Sics Consolidated Faded Moderns Thread - 2006 Golf Mk5 GTI & 2004 BMW Z4 2.2

[panhard65]

Oh yes they do like to drink oil, a litre every couple of thousand miles is not unusual. I can't remember but does it have a clutch on the alternator as when they fail they will sound like a diesel. Just take the belt off and run it. The chain tensioner isn't that bad a job just a pig to get at really.

[SiC]

It could be low but with no dipstick I have no idea!

I'm just hoping it's not the chain stretched and/or guides knackered. Don't really want the hassle of having to replace them just yet.

Seems quieter this morning now the oil is cold, so hopefully just that needs changing.

[AMCrebel]

I wonder if the Mini would have had less hate if it was branded Austin or even Rover, rather than BMW. Probably more given the snobbery in the UK on those brands at the time. BMW sold plenty so I guess they did the right thing in business.

IIRC the "BMW" branding has never been official - Mini was just a brand in its own right. The cars have never carried a BMW badge - unlike the Isetta for example.

I've only ever come across people calling them BMW Minis to try and add some badge snobbery value. Had a hilarious debate with a woman telling me about the "superior German engineering" of her Mini - that was mostly designed in the West midlands and used an Engine made in Brazil that also appeared in the Chrysler Neon and PT Cruiser

There was always going to be hate from "old" Mini lovers. It is sad that what was (IMHO) a brilliant piece of UK design and a worthy successor to the Mini was spirited away by BMW, but they had spotted an opportunity to make it more about the brand and the marketing than the actual car - something they are masters at with their core offerings.

I think it should have had the K series kettle originally - but in sizes and incarnation free from the OMGHGF issues -if memory serves they did a hasty rework after the BMW takeover - but I may have got a bit muddled.

[SiC]

K-series Bini would have been interesting prospect. Not sure if it would have made for a superior product.

The Tritec lump isn't a bad unit to be fair. I mean in stock form it's pretty uninspiring and bit of an (literal) iron boat anchor. Even tuned (i.e. supercharged/John Cooper Works) it's not too special. But it's robust, simple and easy to work on. Unlike the K-Series and the Prince engine that replaced it.

The supercharger does give it a lot needed character though.

Despite a brand owned and funded BMW, let's not forget it's a still successful product that brings money, manufacturing skills and people into the local UK economy. Much better that, than its production being abroad and all our manufacturing abilities lost even more to elsewhere.

Of course being a British product, too many are quick to dismiss and reject it.

[mercrocker]

I don't like 'em (who cares about that) but I do agree with your last paragraph and would far rather folk bought them than something not built here. There's more than a slight hint of E Type about a couple of those angles in your photos too - indicative of a fairly healthy design brief in the beginning.

Also, is it just me that keeps reading "Complicated Moderns" whenever I read this thread title?!

[SiC]

I didn't like the original Bini either when they first came out but they've grown on me.

The first proper job I had, the exec team had them a couple of the Cooper S as company cars brand new. One of them was a big rugby player who said he ridiculed them when they were first out but completely changed his opinion when he drove one. He looked like Bowser in SNES Super Mario Karts. (Only the millennials on here probably get that reference)

I need to take a photo of it next to my Morris Minor but side by side, there isn't a whole lot of size difference between them. Wheels are even more in the corner on the Mini, which goes a long way to making them such a good steer.

Like the MX5, don't knock 'em until you've tried 'em.

[BenHar]

Don't run it if it might be low on oil (and they use it very fast).

The engine is fucked long before the oil light comes on.

Ben

[AMCrebel]

I sat in one (Bini) at the brum motorshow the year they were launched and I thought it was great. Although partly due to my size and shape I have never owned or driven a “classic” mini. I have just never got around to having a Bini but have a lot of time for them in the “original” form. I can’t stand that 4x4 abortion that looks like an Allegro restyled by Stevie Wonder.

[PhilA]

They must've changed something because most Neons here went to the scrapyard 100,000 miles on with the same oil they left the factory with.

[AMCrebel]

They must've changed something because most Neons here went to the scrapyard 100,000 miles on with the same oil they left the factory with.

That was the special BMW German engineering for the Bini.