More Videos
- Ghosn's Bet: 10% of World Will Drive EV's in 10 Years
- Ford, Hyundai, Audi Gaining Interest
- Cadillac Converj Smart Extension of Volt
- Chrysler Makes Smart Call Staying Unplugged—For Now
- China Growth Shows GM Good Fortune
- Inflatable Seat Belts Aimed At Second Row Safety
- Do You Buy Marchionne's Turnaround Plan?
- October Shows Auto Rebound Will Be Slow
- How Mulally Got Ford Back in The Black
- Green Car Incentives Are Just Starting To Roll
MOST SHARED
- Today's Market Action
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- Microsoft's Bill Gates Praises Apple's Steve Jobs For 'Saving the Company'
- Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?
- Israel Going Green
- Low Interest Rate Investing
- CNBC TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping America Great
- Inside Wal-Mart's Acai Berry Juice Maker
- China's Role as Lender Alters Dynamics for United States
- U.S. Stocks Rally for the Second Straight Week
- Dollar is Not Plunging—So 'Calm Down': Market Strategist
- Strategists Say Markets Have More Upside — But How Much?
- Hirschhorn: Risk-Averse Traders
- Roginsky: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Financial Reform
- This Year's Biggest Thanksgiving Leftover: Cash
- TV Series Inks Unique Deal For Fight
- First Time Buyers Rescue Housing: Realtors
- Dollar General Trades Higher After Its IPO
- White House Plans to Freeze Spending to Cut Deficit
- Week Ahead: Investors Go for Quality, Assess Recovery
- Hedge Fund Billionaire Paulson Reports New Citi Stake
- Cramer: 5 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week
- Court Rejects 'Clawbacks' for Alleged Stanford Victims
- Cities With the Most Home Price Reductions
- Tax Credit Sparking First-Time Home Sales: Realtors
- Investors Cut Back US Stocks for Bigger Growth Abroad
- This Year's Biggest Thanksgiving Leftover: Cash
RSS FEED
Behind The Wheel
Text Size 
 |
Source: miniusa.com 2008 Mini Cooper hardtop |
With gas prices surging, buyers are not only taking a new look at compacts, they are snapping up the pint sized cars. Sure, the Smart Fortwo is getting plenty of press and more than 6,100 have been sold since the car hit showrooms in January.
Meanwhile Honda's [HMC
Loading...
()
] Fit (sales up 68.7%), Toyota's [TM
Loading...
()
] Yaris (sales up 58.3%)and Nissan's [NSANY
Loading...
()
] Versa (sales up 24.4%) are all leading the "B" car boom.
But it's MINI that may be best positioned right now. With sales up 29.9% this year, The MINI Cooper and Clubman are compact cars with the unique combination of style and fuel efficiency in a tight little package.
And despite what you think about the current rotation into small cars, buyers this time do not just want an econo-box. They want a ride that offers them the creature comforts they've come to expect in larger cars and SUVs.
That's the true lesson automakers are learning from this move towards smaller cars. Unlike the gas crisis of the mid 70's, buyers this time around want mileage AND style. Listen, back then, Toyota and Honda won over buyers with small, reliable, and fuel efficient cars that were, for the most part, lined with forgettable interiors and exteriors that rarely turned heads. That kind of basic approach won't fly this time around.
Which is why MINI is perfectly positioned to gain buyers. The MINI Cooper and Clubman do not make you feel as though you are being penalized for driving a small car. And aside from the latest incarnation of the VW Beetle ('08 sales down 0.8%), there are few other compact cars that have attracted as much attention.
As they say, sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time with the right product. That's the case with MINI right now.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes