Quote Originally Posted by IBrake4Rainbows View Post
It might have been, but Stephenson lays claim to it also. Perhaps he was part of the design team.

The Mk1 Mini is a tragedy of design over functionality, the only difference between it and the New Beetle is the fact it can handle. If it was rubbish to drive....
i can find nothing on these here interwebz to link him to the t-bird. or ford for that matter.

so can't the fact that it was absolutely brilliant to drive be it's raison d'etre? but also remember it built the premium compact niche from nothing. so while yes, there was not a whole lot of innovation on the engineering side, it made great strides in the development and marketing of small cars, and now everyone is rushing to copy them. see the DS2 or the small audi, whatever it is called.

besides, we all give the miata a pass for being absolutely useless because it is fantastic to drive. what's the difference? it is a great drive, and reasonable to live with as your only car. more so than the miata anyway.