21st century Morris Minor

As we have updated versions of the Beetle, Mini , Fiat 500 as small car nostalgia and the power of branding seems them reborn.

How would we see the Morris Minor brought back in a new updated version.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
Aesthetically it'll look like a beetle, largely streamlined and purged of anything unnecessary; heavily influenced by minimalist design philosophy. That said, the distinctive hood crease will remain, but will become more curved. Rear will become a single, unbroken curve. Interior will be a simple modern update. Color wise, it'll have to go for something distinctive, probably chalk colors.
 
Can't see it myself, the Mini, yes, that was a phenomena, but the minor wasn't an exciting vehicle. Solid, yes, and dependable, but very much a mum-and-dad car, and that's not the sort of thing that sells these days when it comes to neoclassics.
 

Driftless

Donor
???

821New_Morris_Minor.jpg
 
Can't see it myself, the Mini, yes, that was a phenomena, but the minor wasn't an exciting vehicle. Solid, yes, and dependable, but very much a mum-and-dad car, and that's not the sort of thing that sells these days when it comes to neoclassics.

The Nissan Micra of its day. :p
 
More like the British equivalent of the Beetle, which of course menas coming with traditional British engineering issues, of failing electrics, leaking seals, and mysterious knockings.
 
Sort of off-topic, but this thread reminds me of Way Back When, I had a Renault R-8 Gordini - faster than stink - and one of my friends, a Foreign Car mechanic, had a Minor convertible with a MGB engine . . . Pretty fast in a straight line, but it sucked going around corners.

Those were the Days . . . ;);)

bobinleipsic
 
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You'd need Morris to have continued, and been relatively well thought of, for a start.

Anyone in the age group buying 500's / Minis etc either won't know the brand at best, or at worst know it only from jokes on Top Gear.
 
You also need the Minor itself to be well thought of, which will be something of a challenge considering it was the lower-end car to 1100, 1300 and 1800.
 
You also need the Minor itself to be well thought of, which will be something of a challenge considering it was the lower-end car to 1100, 1300 and 1800.
There's a fair bit of nostalgia around the Minor, and I could see someone trying to exploit that. But the target market wouldn't be the same as the Fiat 500 and MINI, it would have to be aimed at the mid-life crisis group who want to relive their youth. That means you're competing with things like Porsches - and means that the New Minor has to be a retro-styled 'hot hatch'. The original Minor was known for its' handling, so this makes some degree of sense.

It's a big ask, since that nostalgia is tempered by the memory of fixing the b****y thing when it wouldn't start. Or stopped dead. But an intelligent marketing campaign might be able to do it, if the brand owner was willing to take a risk.
 
So...something like a VW Golf R32? It even has the characteristic dodgy VW electrical components for extra authenticity.

(BTW, VW in North America has a reputation for electricals that are prone to failure (and thus a disadvantage against the Japanese) and expensive to replace (and thus a disadvantage against the Americans). It's less of a thing in Europe though for some reason.)
 
So...something like a VW Golf R32? It even has the characteristic dodgy VW electrical components for extra authenticity.

(BTW, VW in North America has a reputation for electricals that are prone to failure (and thus a disadvantage against the Japanese) and expensive to replace (and thus a disadvantage against the Americans). It's less of a thing in Europe though for some reason.)
Certainly something in the Golf/Fiesta class.

Of course, the Morris brand was subsumed into British Leyland, so will be owned by the same people as MG and Rover. It's probable that the New Minor will then be a badge engineered version of a Rover 25. Just like the MG ZR, meaning that it's entirely in keeping with the company's history of the same car being sold under fifteen different names. :p
 
There's a fair bit of nostalgia around the Minor, and I could see someone trying to exploit that. But the target market wouldn't be the same as the Fiat 500 and MINI, it would have to be aimed at the mid-life crisis group who want to relive their youth. That means you're competing with things like Porsches - and means that the New Minor has to be a retro-styled 'hot hatch'. The original Minor was known for its' handling, so this makes some degree of sense.
Thing is though, all that nostalgia was also applied to its successor the Mini, which in many ways was the Minor's good qualities accentuated. It'd like asking people to become excited about the Fiat 500 "Topolino", not a bad car overall, but it's just not going to work.

So...something like a VW Golf R32? It even has the characteristic dodgy VW electrical components for extra authenticity.

(BTW, VW in North America has a reputation for electricals that are prone to failure (and thus a disadvantage against the Japanese) and expensive to replace (and thus a disadvantage against the Americans). It's less of a thing in Europe though for some reason.)
Probably better than Leyland cars which were almost universally famous for badly made electrics (the common supplier, Lucas Industries was commonly known as "Prince of Darkness").
 
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Thing is though, all that nostalgia was also applied to its successor the Mini, which in many ways was the Minor's good qualities accentuated. It'd like asking people to become excited about the Fiat 500 "Topolino", not a bad car overall, but it's just not going to work.
True enough; the only way I can see someone trying it is as a 'me too'. BMW launches the MINI in 2001, having sold on Austin Rover, and the new owners of the marque decide that they want to compete in that market. Given Phoenix Group's performance, I think I'm safe in saying that it will crash and burn financially, regardless of the qualities of the car.
 
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