America right now, has struck a chord with car lovers throughout Wisconsin and the nation with its practical yet light-hearted appeal. International Autos has sold 350 MINIs since it began selling them in March, says Canterbury.
Edmunds.com named the MINI the Most Wanted Coupe Under $25,000 in its Editor's Most Wanted Vehicles List for 2003, and gave it the award of Most Significant Vehicle of the Year in 2002. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the MINI four stars in its crash and rollover tests.
"We're (Americans) going to have to evolve to better gas mileage and better ergonomics," says Terri Fritz, car enthusiast and MINI owner in Manitowoc. Fritz says that the MINI is a vehicle that offers just that -- and more. "If you sit in it, you can't help but smile," says Fritz. "If I have a bad day at work, I can't help but feel happy by the time I get home."
The MINI itself is nothing new. Actually, it holds the record for the longest continuous production of a vehicle in a single factory in Oxford, England, beginning in 1959 and continuing through today. The MINI is the most successful British car ever made, with more than 5.3 million vehicles produced to date.
Originally designed in 1959 by Alec Issigonis, an eccentric British genius who was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth (seen behind the wheel of a Mini herself) for his success, the company was bought out by BMW in 2000. BMW decided to maintain the MINI's overall design but added some of its renowned German engineering to make the MINI one the world's most innovative modern cars.
Some interesting MINI facts: David Bowie and Kate Moss have both designed their own MINIs, and the mini skirt was both named and inspired after the 1959 Mini.
Just how big is a MINI you ask? The MINI is 142.8 inches long, 66.5 inches wide and 55.4 inches high, to be exact. And the company claims that the body shell dimensions are so exact, they come within .05mm, the width of a human hair.
Fritz owns a few cars including two classic Minis (the name of the classic Mini is spelled lowercase while the new MINI is all capitals), a couple of Porsches and a Lexus RX300. Which car does he prefer to drive?
"I take the Mini to work almost religiously," says Fritz, an electrical engineer at a nuclear plant. "I used to take the Porsche to work but now it has been sitting in my garage for months."
The MINI is catching on with both young and old. Just ask Milwaukee resident Margaret Henk. While Henk asked that her age is not revealed, she does have five children, 22 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. "I'm a senior citizen," says Henk.
Henk saw the car in a magazine and liked it so much she decided to buy it when International Autos began to sell them. Henk raves about the way her MINI, painted yellow with a British Flag decal on the roof, handles. "It takes turns nice, too," she says.
Henk owned a Ford Taurus before she bought the MINI and says she's not "car crazy" but knows what she likes when she sees it. She had the same feeling when she bought her blue convertible Mustang in 1965.
Aside from being fun, Henk says she bought the MINI knowing its connection with BMW and has found that the MINI is a car that works well for someone her age.
"It's nice for an older person. It handles well, it's easy to park, easy to get in and out and into the trunk," says Henk.
Luke Lavin, owner of Farwell Music, also owns a MINI.
"I wanted a modern, convenient car with a personality," says Lavin. Lavin's MINI is black with white stripes, and a white hood and mirrors. "Half the time when I come back to my car someone is looking at it," says Lavin. "It's not for the shy folks."
Lavin agrees that the MINI has great handling, referring to it as a go-cart with a low bulldog like stance. "A friend of mine borrowed it the other day and he said it made his car feel unsafe," says Lavin.
Henk says when she bought the car that it came with instructions for proper greeting etiquette with other MINI owners when driving. "You can wave, give them the thumbs up, or give the Royal, a wave like Queen Elizabeth," says Henk. She usually just does the thumbs up with kids she sees on the street, who sometimes holler and wave when she passes by.
"It's like you're in a secret club or something," says Lavin, who also gives a little wave when he sees other MINI drivers on the road.
Actually, it's no secret that MINI clubs have been popping up all over the nation and Fritz says there will soon be one in the Wisconsin area as well. While it's not necessary to actually be an owner to join, a person must be an enthusiast of either the classic Mini or the new MINI.
The club, called British Mini Works, slated to be up and running by the first of the year, will have gatherings and other benefits such as race track tickets, discounted car parts and maybe even discounts at local English restaurants.
