But they do, it is called the Mini. Is BMW saying that the mini is rubbish?

the mini is rubbish

Try driving a MINI once you narrow minded dope.

A rear wheel drive Mini would be ridiculous, since it would steal passenger space in the rear because of the drivetrain.

BMW is not saying the Mini is rubbish… Don’t forget that the Mini is light compared to the average car (not to mention American SUVs), and thus has great handling due to its compact size and robust mechanics.

A mini with a larger rear sway bar handles almost like a rear wheel drive car anyway. With the rear sway bar on my MINI set to race mode i can make the back in step out.

So he’s sticking it to himself?

#6, “almost” is not good enough. BMW is making a statement that nobody should be buying a sedan that drives the front set of wheels. This is directed at Audi and Acura, not at the Mini’s competition.

In Europe, this is even more special, because the 1-series is tha tmuch more fun dynamically than a Renault Megane or an A3, or an A-series M-B, or a Clio or 207.

Haha. Like Oh My GOD, I can’t believe you people are arguing online about who is a dope and just being really like dumb. I would never post on some online forum and saying something like that. it’s just trashy.

The 1 series may be fun to drive but has no interior room and is way expensive. A Golf GTi is just as fun to drive and so is an R32

Did he say “Race Mode� OMG I didn’t know ricers owned mini’s?

Britney has a mini, need i say more. The mini has a variation on the rear wheel drive BMW z axle at the back. If RWD is so great why does BMW do AWD and 4WD

The Mini is not a BMW. BMW owns Mini and Mini uses BMW parts, but it is not a BMW. Its the same kind of relationship as a Chevy and Pontiac, kinda sorta.

Audi only makes FWD as a matter of course. They actually wish they could only sell cars with Quattro, their version of AWD (and the best in the world, I might add).

Jon.

Grammar is weird. What about “That’s why we don’t do front wheel drive”

To #3 – ‘It would steal passenger space in the rear’. There isn’t any passenger space there to begin with. It’s a two seat car with a back seat where you can throw some extra stuff. The Mini is a neat little car – just not for everyone.

Does this mean that BMW has been basing their engineering designs on a jackrabbit? They can dis FWD but there is no doubt that it will perform much better in the snow than RWD anyday.

So BMW is making fun of FWD. A little hypocritical don’t you think. Mini may be a different brand name but other than the engine is it not 100% developed and engineered by BMW? In addition the Mii brand is owned by BMW. Therefore essentially it is a fwd BMW. They are really leaving themselves wide open for a response on this one. In fact the Mini brand has contributed greatly to their size and profitability.

When’s the ad coming out that says, “This is why we don’t make affordable cars.”

Please, how am I supposed to buy a so-much-better BMW when their cheapest model is $25K for a 3-4 year old 180hp 325 with pleather seats?

Seriously, look at the RWD landscape at under $30K and you’re stuck with an American muscle car.

The Mini is completely a BMW-engineered car, which utilizes BMW parts for all its major components, just because its called a ‘MINI’ doesn’t make it any less BMW, especially since its sold at BMW dealerships! It is a FWD BMW. At the same time, compact RWD cars are hard to pull off, as can be seen by the complete lack of rear seating space AND rear storage space found on a 1-series.

Jon.

The Ford Pinto, Maverick, Mustang II and Chevrolet Monza, AMC Pacer and Gremlin were all compact rear wheel drive cars as were the CHevette and all european fords until the Fiesta came along in 1976

#20: Or a Miata

Is the rabbit supposed to be a dig at VW?

I get the point, but don’t think I would if I weren’t aware of the characteristics of each drive-type. Someone looking for a status car who isn’t keen of the reasoning, might think that front drivers have a bigger set of tires up there. Pretty lame……..

BMW are just tapping into a mood in the US. This is a debate that is just not happening in Europe.
One is not better than the other, they are better at different things. Sports sedan RWD, Family Hatchback FWD. Dont think Toyota or Honda will go RWD with the Camry or accord anytime soon.

HOLY ****, that is HILARIOUS! Nice ad.

HAHAHA, great ad… I love it! I hope it pisses off all the FWD makers…

At least they are making a great point to increase competition in the auto market…Maybe we could get some more RWD cars eventually…

and by the way, the mini doesn’t have a BMW badge on it, so I think it’s fine that BMW made this ad… But maybe they should make a RWD cooper, that would be awesome…

I remember i could drift a peugeot 205 van just by deflating the rear tyres a little and that had a 1.1 litre enging with fwd. Awesome fun. Why would a RWD cooper be any better than A BMW 130i or M1?

There is nothing wrong with FWD; you just have to know how to push it to act like a RWD car. FWD under steers so it’s easier for most drivers to handle, whereas RWD by nature naturally over steers and is harder for most people to handle, yet easier to perform tricks like drifting; you can drift in a FWD, but you have to know how to do it, compared to a RWD, where its easy to get the rear to get away from you.

Which is actually a major problem with RWD, in slippery conditions its nowhere as solid as a FWD car, and if you aren’t careful (Mr. And Mrs. Everyday non-track experience driver) its very easy to lose control, especially when going fast and taking turns / going into curves. It’s easy to start fishtailing / spinning if you have no clue how to control the car.

