In 2002, one of the most influential cars in

automotive history made a triumphant return to

the United States.

But less than two decades later, many in the car

world are asking what many is still doing here.

The tiny English car gave the world a

revolutionary design that boosted the British car

industry and helped consumers comfortably save

fuel during a crippling fuel crisis.

It also became a global phenomenon.

It was made even more famous by Michael Caine in

the 1969 film The Italian Job, and again by a

remake of the film in 2003.

The many left the United States in the 1960s when

it couldn't keep up with changes to emissions

regulations. It's returned to America under the

stewardship of German automotive powerhouse BMW

brought fanfare and high hopes.

But over the years, the mini brand has

increasingly struggled in the U.S.

as buyers in this country turn away from small

cars and toward SUV fees in order to survive.

Many is relying ever more on larger crossover

like vehicles that are very different from the

efficient and compact cars.

Its name suggests.

The Mini first debuted on August 26, 1959.

It was the creation of Sir Alec, it's a Ghana's

chief engineer for the recently formed British

Motor Company. A new baby in a famous family and

important because it's so small.

The British Motor Corporation's many minor BMC

had been looking for a small, very small vehicle

capable of fitting for adults that could compete

with the micro cars developed largely by German

auto companies. Small cars were immensely popular

at the time, due in part to the Suez Crisis,

which had sent fuel prices skyrocketing.

But creating a tiny car that can still

comfortably fit for grown humans is pretty

difficult. Its eagerness and colleagues pulled a

few tricks that allowed them to have it both

ways. They shrunk the car's wheels and pushed

them out to the corners of the frame.

They turned the engine sideways.

The gearbox was stacked below the engine in the

oil pan. This highly efficient design gave the

tiny car a spacious interior.

To get the most space out of the four foot wide,

four foot high, 10 foot long car, the doors were

made so thin that window cranks would not fit, so

sliding windows were installed.

The wheels were a mere 10 inches in diameter.

Even the door hinges were moved outside the car

to save space.

It also gave the vehicle excellent, handling the

extreme positions of the wheels.

Gave the mini a wide stable stance and allowed it

to handle like a go cart.

The weight of the flipped engine kept the front

of the car very stable, despite its practical

advantages. The car bewildered customers at

first, but it took off.

By 1965, 1 million minis had been made.

Wasn't such a revelation to get in his car, which

cost less than five hundred pounds?

It was one of the cheapest cars in the market and

actually start driving it and realize that you

could have an economical vehicle.

That was also fun to drive.

It was in many ways like the Volkswagen Beetle in

that it was something of a classless vehicle

attracting a wide array of buyers.

You were buying a tiny sports car and you didn't

have to be a playboy to afford it.

So it was a great democratization of driving

enjoyment. This was partly helped by its

performance on the track.

The car's unique features made it a favorite

choice for race car drivers in the 1960s.

This eagerness was friends with the British race

car maker and driver John Cooper, who became

enamored with the cars handling and was convinced

it would make an excellent rally car.

Its agonies was initially reluctant, but Cooper

eventually persuaded him to produce the classic

Mini Cooper 9 9 7.

For racing drivers who've grown up with certain

types of cars, with the engine at the front and

the drive at the back. This was just absolute

revelation. Every time somebody got into a Mini

Cooper, they just couldn't believe how well it

went. Mini Coopers placed as high as third in the

famous Monte Carlo rally in 1963 and then won the

race for the first time the following year.

Minis would go on to win in 1965 and 1967, but

the 1969 film The Italian Job is often credited,

even by many itself, as a major catalyst that

boosted the car's reputation around the world.

Actor Michael Caine said that he didn't have a

license when the movie was filmed and actually

learned to drive on set.

The car was perfect for a film about a bank heist

that involved car chases down narrow Italian

streets. The Mini became something of a star in

itself and reportedly spurred a craze for the

tiny car. It also became a favorite ride for

celebrities at the time, including Steve McQueen.

All four Beatles and Mick Jagger from the Rolling

Stones. But the minis impact goes far beyond a

film inspired fad.

It's a gona says space saving power.

Train design, with its transverse engine and

front wheel drive, is today considered a

revolutionary and is credited with inspiring

generations of cars.

In 2000, a panel of 130 automotive journalists

chose the MINI as the European Car of the

Century. It came in second for the overall Car of

the Century award to the Ford Model T.

Over its lifetime, the money has been sold under

different brand names such as Maurice and Austin

and passed from owner to owner.

It ended up in the hands of BMW when the German

automaker bought Britain's Rover group in 1994.

