Mini - The Definitive History by Jon Pressnell
The most eagerly anticipated book on the history of the Mini, Jon Pressnell’s tome achieves almost everything it sets out to.
Incredibly well researched, with loads of new material, never-before-seen photographs and documentary evidence to blow away many myths and give many experts new things to chew over.
Pressnell has spent some 20 years in researching the story of the Mini and his dedication is clearly revealed in the pages of his book.
The book goes a long way to explaining how the Mini could remain in production, despite not making any money, or much money, for most of its life.
There is an entire chapter dedicated to this subject, because, quite rightly, it has been a point of debate among historians, including ourselves, for as long as there has been interest in the story of the Mini.
Bogus accounting methods, particularly by Austin accountants who became the dominant force in BMC under Leonard Lord, and an unwillingness by management to see there could possibly be anything wrong with their way of doing things, are cited as two of the main reasons for the Mini’s financial failure, and the eventual demise of the British motor industry.
Notwithstanding Pressnell’s strong case, I remain unconvinced that the Mini could have survived the numerous company take-overs and mergers, where every other car underwent the closest scrutiny for cost-cutting, if it was not making any money.
Although Pressnell spent a fair bit of time in Australia researching the local Mini production, the chapter on Australia, while much better than in any previous book, is still a little light on for detail.
Still, there is enough material in Australia for another book, so we can’t expect too much. The information on Australia does appear to be accurate, informative and concise.
Similarly, the chapters on Innocenti, South Africa and other production around the world provides a comprehensive picture of global Mini production for the first time. However, there is little evidence to support the global production figures as being such.
My three criticisms aside, this book goes a long way to being a truly definitive history of the Mini. It is also very well presented and easy to read.
There are plenty of surprises within the pages of the book, particularly with the many photographs of prototype vehicles, most of which never made it any further.
Pressnell can be justifiably proud of his achievement, which should stand the test of time as being one of the great references on the Mini.
Quite simply, if you only ever buy one book on the history of the Mini, then this is the one to get.
Potent Web Design