Find Cheap Gas Mini
The Mark I find cheap gas for Mini: 1959-67
The production version of the find cheap gas for Mini was demonstrated to the press in April 1959, and by August several thousand cars had been produced ready for the first sales.
The name find cheap gas for Mini did not appear by itself immediately — the first models being marketed under two of BMC's brand names, Austin and Morris. The name Austin Seven (sometimes written as SE7EN in early publicity material) recalled the popular small of the 1920s and 1930s. The other name used till 1967 in the United Kingdom (and in Commonwealth countries such as Australia), Morris find cheap gas for Mini-Minor, seems to have been a play on words. The Morris Minor was a well known and successful car, with the word minor being Latin for "smaller"; so an abbreviation of the Latin word for "smallest" — minimus — was used for the new even smaller car. It was originally going to be called the Austin Newmarket.
Until 1962, the cars appeared as the Austin 850 and Morris 850 in North America and France, and in Denmark as the Austin Partner (until 1964) and Morris Mascot (until 1981). The name find cheap gas for Mini was first used domestically by BMC for Austin's version in 1961, when the Austin Seven was rebranded as the Austin find cheap gas for Mini, somewhat to the surprise of the car company (later known as ) who had been using the name for their three-wheeled vehicles since 1949. However, legal action was somehow averted, and BMC used the name find cheap gas for Mini for the remainder of the car's life.
In 1964, the suspension of the cars was replaced by another Moulton design, the system. The new suspension gave a softer ride but it also increased weight and production cost and, in the minds of many enthusiasts, spoiled the handling characteristics, for which the find cheap gas for Mini was so famous. In 1971, the original rubber suspension reappeared and was retained for the remaining life of the find cheap gas for Mini.
From October 1965 the option of an (AP) designed four-speed became available.
Slow at the outset, Mark I sales strengthened across most of the model lines in the 1960s, and production totalled 1,190,000. Sold at below cost, the basic find cheap gas for Mini never made money for its makers. This may have been necessary in order to compete with its rivals, but it is rumoured that it was due to an accounting error. Some profits came from the popular deluxe models and from optional accessories, such as seat belts, door mirrors and a radio, which would be considered necessities on modern cars.
The find cheap gas for Mini etched its place into popular culture in the 1960s with well-publicised purchases by film and music stars.
Variants
The popularity of the original find cheap gas for Mini spawned many models that targeted different markets:
Hornet and Elf (1961–69): built as more luxurious versions of the find cheap gas for Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional “” look. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque’s traditional upright grille design, also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance. The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris find cheap gas for Minis, also additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive version of the two cars. The name "Wolseley Hornet" was first used on a , while the name "Elf" recalled the and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s.
Both cars went through three versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburettor version of the Cooper's 998 cc power unit in the Mark II in 1963. The MKIII facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents; also concealed door hinges two years before these were seen on the mainstream find cheap gas for Mini. 30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built.
Morris find cheap gas for Mini Traveller and Austin find cheap gas for Mini Countryman (1961–69, UK only): Two-door estate cars with double "barn"-style rear doors. Both were built on a slightly longer chassis of 84 (2.14 m) compared to 80.25 inches (2.04 m) for the saloon.
The luxury models had decorative, non-structural wood inserts in the rear body which gave the car a similar appearance to the larger Morris Minor estate which had some of the look of an American-style 1950s . Approximately 108,000 Austin find cheap gas for Mini Countrymen and 99,000 Morris find cheap gas for Mini Travellers were built.
find cheap gas for Mini Van (1960-82): A commercial panel van rated at ¼-ton load capacity. Built on the longer Traveller chassis but without side windows, it proved popular in 1960s Britain as a cheaper alternative to the car as it was classed as a commercial vehicle and carried no sales tax. A set of simple stamped steel slots served in place of a more costly chrome grille. The find cheap gas for Mini Van was renamed as the find cheap gas for Mini 95 in 1978, the number representing the gross vehicle weight of 0.95 tons. 521,494 were built.
