Mini Missoni Edition

[Alex Baumann]

http://automotor.netscape.de/content/Auto_Article_EXT/450908_1055410821311.jpg

http://automotor.netscape.de/content/Auto_Article_EXT/450908_1055410881669.jpg

The car was designed by Angela Missoni, the designer of the fashion boutiqe Missoni, Italy and will be auctioned on Ebay. The revenue will be donated to the AIDS Help Organization in Vienna.

[PhilH]

Leave that crap for the new Beetle. :thumbdwn:

The Mini is a serious driving car. :bigpimp:

[KevinR]

Originally posted by PhilH
Leave that crap for the new Beetle. :thumbdwn:

The Mini is a serious driving car. :bigpimp:

No car deserves that kind of treatment, IMO. Have you compared a Mini Cooper S to a New Beetle Turbo S? They're pretty evenly matched. Comparably equipped:

MCS
2,678 lbs
163 hp/155 lb-ft
16.4 lbs per hp
24/33 mpg
$24,715

NB Turbo S
3,005 lbs
180 hp/173 lb-ft
16.7 lbs per hp
23/30 mpg
$24,115

[·clyde·]

Originally posted by KevinR
They're pretty evenly matched.

Um, no.

Maybe in terms of what generally appeals to American buyers they're evenly matched (0-60 time, creature comforts, etc) but in terms of overall driving characteristics, the Beetle is an big overweight pig (like the MINI is when compared to the original Mini).

[KevinR]

Um, yes. There are some differences, no doubt. But the two cars are more alike than different.

It boils down to personal opinion. I prefer the MINI. I just don't feel the need to slam the Beetle to justify my preference.

[Kaz]

Originally posted by KevinR

MCS
2,678 lbs
163 hp/155 lb-ft
16.4 lbs per hp
24/33 mpg
$24,715

NB Turbo S
3,005 lbs
180 hp/173 lb-ft
16.7 lbs per hp
23/30 mpg
$24,115

Here are more numbers to consider (MFR supplied):

325i Touring
3362 lbs
184 hp/175 lb-ft
18.3 lbs per hp
20/29 mpg

0-60 times:
MCS: 6.9
Turbo S: 7.4
Wagon: 7.4
:confused:

Numbers never tell the whole story, but since that's what we're using here, there you go.

When I originally saw that Turbo S 0-60 number, I got a good chuckle out of the fact that I couldn't have my doors blown off by (a stock) one.

[PhilH]

From Car & Driver, on the Beetle Turbo S:
This chassis responds unhappily to the rush of torque, raising its nose and understeering strongly when your foot goes down, diving and cutting sharply when you lift. The body also rocks laterally on its suspension with just the slightest provocation. So you corner on a weaving path, back and forth over the desired line.

In the end, we ranked the Turbo S lowest for driving fun...

When was the last time you heard the Mini criticized for a lack of driving fun? The Beetle Turbo S placed last their four car comparison test, right in back of a Hyundai Tiburon.

[Kaz]

Originally posted by PhilH
From Car & Driver, on the Beetle Turbo S:


When was the last time you heard the Mini criticized for a lack of driving fun? The Beetle Turbo S placed last their four car comparison test, right in back of a Hyundai Tiburon.

That's pretty bad coming from industry ass-kisser (next to Motor Trend) Truck and Passenger magazine.

[KevinR]

Originally posted by Kaz
When I originally saw that Turbo S 0-60 number, I got a good chuckle out of the fact that I couldn't have my doors blown off by (a stock) one.

First gear is not now, nor has it ever been, a VW strong point. Combined with a poor traction control system and a significant degree of torque steer, it's a wonder they can make 0-60 in less than 8 seconds. (I'd bet the average VW driver can't make it in under 8 either.) It never mattered much to me; I have no interest in 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times.

My experience with the VW/Audi 1.8T is that the cars are at their best in gears 2 through 5.

To answer the other posts: I stopped reading Car& Driver and Motor Trend years ago. My golden retriever can give me better information.:)

[·clyde·]

Originally posted by KevinR
Um, yes. There are some differences, no doubt. But the two cars are more alike than different.

It boils down to personal opinion. I prefer the MINI. I just don't feel the need to slam the Beetle to justify my preference.

I'd go out on a limb and say that humans and chimps are more similar than the MCS and Beetle Turbo S.

That (and what I wrote before) aren't slams on the Beetle.

[PhilH]

Originally posted by KevinR
I stopped reading Car& Driver and Motor Trend years ago. My golden retriever can give me better information.:)
Yeah, how could a bunch of car enthusiasts who drive nearly every car produced back to back for a living know anything about cars? I'm sure you know better, even though you've probably never driven either the Beetle or the Mini. :rolleyes:

[KevinR]

Did I touch a nerve, Phil?

They're journalists. The fact that they write about automobiles doesn't necessarily make them enthusiasts. For some, it's just a way to pay the bills.

As for whether I've driven the MCS and the Turbo S - yes, I have. Extended test drives of each one. How about you? Have you driven them both?

[ayn]

Actually, I have driven both the MCS and Beetle Turbo S! The Beetle is quite fast, but the turbo lag was very apparent (scared me when it kicked in when i was in 1st gear driving out from the dealer's lot)... it's nice, but it's no match to the MCS. It doesn't turn (handling sucked!), the shifter is really mushy, the clutch was bad, etc etc... Only advantage over the MCS is availability, we could've bot that off the lot, and there were several to choose from!

