Mini Paceman; A Lesson In Economies Of Scale

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Nowadays, the only way to make cars profitably is to take advantage of economies of scale; and nobody is better at maximizing the “one sausage, many lengths” method of automobile production than Mini. Forget talk of “brand values” and “heritage” – we’re in a different era now.

The Paceman, a two-door version of the Countryman crossover/four-door Mini, is intended to maximize volume for the brand, and capitalize on the two-door crossover niche currently monopolized by the Range Rover Evoque. Hopefully it drives better than the Countryman.



Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • INeon INeon on Sep 07, 2012

    I kind of like it. Right now, the PT Cruiser has too much people space and two too many portals for me. The PT's cargo space is ideal for a potter, and it is a little more car than something like a 500 or Fit. Maybe it needs to have panel coupe sides welded on instead. It is, apparently, wasteful to want a 2-door anything that isn't a supermegaultracoupe deluxe.

    • See 2 previous
    • GiddyHitch GiddyHitch on Sep 09, 2012

      @el scotto "Think of it as a shooting brake for dorks that are tired of damaging their bumpers on possum skulls, refuse and badly-maintained roads." Where the hell are you driving that those are concerns?

  • FJ60LandCruiser FJ60LandCruiser on Sep 10, 2012

    Clearly the target demographic picks up male prostitutes, according to the stock photos...

  • Probert They already have hybrids, but these won't ever be them as they are built on the modular E-GMP skateboard.
  • Justin You guys still looking for that sportbak? I just saw one on the Facebook marketplace in Arizona
  • 28-Cars-Later I cannot remember what happens now, but there are whiteblocks in this period which develop a "tick" like sound which indicates they are toast (maybe head gasket?). Ten or so years ago I looked at an '03 or '04 S60 (I forget why) and I brought my Volvo indy along to tell me if it was worth my time - it ticked and that's when I learned this. This XC90 is probably worth about $300 as it sits, not kidding, and it will cost you conservatively $2500 for an engine swap (all the ones I see on car-part.com have north of 130K miles starting at $1,100 and that's not including freight to a shop, shop labor, other internals to do such as timing belt while engine out etc).
  • 28-Cars-Later Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” [if they ever are recouped] Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fords-120000-loss-vehicle-shows-california-ev-goals-are-impossible Given these facts, how did Tesla ever produce anything in volume let alone profit?
  • AZFelix Let's forego all of this dilly-dallying with autonomous cars and cut right to the chase and the only real solution.
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