MINI

There have really been two Minis. The first was more a car than a marque. The tiny original Mini was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis for the British Motor Corporation and sold as an Austin and Morris. Mini became its own brand in 1969, for a bit. But it stayed in production until 2000, a remarkable run. BMW purchased the brand back in 1994, and by 2000, the company had developed a new version designed by Frank Stephenson. The Mini hatch is now in its third generation, and has been joined by a family of other Minis: the convertible, the Clubman wagon, the Countryman crossover and the Paceman crossover coupe among them.