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Watch Out BMW! Says just-auto.com

10 October 2000

Watch Out BMW! Says just-auto.com

    LONDON, Oct. 10 http://www.just-auto.com -- An article on
just-auto.com's web site laments the passing of the Mini and looks forward to
the challenges facing BMW's New Mini.  The original Mini was immortalised by
the movie, 'The Italian job', and was an icon of the 1960s.  It was launched
in 1959 and lasted in production for 41 years before officially ending last
week.  Read the article at:
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=296
    The New Mini, retained by BMW after the messy divorce from Rover in the
summer, goes on sale in Europe next year and was officially launched at the
Paris Motor Show.  But prospects for the new car are clouded by its pricing.
    just auto.com Managing Editor, David Leggett, commented: "The Mini was a
design classic that was to be hugely influential. It hit a winning formula,
but then suffered decades of under-investment."
    Turning to prospects for the New Mini, he added: "The New Mini is a
totally different proposition and definitely not cheap and cheerful. Good luck
to BMW.  If the predictions on pricing are accurate, the new car will need it.
The market for small cars is extremely competitive."
    The full article is at:
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=296

    just-auto.com is the premier online portal for automotive industry
professionals worldwide.  Targeted specifically at industry and business
professionals the site provides a single point of reference for independent
automotive industry information.