The merger turned out to be bad for both parties,

and BMW ended up selling off most of the group's

brands, including Land Rover.

But it kept many, which remains part of BMW s

portfolio today.

Under BMW, Mini undertook its first redesign in

more than three decades.

To its horror, it realizes that nothing has been

done over decades to sort of replace this iconic

car that everyone loves.

So the old one realizes it is edging slowly

towards the point where it would be legal to sell

it anymore. You know, it can't be crash

regulations. It's polluting.

It's unsafe.

You know, it's noisy.

The company reintroduced the brand to North

America in 2002.

That year, a remake of the Italian job came out

with a distinctly different plot and a largely

American cast replacing the British one.

Critics observed that the minis were the only

link between the original film and the new one.

But BMW s new mini also aroused the ire of many

purists. The new BMW Mini was bigger than the

original, and detractors accused it of being more

of a retro looking showpiece than a true heir to

the original. By many measures, the car was a hit

anyway. BMW executives reportedly would have been

happy with selling 150000 minis around the world

in the early 2000s.

Today, they sell more than twice that.

But sales are falling that roughly 360 1000

units sold in 2018 was a 2.8

percent drop over the previous year.

Europe is the brighter spot in the story.

Sales of the BMW owned Mini have grown more or

less steadily from around 25000 cars in 2001 to

270000 thousand in 2018.

But in the U.S.,

many sold 7 percent fewer cars in 2018 than it

did in 2017.

The decline continue to trend.

The brand has suffered since 2013, when sales

peaked at around 66000 units.

Many is yet another one of those small, quirky

and highly practical cars that is in one way,

quite literally, sitting in the shadow of taller,

chunkier crossovers.

Sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, which

are far more popular with buyers.

Many has tried to combat this by broadening its

product lineup. The company that made its name

selling tiny fuel efficient cars now sells a long

five door car called the Club Men and a crossover

like model called The Countryman.

This is the icon, the one that started it all,

but not the only one.

Final one for you. So although the calls who have

that harmony look to them, they really keep on

top of regulations and customer expectations to

keep improving it. And they don't want to go back

to that old British.

They say fair of just.

No, no. Well, we did. We make them like this and

we've always made them like this.

But by beefing up its vehicles, many is moving

further and further away from the traits that

made it so famous in the first place.

The Mini Cooper, for example, grew nearly 10

inches in length from 2002 to 2016.

It grew an inch and a half in width and gained

about 400 pounds.

Many had experimented with different designs in

its early days, including vans, wagons and

pickups. And to be fair, cars tend to get bigger

over time. The mid-sized pickups of today are all

larger than their forebears.

For example, comparing the size of a specific

model from the early 2000s, such as the BMW 3

series sedan with the three series of today will

demonstrate that even a single model is likely to

fatten up over time.

Today that evolution of light just standard Mini

Cooper to what we have now.

Like many SUV is antithetical to what the brand

stands for. Mini is also one of many automakers

betting that it can find a future by going

electric. The mini countryman hybrid accounted

for 13 percent of the countrymen's total sales in

2018. The brand also debuted its first fully

electric production car, the Mini Cooper s E in

July of 2019.

Mini is lucky in that it has an exceptionally

strong brand identity, so the company has begun

to seek fortune outside the traditional

automotive business.

Some recent initiatives, which are so far small

in scope, are nonetheless remarkable and highly

unconventional for a car company.

For example, Mini has branched out into fields

such as fashion and real estate development.

The brand has partnered with Chinese development

firm Nova Property Investment Company to convert

a former paint factory in Shanghai, China, into a

mixed use communal living facility comprised of

apartments, workspaces and cultural and leisure

amenities in 2016.

Many also launched an incubator in Brooklyn, New

York, for startups across a range of industries,

including transportation.

These are bets many industry watchers say are

necessary for any automotive company to arm

itself for an uncertain future.

Many was a brand that grew out of a dire need for

small, fuel efficient cars.

But what made it such a strong cell generations

ago now makes it seem like a niche product, even

a curiosity to many consumers.

Despite the grumblings of all these many fans who

not long for this world, I would say, you know,

that the the way the the way they are running it

now is a premium. Small car brands is the right

thing to do. Many says the move toward larger

vehicles is in its favor.

The company sees this as its opportunity to gain

market share and reclaim the premium small car

market once again.

Many said its current generation is the best

product it has ever made, and that changes in

size are due in large part to minis need to meet

safety regulations.

If the brand wants to stay alive in the U.S.,

it will need to adapt.

Otherwise, like some other small car makers, it

could find itself pulling up stakes and leaving

to the disappointment of many loyal fans.