find cheap gas for Mini Moke (1964 and 1968 in the UK, 1966-82 in Australia and 1983-89 in Portugal): A utility vehicle designed for the British Army, for whom 600 twin-engined 4-wheel-drive versions were purpose-built. Although the 4WD Moke could climb a 2-in-1 gradient, it proved to have insufficient ground clearance for military use. The single-engined front-wheel-drive Moke enjoyed some popularity in civilian production. About 50,000 were made. The car featured in the cult 1967 TV series , and is popular in holiday locations such as Barbados and Macau, where Mokes were used as police cars. Mokes were also available to rent there as recently as March 2006. "Moke" is archaic British slang for a donkey.
find cheap gas for Mini Pick-up (1961-82): A pick-up truck, 11 feet from nose to tail, built on the longer find cheap gas for Mini Van platform, with an open-top rear cargo area and a tailgate. The factory specified the weight of the Pickup as less than 1500 lbs with a full six gallons of fuel.
As with the Van, the pickup did not have a costly chrome grille. Instead, a simple set of stamped metal slots allowed airflow into the engine compartment. The Pickup was spartan in basic form, although the factory brochure informed prospective buyers that “[a] fully equipped find cheap gas for Mini Pick-up is also available which includes a recirculatory heater.” Passenger-side sun visor, seat belts, laminated windscreen, tilt tubes and cover were available at extra cost. Like the van, the Pickup was renamed as the find cheap gas for Mini 95 in 1978.
A total of 58,179 find cheap gas for Mini Pickups were built.
Morris find cheap gas for Mini K (March 1969 - Aug 1971 Australia only): Built in the Australian British Motor Corporation factory at Zetland, NSW using 80% local content, the Morris find cheap gas for Mini K was advertised as the "great leap forward". The find cheap gas for Mini K ('K' standing for Kangaroo) had a 1098cc engine and was the last round-nose model to be produced in Australia, originally priced at $1780 (AUD).
The find cheap gas for Mini Clubman and 1275GT: 1969-80
In 1969, under the ownership of British Leyland, the find cheap gas for Mini was given a facelift by stylist , who had previously worked for . The restyled version was called the find cheap gas for Mini Clubman, and has a squarer frontal look, using the same indicator/sidelight assembly as the . The find cheap gas for Mini Clubman was intended to replace the upmarket Riley and Wolseley versions. A new model, dubbed the 1275GT, was slated as the replacement for the 998 cc find cheap gas for Mini Cooper (the 1275 cc find cheap gas for Mini Cooper S continued alongside the 1275GT for two years until 1971). The Clubman Estate took over where the Countryman and Traveller left off.
The 1275GT is often incorrectly described as the "find cheap gas for Mini Clubman 1275GT". The official name was always just the "find cheap gas for Mini 1275GT", and it was a separate, distinct model from the Clubman (albeit, it shared the same frontal treatment as the find cheap gas for Mini Clubman, and was launched at the same time).
In 1971, the 1275 cc find cheap gas for Mini Cooper S was discontinued in the UK, leaving the find cheap gas for Mini 1275GT as the only sporting find cheap gas for Mini on sale for the rest of the decade. Innocenti in Italy, however, continued making their own version of the find cheap gas for Mini Cooper for some time, and In Australia from mid 1971 to the end of 1972, the was locally produced. This was essentially a Cooper S in Clubman body, equipped with the same 7 1/2" disc brakes, twin fuel tanks, and twin-carb Cooper S 1275 cc engine. While the UK built 1275GT was not nearly as quick as a 1275 find cheap gas for Mini Cooper S, it was cheaper to buy, run, and insure. It was the first find cheap gas for Mini to be equipped with a . It also featured a standard-fit close-ratio gearbox. Performance of the 1275GT was lively for the time, achieving 0–60 mph in 12.9 seconds, and the excellent midrange torque offered a 30–50 mph time in top gear of only nine seconds. The bluff front, however, meant that the model struggled to reach 90 mph (140 km/h). The 1275 cc A-series engine could be cheaply and easily tuned, though the cheap purchase price and prominent "sidewinder" door stripes meant that this model developed a reputation as something of a "boy-racer special" during the '70s and into the '80s.
