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Originally Posted by in euro dreams ok i'm not a mini guy at all......but couldn't you work out a deal and pull the seats out of another mini and 'swap' them? or would the WHOLE interior also need to be done? |
It would be possible, but I would have to find a European owner that would be willing to do that. For the most part, dealers in Europe do not have new cars on the floor. Especially here in Germany were most cars are made to order.
I think the limited choices being offered to American customers by most manufacturers stems from how most Americans shop for cars (even more so in the past). In the States, most people walk into a dealer and if they see what they want the expect to drive away in it. If not the same day then pretty soon after ... 1 or 2 days tops. Obviously, compromises on both sides have to occur to make this happen. Dealers can't be expected to have one of each possible car configuration available for every model they carry and likewise customers must realize this and make sacrifices occordingly. So dealers end up with cookie-cutter cars. European buyers on the other hand, go to a dealer and pick each individual option they want. Packages are even a rarity. The European customers know they will have to wait to get the exact car they want, but that's OK. Now, since we (NA buyers) have to wait for our European cars to be built just like our cousins overseas why shouldn't we be able to pick and choose just like they can? If Mini USA offers one color of cloth interior, what harm is it to offer the other two combinations they offer everyone else? BTW, all the cars come off the same assembly line, so this is not the issue. It just doesn't make sense.