This is so wrong.

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel) 05/07/2019 at 17:39 • Filed to: None

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I don't like it. Why would this even be a thing? Who puts the tachometer in the center of the dash?

Future next gen S2000 owner > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:43

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Hasn’t the Mini been that way for like 2 decades?

ranwhenparked > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:46

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Classic Minis had it there to maximize commonality between LHD/RHD markets. New MINIs and New New MINIs had it there as a retro homage. The current New New New MINI just has a circular shape in the middle of the dash to suggest a speedometer. 

MarquetteLa > Future next gen S2000 owner 05/07/2019 at 17:47

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Since the 60s.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Future next gen S2000 owner 05/07/2019 at 17:47

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Someone swapped ‘em. 

HammerheadFistpunch > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:48

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I know this will ruffle a few feathers, but there is a lot about MINI that is wrong.  Im not convinced the world needs a brand based around one model’s nostalgia.  

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > MarquetteLa 05/07/2019 at 17:48

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That’s the speedo. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Future next gen S2000 owner 05/07/2019 at 17:48

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They have always had the speedometer in the center for commonality between lhd and rhd cars. The tachometer always went above the steering column if it was optioned.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > ranwhenparked 05/07/2019 at 17:49

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I feel like I’m watching Nintendo release a slightly upgraded version of the 3DS again

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:49

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Germans that think they know what British people  want.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > ranwhenparked 05/07/2019 at 17:49

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The speedometer has always gone in the middle but the tach has always gone above the steering column when optioned. In the one photoed the tach is in the middle and the speedo is on the column.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > HammerheadFistpunch 05/07/2019 at 17:51

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They are very fun to drive, have tons of character, and still offer a manual transmission on every model and trim.

MonkeePuzzle > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:51

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I rented a car with a centre mounted gauge cluster, it resulted in a lot of passenger assessment of my speed. negative assessment.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:52

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They certainly do some things well.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > MonkeePuzzle 05/07/2019 at 17:53

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This one provides passenger assessment of your proximity to redline.

Chinny Raccoon > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:53

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Aussie market regs IIRC, elsewhere  it’s usually the Speedo in the centre, tach on the small dial with a digital speedo inside that.

ranwhenparked > HammerheadFistpunch 05/07/2019 at 17:53

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Building a whole standalone brand with aggressive volume and profitability goals around a single retro concept was probably not a sustainable idea.

As one retro city car model sharing showroom space with the rest of the MG Rover Range, it made sense.

Theyve kind of designed themselves into a corner now, how many times can you rehash the same 1950s design language and still make it look fresh? How many different sizes can you scale a little city car up into before the look doesn't work anymore?  

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 17:55

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i vote for getting rid of the tach alltogether

replace it with 3 lil leds that light up at the right times

green = shift now for hypermiling

blue = shift now for optimal performance

red = shift now for fucks sake i cant give her anymore jim

(edit) peters comment made me realize it should be 3 leds and a lit up or down arrow

as i only thought about upshifts

HammerheadFistpunch > ranwhenparked 05/07/2019 at 17:55

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Exactly.  

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Chinny Raccoon 05/07/2019 at 17:56

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Everyone I have ever seen including my own is speedo in center with the tach on the column. I don't know why they would have made a center tachometer to meet some kind of Australian regulation (which I assume states the speedo must be behind the wheel) when they already have a 2 gauge setup that provides analog speedo and tach above the column for cars with the navigation or Chrono package.

bob and john > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 05/07/2019 at 18:00

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i was going to do that to a track bike tbh.

Green at downshift point (so if green goes out, doesn shift)
yellow 1000 RPM from shift point
red at shift 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > bob and john 05/07/2019 at 18:02

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welp...  great minds :p

Cash Rewards > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 18:49

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Counter point: with the speedo in the center, the passenger (wife) knows exactly how much faster than the speed limit you're going

CompactLuxuryFan > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 18:54

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This looks like one of the older ones (steering wheel says first gen but gauges say R56?), which I don’t believe offered that option?

just-a-scratch > bob and john 05/07/2019 at 19:00

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How would you effect the lockout from downshifting? I imagine this would be on a typical sequential motorcycle transmission. It’s not easy to put new hard parts in the drive line.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2019 at 19:16

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Its an R53,  first gen. It's certainly not a configuration you could get here in the states.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 19:29

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Yep...1st gen BMW Minis were a victim of our regulations. The centre tach was just a way of filling the space.

The package option you mention probably wasn’t available at the time. Especially given built-in satnav was still a rare option back then. My guess is that BMW did not bother with the expense of ADR compliance for the cluster...cheaper to fit the big tacho which wouldn’t have needed ADR approval.

These days, our ADR are more aligned with European regulations so these sort of instances are much rarer.

SiennaMan > HammerheadFistpunch 05/07/2019 at 19:36

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I feel like you're both right.  I've heard Minis are fun to drive, response and are easy to find with three pedals.  At the same time,  I also don't like center mounted gauges..

Just Jeepin' > ranwhenparked 05/07/2019 at 19:45

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“ how many times can you rehash the same 1950s design language and still make it look fresh?”

Ahem.

Thomas Donohue > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 19:53

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Even when th ey built the center-seat 718, Porsche left the tach where it was.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 05/07/2019 at 19:54

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The Chrono pack and therefore the micky mouse ears speedo + tach assembly has been available for the entire life of the first generation. 

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 19:56

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Yes but in every market?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 05/07/2019 at 20:00

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IDK but these parts existed and could have been used instead of making a unique center tach and stand alone speedometer for the Australian market.

Ignore the two outside gauges, those are aftermarket. I just couldn't find another photo.

CompactLuxuryFan > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 20:16

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This would have definitely been better, but probably more expensive, and what would they do with the middle?

ranwhenparked > Just Jeepin' 05/07/2019 at 20:33

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Yeah, Jeep does a pretty decent job. But, I would say they also have much longer product cycles than MINI, which creates a lot more consistently. The TJ was an evolution of the YJ, and the current JL also reads more like a modernization of the JK than a total rethink of the whole concept. 

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 20:33

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As CLF as pointed out... probably more expensive due to ADR compliance and the fact it was an option pack that would have to be installed as standard equipment on a new premium vehicle being launched in a price sensitive market...making it more expensive.

I recall there was a lot of discussion about this at the time with R50. By the time of the R56 in 2007 it wasn’t an issue and the s peedo ended up where you expect it...

ranwhenparked > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 20:37

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Oh yes, you did say that, my bad on the reading comprehension.

I’m just used to reading reviews by clueless auto journalists slagging off MINI for the weird central speedo without any mention of why its there. 

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > CompactLuxuryFan 05/07/2019 at 21:18

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Du picate big speedo from the rest of the world? Chrono package as standard?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 05/07/2019 at 21:22

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I'm not saying they needed to make the Chrono pack standard, just that they could have installed the Mickey ears instead of making the new face plate, lighting, and software changes needed to turn the center gauge into a tach.

bob and john > just-a-scratch 05/07/2019 at 21:49

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sorry, that shoudl have read as “down shift”

so, as I’m slowing down and I see all the lights go out, I drop to the next gear. Green means you a re good to throttle on

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 05/07/2019 at 22:47

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Clearly they didn’t.

The primary driving force behind that decision could ONLY have been that the twin pod was a more expensive solution to satisfying the ADR of the time.

They had to put something in the centre regardless. If not a tacho (since it couldn’t be a speedo ) then what? Especially what would be cheaper and yet fit with the Mini aesthetic of the time?

In th e end, a esthetics   bow to money every time.