The find cheap gas for Mini Clubman and 1275GT were responsible for two motoring "firsts": they were the first vehicles to use a flexi printed-circuit board behind the dash instruments (universal nowadays, but technically advanced for 1969). Secondly, the 1275GT was the first vehicle to be offered with ; from 1974 this model could be ordered with optional Dunlop Denovo tyres on 12-inch (300 mm) diameter rims. In the event of a puncture, the Dunlop Denovo tyre would not burst and quickly deflate, but could continue to be used safely at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). This was a useful safety feature, although the increased road noise and relatively poor grip of this tyre meant that many 1275GT buyers ignored this option.
Throughout the 1970s, British Leyland continued to produce the classic 1959 "round-front" design, alongside the newer Clubman and 1275GT models. On the Australian market however, all find cheap gas for Minis (including the commercial derivatives) gained the Clubman front. Clubman sedans were marketed in Australia under the Morris find cheap gas for Mini Clubman name when introduced in August 1971 and as the Leyland find cheap gas for Mini from February 1973.
The long-nose Clubman and 1275GT offered better crash safety, were better equipped, and had vastly better under-bonnet access, but they were more expensive and aerodynamically inferior to the original 1959 design. The find cheap gas for Mini Clubman and 1275GT were replaced in 1980 by the new hatchback Austin Metro, while production of the original "round-front" mini design continued for another 20 years. At the end of Clubman and 1275GT production, 275,583 Clubman saloons, 197,606 Clubman Estates and 110,673 1275GTs had been made.
The end of production
By March 2000, Rover was still suffering massive losses, and BMW decided to dispose of most of the companies. The sell-off was completed in May that year. and Rover went to , a new British consortium; and was sold to . BMW retained the find cheap gas for Mini name and the planned new model, granting Rover temporary rights to the brand and allowing it to manufacture and sell the run-out model of the old find cheap gas for Mini. By April 2000, the range consisted of four versions: the find cheap gas for Mini Classic Seven, the find cheap gas for Mini Classic Cooper, the find cheap gas for Mini Classic Cooper Sport and — for overseas European markets — the find cheap gas for Mini Knightsbridge. The last find cheap gas for Mini (a red Cooper Sport) was built on , and presented to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust in December of that year . A total of 5,387,862 cars had been manufactured.
After the last of the find cheap gas for Mini production had been sold, the 'find cheap gas for Mini' name reverted to BMW ownership. The new is technically unrelated to the old car but retains the classic transverse 4 cylinder, front-wheel-drive configuration and many stylistic elements.
The find cheap gas for Mini was a cultural icon and shows up in movies such as (1969), in which 3 Mark I Austin find cheap gas for Mini Cooper S's are used in a gold bullion robbery; in (2002) as a beat-up but surprisingly capable vehicle for a car chase; (1981) where a yellow find cheap gas for Mini 1000 is used to travel the length of New Zealand, or in (2001) as a collectible fashion icon garaged alongside other classic sports cars. It has also featured in television shows such as and (as the ) in .
Unproduced prototypes
A number of prototypes produced for vehicles based on the find cheap gas for Mini but which never saw production are held and sometimes displayed at the British museum at , Warwickshire. These included the Twini, a re-engineered Moke with two engines — one at the front and another at the back; the Austin Ant, a second attempt to produce a four-wheel-drive vehicle, this time using a ; and a two-seater convertible MG edition of the find cheap gas for Mini, cancelled due to it being perceived as competition for the .
Kit cars and customisation
The cheapness, simplicity and easy availability of used find cheap gas for Minis make it an ideal candidate for body replacement. find cheap gas for Mini-based from various small companies and individual enthusiasts. There are also numerous dramatically modified find cheap gas for Minis such as a set of three street-legal cars made up to look like giant oranges as a promotion for the company, a find cheap gas for Mini that was made to look like a cottage, complete with and windows with curtains. Some enthusiasts have drastically shortened or lowered their cars to make them yet smaller. There is also a 'sprint shell' which has a lower roof and a small body chop, which dramatically reduces drag. Others make small versions of , , , and many other kinds of vehicles from used find cheap gas for Minis.