--Andrew

[PhilH]

Originally posted by KevinR
They're journalists. The fact that they write about automobiles doesn't necessarily make them enthusiasts. For some, it's just a way to pay the bills.

As for whether I've driven the MCS and the Turbo S - yes, I have. Extended test drives of each one. How about you? Have you driven them both?
Most writers at the magazines I read...C&D, R&T, Autoweek, Roundel, Bimmer & occasionally CAR seem like enthusiasts to me. If you can't tell the difference and don't want to read about cars, why are you even here?

Nope, I haven't driven them, but I'd trust professional automotive writers over someone I don't know on the internet.

--edited a word or two after I calmed down a bit... :rolleyes:

[KevinR]

I like to do my own research, my own test drives and form my own opinions rather than blindly accept the opinion of a magazine writer. To each his own, I guess...

As I said about the original topic, I hate to see things like that done to any car.

[Jetfire]

Cool car! I dig it. :thumbup:

Hmm, lemme check...yup, still got my balls attached to me. Guys, cool cars (even ones that are fun to drive like the MCS) aren't all about speed and handling. They're a statement about personal style at least as much as they're about performance. Why else would we sprout at least one new thread per day on the ugliness/non-ugliness of the E60, a car that dynamically appears to be several steps ahead of the E39? If that Missoni edition Cooper should have never been made, then none of the original Art Cars should have been commissioned either. How dare anyone try to paint an engineering masterpiece like the E30 M3. :rolleyes: It's one thing to not like the paint job, but to say that it should never have been made? Come on now.

And let's get something straight about car mags like C&D. Say all you want about manufacturers padding their pockets for favorable reviews; I don't believe it, but none of us are truly in the know. Anyway, you don't write articles for a living in an internationally published magazine without being a car person. Is Brock Yates in it just for the money? Maybe so. I guess he organized the Cannonballs and OLOAs to make a few bucks. He's probably really couldn't care less about cars, right?

The reality is that we don't all have the opportunity to go out and test drive every car that piques our interests. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time to waltz into a dealership and play nice just to put extra miles on their cars with no intention of buying one. This is where the car mags come in handy. Even if you suspect foul play, you are presented with one man's (or several people's) impressions of a car, from which you may draw your own conclusions.

[·clyde·]

Originally posted by Jetfire
Is Brock Yates in it just for the money? Maybe so. I guess he organized the Cannonballs and OLOAs to make a few bucks. He's probably really couldn't care less about cars, right?

Yates used to have some relevance, but for the past 10 years or so, he really looks like he is in it just for the stroking of his own ego. Don't get me wrong, I still look forward to seeing what he's going to spout on every month, but that's only because of the old fart's history. If it wasn't for what he did in his pre-Geritol days, no one would pay him any attention now. At least he still shows some hint that he is grounded in the real world, unlike the pompous ass windbag archetype on which he is based, David E. Davis.

[Jetfire]

Originally posted by Clyde@work
Yates used to have some relevance, but for the past 10 years or so, he really looks like he is in it just for the stroking of his own ego. Don't get me wrong, I still look forward to seeing what he's going to spout on every month, but that's only because of the old fart's history. If it wasn't for what he did in his pre-Geritol days, no one would pay him any attention now. At least he still shows some hint that he is grounded in the real world, unlike the pompous ass windbag archetype on which he is based, David E. Davis.

Perhaps, but he's no less of a car enthusiast than he was when he started. I will admit, however, that several of C&D's long-time editors have become repetitive in their monthly rants.

[PhilH]

Originally posted by Jetfire
...If that Missoni edition Cooper should have never been made, then none of the original Art Cars should have been commissioned either...

...I don't know about you, but I don't have the time to waltz into a dealership and play nice just to put extra miles on their cars with no intention of buying one. This is where the car mags come in handy...
I don't even really like the old BMW art cars much, and I think the newer ones from BMW really suck (but that's just my opinion on art cars, and I can't even explain it much except that I think that the machinery speaks for itself).

I couldn't agree more about the test drives. I don't want to waste salesmans' time and fool around with someone else's car just to get my grins. I'd probably have a better time cruising around in my own car anyway. :thumbup:

[KevinR]

Originally posted by PhilH
I don't even really like the old BMW art cars much, and I think the newer ones from BMW really suck
We're in agreement here. But, I'm not really an "artsy" type person either. In this category, I'll freely admit that I don't get it.

I couldn't agree more about the test drives. I don't want to waste salesmans' time and fool around with someone else's car just to get my grins.
I had every intention of buying one of them. The MINI won the head-to-head competition in my mind, but the quoted $1,000 over MSRP and 7 month wait (I was told I'd be #85 on their list for an MCS if I put a deposit down that day) led me to keep what I had.

[WILLIA///M]

Originally posted by KevinR
No car deserves that kind of treatment, IMO.

The art car idea has a pretty strong tradition at BMW. I think they're cool, especially when you get to see them in person at the Zentrum.

http://www.youngbabez.com/cars01/artcar/pic02.jpg

[KevinR]

My wife and I saw them at the Zentrum. She's a graphic artist and really liked them. As I said above, I don't really get the appeal. That's okay, because she doesn't really understand why I would want to spend a Saturday under the hood and crawling under the car to repair or change things.

[devGOD]

auto-queer

[lounytoon]

another pic since the old ones are no longer valid :-/

http://bunte.t-online.de/coremedia/generator/content/Trends_26Style/galerien/gal-missoni/fs-missoni-13,property=Object.jpg