[thechat] Mini Cooper S with GP kit

Luther, Ron Ron.Luther at hp.com
Wed Apr 12 07:33:57 CDT 2006


Joel Canfield drooled over the:

>>Mini Cooper S with GP kit


Hi Joel,

I dunno, man.  Yeah, it's pretty cool and all ... and I like Minis ...
really ... 
I do ... But I dunno:

(1) The guestimmates I'm seeing are saying the GP will set you back
roughly $48k.  
There are an *awful* lot of cool cars (2 seater and otherwise) in the
sub $50k 
bracket.  That kind of coin is putting it up against the Cayman, Vette,
TT, and 
the new toys soon to be coming out of Japan (Kabura, new Supra, etc.)
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=3346

Funky cool is neat ... But $48k neat?


>>Only 2,000 will be made. Only 415 will be available in the US.

(2) Exclusivity is cool - but I read once, years ago, where the most
exclusive 
car sold in the US one year wasn't the big money Ferrari (of which
roughly 300 
were sold in the US that year), but rather a VW Passat station wagon -
which 
sold something like 138 units in the US.  Kinda turned me off on
exclusivity.

Exclusivity can also equate to 'more money for service and parts'.
There ain't 
that many Mini dealers in the US, and they may not all service GPs. {Try
taking 
a Viper into 'just any' Dodge dealer for service ... Not!}  I _really_
liked my 
Saab, but damn, that thing was expensive to maintain!  (That was pre-GM 
acquisition - maybe it's better nowadays. <shrug />) A Ford Cortina or a

Henry J is also 'exclusive' - but try getting parts for one of those!]


(3) Wheelbase.  I didn't check the specs but that wheelbase looks pretty
short 
to me.  That can be wonderful in a track car and 'entertaining' in a
Sunday-use 
car, but I think it would end up being annoying in a daily driver.  When
the 
very first Honda CRX came out I went to test drive one.  Within the same
hour 
I drove the new 'cricks' and a lightly used Scirocco over the same
roads.  
There was a stretch of broken pavement where I was 'white knuckled' in
terror 
in the cricks ... at 30MPH! I drove that same stretch at 50MPH in the
Scirocco 
with two fingers lightly resting on the wheel.  A lot less drama.  A lot
more 
'liveable'.  And still a very fun car.

Throwable? Tossable? Great fun? Sure.  Short-wheelbase is all of those.
But for 
the day-to-day get where you're going mode I'll want a bit less drama.


Dang! ... Who is this 'old' guy?  ;-P


RonL.

(I'll roll 89k on the Accord this week, but I'm kinda hoping it's just
getting 
broken in.  That thing needs to last me a few more years.)




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