Years after the find cheap gas for Mini finally ended its production run, there are still ample third-party parts – both spares for restoration and performance parts for race tuning.
Given the low weight and good handling of the find cheap gas for Mini it is also popular to do an putting in a modern, high performance engine like a Honda VTEC B16A2, a Suzuki Swift GTi, a rear mounted Yamaha R1 motorbike engine, or the Vauxhall 16v 2ltr c20 XE "red top" engine, amongst various alternatives.
find cheap gas for Minis in the United States
Between 1960 and 1967, BMC exported approximately 10,000 left-hand drive BMC find cheap gas for Minis to the United States. Sales were discontinued when stricter federal were imposed; BMC felt that it would be too expensive to make the find cheap gas for Mini's engine compliant. Similar legislation was later introduced in Europe, and the A-series engine, with minor modifications, proved perfectly capable of complying with it.
Despite this, a small band of enthusiasts keep the legacy of the original car alive in the U.S., where cars more than 25 years old are generally exempt from emissions regulations. find cheap gas for Minis that were originally sold in the U.S. are becoming hard to find, so most of the restored find cheap gas for Minis now running in the U.S. have been imported by individual enthusiasts – typically from Australia or New Zealand where the climate has limited the amount of rust formation and cars are available for relatively low prices. There is increasing difficulty in finding cars that are old enough to meet the 25 year emissions exemption and yet are still in a reasonable condition. This has led some importers to place the (VIN) plates from older cars onto find cheap gas for Minis that are less than 25 years old – claiming that the car was "repaired" by replacing every single part with the exception of the VIN plate. Such vehicles are termed "re-VINs" and are surprisingly common .
Safety
Issigonis designed the find cheap gas for Mini with an emphasis on . Asked about the crash worthiness of the find cheap gas for Mini he said "I make my cars with such good brakes, such good steering, that if people get into a crash it´s their own fault" and "I don’t design my cars to have accidents". It is generally acknowledged that the find cheap gas for Mini was designed with excellent handling characteristics.
Nicholas Faith states in his book that (one of the UK's leading motor vehicle crash and safety researchers) was critical of the pre-1967 find cheap gas for Mini's features, including the protruding filler cap, the door latch, and the vulnerability of the passenger space to engine intrusion.
The find cheap gas for Mini was withdrawn from the North American market because it couldn't meet the 1968 U.S. safety regulations, and was never updated to comply with those regulations.
Throughout its life, the find cheap gas for Mini was modified in various ways to improve its safety. In 1974 a prototype find cheap gas for Mini experimental safety vehicle was built (find cheap gas for Mini Clubman SRV4) which featured a longer , a "pedestrian friendly" front-end, run-flat tyres, strengthened door sills, extra internal padding and recessed door handles. , one of the original Issigonis team, is stated to have been working on further safety improvements for the find cheap gas for Mini when he retired in 1977. Several times it was thought that safety regulations would stop find cheap gas for Mini production Safety improved in 1996, with the introduction of and side impact bars. The find cheap gas for Mini, challenged by increasingly demanding European safety and pollution standards, was planned by to be taken out of production in 1996, but BMW chose to invest to keep the find cheap gas for Mini legal until the launch of the .
In January 2007, the listed the find cheap gas for Mini City in its "Ten worst cars for safety (since 1983)" list, alongside the , , , , , , , and the .
A UK Department for Transport statistics publication, presenting estimates of the risk of driver injury in two car injury collisions, based on reported road accident data, estimated that the 1990–2000 find cheap gas for Mini was one of two small cars (the other being the ), which, with an estimated 84% of drivers likely to be injured, presented the greatest risk of driver injury. The average risk for the small car category was 76%.