Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi there everyone,
I am a university student doing my final year project on Morris Minor 1000, i am planning to redesign the MM1000 into a new retro design for my project. I was wondering if anyone would acutaly support me on this and answer my questionnaires? It would be really supportive if you guys from the fourm could email me regarding this...email add : daniraj@hotmail.co.uk

thank you, hope to hear your views,
dani

Hi Dani

I'd be interested to see what you manage to produce

If you search past through previous treads there have been a few quick sketches, may be worth looking to make sure yours isnt already taken, and possibly ideas. Put the questionnaires on here, people will be more likely to fill them in.

I'd be happy to fill one in. No prob.
Be v interested to see the design!

Should be quite a challenge, look what a mess VW made of the new Beetle and Fiat of the 500!
Will answer any questions.

Hi Dani,

I'd be happy to fill one in...
don't for get to use WOOD "very green you know "
Good luck
Brian.

Don't do the equivalent of turning the Mini into a MINI whatever you do.

I'd be very interested to see what you come up with. i think a lot of issue could come from the aerodynamics of the basic shape and the legislation that modern cars must abide by.

Good luck, and keep us posted, it's a topic close to my heart!

I think what they have done to modernise the Beetle is very good. Likewise the Mini, although small it is not. Both these cars were revitalised with the promise of strong marketing success. The Mini was a classless, motorsport success and the replacement vehicle a highly competant performer. The Beetle was an international sales success. The Minor on the other hand, whilst having a strong following has always been seen as one step up from a three-wheeler by many of the public at large. Not a strong market proposition _ although good design can go a long way to offset this.
There have been studies on the subject of Minors before.One of the hardback publications has a chapter. I wasn't so keen on the results though.
It would be hard to re-design thew Traveller without it looking like the Crysler Voyager. Both were designed with 30's US cars in mind.

the beetle, mini and 500 all had a global "cult" following, which helped to reincarnate them with the modern cariacatures (although the 500 is probably a bit more true to the original than the others). A re-styled trabi made a lot of headlines around the world about 18 months ago, but despite the hype from the company that said they would produce it, I wouldn't bet on ever seeing one in a showroom.

The Minor was merely a "people's car" (albeit probably the most successful one) it sold very well without a broad following, but not a cult following. Cult items are fashion statements, and the Minor was almost the opposite in its time (loved for its personality and practicality, not for it's image).
Had it recieved the Morris OHV engine instead of the Austin 803 (early A-series) it may have continued to outsell the beetle around the world... (it was well ahead until that happened). The beetle got a bigger/better engine and Minor exports slumped, but us brits continued to love it, especially when it got the better A-series engines later on.

As for a re-incarnation, it'll be a fun styling excercise and not the first, and I'm sure people will love to see that.

The book by Jon Presnell has a chapter where he got various top car designers (Ian Callum was one of them) to sketch their idea of a new Minor.

Our very own Minor Matters also ran a competition to design a new Minor and the winner had their idea professionally drawn.

The new Beetle is just a Golf in drag and the Fiat 500 a Panda with less room inside. On balance the styling of the 500 is prettier than the VW but why do cars get bigger when we are told small is better. The Mini should have been called the Maxi!

The mini and the Fiat are both ladies cars

Top idea! i'll fill out a questionaire good luck, would love too see your design ideas.

Hi,
I'm also ready for the quest!
cheers
carlos

Thank you ever soo much guys for repling all your comments has been taken into consideration. With the help of your comments i do have to do a bit more alterations to my questionnaire before i post them. I will soon post the questionnaire...once again thank you guys.... and i do really want to bring out the Morris minor 1000 back into life and i got the confidence that with the help from this club i can achive a good design...

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As everyone has been asking for some of my ideas, this is one that i have done last year on Pro-engineer. Baring in mind iam not a professional designer or an artist of any sort iam doing a technology course and just love the idea of designing cars which i want to do in my life ahead..so please your comments will help me a lot...thank you
dani

Don't take this the wrong way please but thats ugly, from the front it looks like a Hummer.
The apeal of the Morris Minor is its curves, so if aynthing rather than making it square looking with sharp angles, I would focus on the curves and make it more sweeping, wide arches lower sweeping foorline and lower ride height.

having been trained in design (i'm an architect) i'd strongly advise against trying to design something based on your ability with a particular computer programme and what that CAD package can do. i saw many people at uni receive poor marks because they'd done things a certain way as that was the only way the CAD/ visualisation package would do it. the end result was not what they were actually setting out to do. admission of that to the tutors as an excuse meant an even more severe tongue lashing.

a good hand sketch conveys far more than a less well finished CAD drawing. also try a viz specific programme like 3D studio rather than pro- engineer, which is designed for something else.

my 2 cents.

Staggering!