Mini ending production?

[gizzy]

The Scions have guages in the middle. That's what the lady is talking about.

The Echo has guages in the middle as well. The Prius is also, mmmmm........ sort of in the middle -- just weird.

Having the guage in the middle is very classic though and adds a bit of vintage style to the car. Go back to the 30's and 40's and I don't think that this was all that unheard of. Our 47 Chevy truck had the speedo in the middle and I beleive Jeep did it for years (long before Chryslter had control).

 

[MrElussive]

The Z8 has all of its gauges in the middle. Am I the only one who actually LIKES the fact that the speedo is in the center?? I mean, think about it...haven't you ever been a passenger in one of your friends' cars and they are doing some spirited driving and you would like to know how fast they are going? I mean, it's not something you'd kill for, but I think that if the car is setup that way, the passengers would love it! Having the center-mounted speedo, allowing all your passengers to easily see it, is like letting your passengers in on the driving fun!!

I only have one consideration with the MINI: the powerplant. I want the MINI for my next car and I want it because I think it looks great and it's built by BMW so I'm expecting it to provide that typical "good BMW feel" every time I wanna have some fun. But the engine inside the MINI is from Chrysler/Mercedes...it's not BMW power, and I think this is important. I think one large part of BMW's "fun factor" is their engines...they sound great, they perform great, and they just give you that special feeling every time you put your foot down. I'm just concerned that the Chrysler motor in the MINI will not give me that special BMW feel. Anybody ever driven a MINI and wanna testify to this??