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[Kevin Wood]

BMW created a real dog's dinner of a project, from their handling of individuals in both the UK and in Germany, their decision making and their at times quite unfathomable behaviour....

Yep, doesn't surprise me. What you are talking about is Bavarian "management". Something that I've had to work with too. 

Everyone sits around in a meeting pretending everything is rosy and desperately trying not to be the person who mentions the iceberg towards which everybody can see they are sailing full ahead, because if they do, it becomes their problem and their fault. They will be blamed for it and blamed for not being able to change course to avoid it purely for being the person who had the guts to mention what everyone else was thinking. Better, then, to just let everyone deal with the crisis when you start shipping water.

Meanwhile the boss is coming up with all sorts of mad ideas based on his 20-years-out-of-date experience from when he was at the coal face. Nobody will challenge this, or even address him by his first name. Oh, how they gasp when a UK contractor does both in a single sentence and gets away with it.

So yes, it's not surprising that folk end up getting stabbed in the back. Not normally out of malice or poor performance, but purely because nobody pulled their head out of their @rse and changed course before it was too late.

Kevin

[Dishevelled Den]

Everyone sits around in a meeting pretending everything is rosy and desperately trying not to be the person who mentions the iceberg towards which everybody can see they are sailing full ahead, because if they do, it becomes their problem and their fault. They will be blamed for it and blamed for not being able to change course to avoid it purely for being the person who had the guts to mention what everyone else was thinking. Better, then, to just let everyone deal with the crisis when you start shipping water.

Meanwhile the boss is coming up with all sorts of mad ideas based on his 20-years-out-of-date experience from when he was at the coal face. Nobody will challenge this, or even address him by his first name.

but purely because nobody pulled their head out of their @rse and changed course before it was too late.

Kevin

  Splendid - some in that country seem to remain blissfully unaware of the harsh lessons taught by early 20th Century history. 

[TheBoy]

Nice to see people referring to the technically correct designation of 'MINI', rather than 'Mini' something I omitted in my original post.

Call me stubborn but I find being told how to spell the name of the Mini by an overrated American stylist and a bunch of Bavarians sticks in the throat somewhat.  And if it annoys them that some people don't kowtow to their marketing speak then all the better!     I'd be surprised if it did though.

Reliability of the models is pretty decent, but if that's a crucial issue then as mentioned, the Honda Civic is a very nice option.  Thing is, are we these days maybe a bit spoilt by the comparitive dependability of mdoern cars compared to old versions?  Certainly when I was a kid and had a mini it was almost a rite of passage to have stripped the thing down at some point, experience the joys of a damp distributor, continually adjusting drum brakes and playing find the oil leak.  Oh, and breaking fingers.  I was very good at that. 

I think the point was that it is a disgrace for the current heap of Oxfordian kak to be called a Mini, so the new name of MINI was given, so as not to confuse with its iconic 'predessor'

[Kevin Wood]

I think the point was that it is a disgrace for the current heap of Oxfordian kak to be called a Mini, so the new name of MINI was given, so as not to confuse with its iconic 'predessor'

I went on a factory tour a couple of years ago. It was full of mincers with their invoices out wanting to know if "their" car had been through the factory yet, and could they see it, etc. Fashion victims. Anyone would think they were made by crApple.

 

Kevin

[Omegatoy]

lol when they were first built i spent 2 years based in oxford delivering the things on transporters, you would not believe how many of them came off the production line and were driven
straight to the scrap pile for "recycling"
totally agree with the comments about  the management, the amount of times we as transporter drivers nearly punched the bavarian newcomers wasnt true!! eventually it got to much to bear and unfortunately for the german idiot he put his face in the way of a rather large fist and was asked/told politely that i was persona non grata on site!!
one year later the company was told it no longer could operate its transporters from oxford, even though the company had been at oxford for 17years albeit under 3 different names,had our ownw compound there as well as the railhead,
they just wouldnt honour the agreement we had!