Jon.

you can drift FWD with your e-brake but, you will most likely lose acceleration, where as drifting with RWD you can keep your RPM’s up

Even with the big paws on the back… the hare is still AWD.

You don’t have to use the handbrake to drift in a FWD, you simply have to go fast enough (80 mph+) in a straightaway with no one else on the road and enough room to drift, then you simply flick the wheel while letting go of the accelerator and slightly hitting the breaks, and as you start to loose control you flick the wheel back the other way to have the front wheels now pointing towards the drift, but as soon as you accelerate, the car will want to pull out of the drift.

The coolest drifts are AWD drifts, cus you can get the car to drift almost perfectly sideways (90 degrees).

Jon.

I don’t get it…

BMW doesn’t build FWD cars because of rabbits?

Maybe it’s because those rabbits have big, sharp, pointy teeth!

No silly its coz they are stupid and get mixamatosis

Sad to see BMW resorting to what I think is a pretty low-brow ad – a big exaggerated photo with a silly generalizing statement geared at people who don’t really know anything or want to think about it much. All in all a vapid ad just to get attention whose premise is gutted by the fact that they manufacture and pimp FWD MINIs chock full of BMW part numbers as well as AWD vehicles (and they certainly do not all handle well – every drive an X3? yuck). Plus its a pretty obvious dig at VW that I think comes as tacky – just my .02.

You know, people, its just an ad…

Yeah, and these are all just cars, but we like talking about them

Read the GM forums and you’d think that RWD was sent from above to save the corporation. RWD or FWD, it doesn’t matter if the car isn’t well engineered or built right. BMW is a cynical car company after all Mr Quandt was a relative of the infamous Magda Goebbels

BMW outsources transmissions and other parts as well for its branded cars, does that make it less a BMW? I guess, for me, the bottom line with regards to including MINI in the BMW line-up has to do with the fact that it is engineered and designed by BMW and is included in the BMWNA sales reports. Beyond every OEM part I’ve seen being labeled with BMW German part numbers, all of the tech info included with the BMW’s, etc etc, the brand itself is just a subsidiary of BMW – sort of like Toyota is to Lexus, they are really one in the same behind the branding.

sorry i didnt mean to insult all you little guys who like the mini so much…it and all little cars are rubbish to me because i simply cannot drive them…im 6′6″ 230lbs with very wide shoulders…im sure its a fine little car for little guys and women.

I don’t think anyone is insulted, although it does sound like you are trying to be insulting. I personally do not care, I’ve had both new BMWs and new Minis as well as other cars, its not about the brand to me its mostly about how it drives, and trust me the Mini surpasses many cars in the fun to drive dept. Before you assume anything you should try it, there are very big and tall guys, as tall and taller then you, who own and fit the car well, the headroom is actually greater then lots of larger vehicles. Of course the little guys and woman will be faster in any car as they are lighter anyway

So BMW is still trying to convince the average Joe (or Jane) that RWD is better for their daily driving needs when the average BMW owner would not even know how to drift a car through a turn. It is clear that RWD is only better on the track in the hands of capable drivers. C’mon BMW, these ads are the sign of a company feeling threatened by the competition. Nice try though! The Ultimate Marketing Machine.

There is a video review comparing the BMW 1 series against the VW R32, a Top Gear. The 1 series is slower and has less rear room because of the rear wheel drive. The new generation of Audis, starting with the A5, will be based on a new platform with much less front overhang and improved balance. I have to agree, the latest BMW ads, seem just a little desperate to proclaim BMW as much superior to other luxury/sport brands.

Well, Cartrash, I didn’t post on #18…and if you don’t think it uses BMW components, you have no idea what you are talking about. The car was designed from the ground up by BMW and it uses a lot of BMW parts, including engine parts found in previous 4-cylinder BMW engines. And exactly what would (and I quote) “every major automitive magazine� disagree with me regarding FWD? That is its better in less than ideal conditions such as rain? Or snow?

Seriously, you can handle FWD just as well as RWD (ok, yes except drifts, which are really useful…um, never, not even in racing: have you seen a lot of drifting during F1 races?), if you know what you are doing. It’s easier to do stupid **** in a RWD, that doesn’t make you a better driver. Suffice to say both FWD and RWD have their pros and cons.

Jon.

I just read 46 comments, and I have to say the one I liked best was this one:

“Even with the big paws on the back… the hare is still AWD.”

Very true. Thats why I drive an Audi

#5 speaks the truth.

However, for an enthusiastic driver, RWD is *GENERALLY* still better than FWD.

Please qualify the term “better”? And someone explain why this debate is only going on in America. Everywhere else people seem able to accept that you need different tools for different jobs, but that doen’t make one tool better than the other.

Put a lot of torque (well over 250ft-lbs) and more than 250 horsepower in a FWD vehicle and you get this nice little thing called wheelspin. You get it because as the vehicle attempts to move forward, all the weight gets shifted to the rear wheels– away from the drive wheels up front. This reduces traction and acceleration. In racing, in anything but a lightweight hatchback Civic or similar, you have nothing to keep pushing the car through a turn if the vehicle skids or loses traction, or simply understeers to the outside of the curve.

A few specialty high powered FWD car designs minimize this problem but you never see them sell in M3 or Corvette territory.

I have owned a “sports” front wheel drive Honda for six years. I will only own a FWD car for utility now. I am personally not interested in a front drive “sports” oriented car any more.

BMW’s ad people may be acting snobby, and I agree that many drivers don’t know the difference between drivetrain types, but rear drive is generally preferred among people who are skilled drivers and who do love to exploit the performance of their vehicles.

Of course, it is ridiculously hard to find an inexpensive, powerful RWD car these days…. BMW is not inexpensive in the USA.

BMW is expensive everywhere. The One series is not cheap With necessary options you are looking at over $30k for a 1.8 116i model. AT least in Europe there is a huge range of available models to chose from across the full product line. Choice in the US is mouch more limited.
The 3 series is in the top 10 sales list in the UK

Dynamics in FWD? You’re forgetting even though critics and drivers love the 1 series RWD compact BMW, they still prefer a Focus overall as a package… and that’s FWD In fact it shames some RWDs bar a little understeer, but whenever I look at cars out on a snowy day it’s SO much fun to see the BMWs crying at the top of the hill cos they can’t make it.

Yay for BMW!

I love front wheel drive… nothing says “I’m in control of my car” like excessive (and danerous) understeer and of course that annoying-ass torque steer. Give me oversteer or give me death (by understeer)!!!

duh!!!

Meanwhile, my respect for Volvo has pretty much diminished since they moved away from rear wheel drive, but I still love my 1987 turbo intercooled stickshift RWD 740 wagon!!!

-he who stacks pork

I guess he who can stack pork can’t also handle FWD.

Jon.

“There is only one reason car company build FWD it’s cheaper.”

That’s the main reason, but to be fair, FWD also saves space in the cabin — that’s why the back seats in the 4-door BMW 1-series are pure rubbish and why a Chrysler Town&Country can fold all five rear seats into the floor.

Snowy weather used to be a consideration as well, but now most traction/stability programs on RWD cars are good enough to get by (with the proper tires of course).

Yes, FWD will perform better in snow and rain. That’s why it is used in econoboxes, mini-vans and family cars – for safety. RWD is for performance. That’s what BMW sells – performance cars. Cars that are meant to be driven and driven hard to the limit. Think of the great sports cars manufactured today. RWD. This is the message the ad is trying to convey. A jackrabbit is fast, which is why it’s hind legs are longer and larger. That jackrabbit in the ad reminds me of Acura and Honda “ricers” that have a staggered wheel setup on their vehicles. LOL!

And just so you guys know, RWD is not worse in snow than FWD. Tires make the biggest difference. RWD w/ snow tires will own any car on the road that has all-seasons. But ofcourse, AWD w/ snow tires will still be better.

oh yeah, snow tires combined w/ DSC will make almost any car fine in snow. DSC will keep u safe in rain too.

DSC will keep you safe, but there’s no way to cheat physics. Even with DSC and snow tires, I still find driving my M a bit hairy in the snow. Plus watching the DSC light flicker as the car chokes the power from the engine gets a bit dull after a while. I’d rather be in my nose-heavy, FWD-biased Quattro when the roads get slushy.

actually, front wheel drive is the pits in the snow, if you learn how to drive rwd, it is far better in the winter. MINI is not 100% bmw either, the motor is a chrysler/mitsubishi unit built in brazil. and yes, i own a new mini.

When you people die, they will entitle your memoirs, “Gullibles Travels”.

Apparently you all missed the joke. Duh.

This is NOT an official BMW ad.

H

#16: Grammar is right on. YOUR grammar is weird. “front wheel drives” serves as an abbreviation for “front wheel drive cars”. The word “do” is overused, confusing, and vague to the point of meaningless – and the fact that “We won’t do front wheel drives” looks weird because “front wheel drives” is not an action. Unlike “I don’t do it”, where “do it” can translate to some other verb-object pair.

It’s so sad that “do” is getting used more and more in American English.

only if people knew about Gulliver’s Travels

Uncharacteristic of BMW, but you have to remember that this is not the purist BMW of previous years. Chris Bangle and his supporters are making a slam bang mess of what was a very respectable. This crap is coming from the Bangle camp.They don’t make front wheel drive because? What happens when you lose your footing? Do you fall on your face or do your arms and hands go into motion?

Oh yeah…IF THIS IS IN FACT AN ACTUAL AD FROM BMW!

Show me a car that has larger front wheels and tires than rear wheels and tires. There are none.

One of ours is a 2.3 high-pressure turbo 5 FWD with 250 hp. Personally, I like all the excitement. Just have to expect it when it comes on. But yeah, BMW.

Thats funny, but ahh, what about the mini brand, are the new ones going to be rear wheel drive or did they forgot they are front wheel drive?

@ Roxy

Well, GM is a wrold leader in **** that don’t make sense.
The 2006 Potiac Grand Prix GXP has WIDER front tires than rear “to get the power down” ON THE WRONG END !!!

What about diameter?