As a kid, I had some Matchbox cars (actually, it was “Corgi” brand, I think) which were purple little cars which I never saw. Today, they WERE mini Cooper cars. Could they have existed in England, perhaps, back then - before coming to the US? Anyone experience this seemingly familiar feeling about those Coopers?
Not just in England. One of my high school teachers had one in Saskatchewan in the mid-70s.
The Mini first came out in1959 .
Hmm…cars I had but never saw, aye? Obviously, you got my meaning! Never saw on the road, that is!
Keep in mind that Cooper is no more.
The mini’s you see now are made by BMW.
The first car I ever drove was a 1968 Mini Cooper. Great little car.
Rent yourself a copy of the original Italian Job, prominantly featuring the Cooper Mini.
I don’t remember when the Austin/BMC Mini came out. 1961? The last of the original Minis was a 2000 model.
I love the original Italian Job. 
Cooper didn’t make the Mini, they just tuned it and still do
The question makes Mini Coopers sound quite mythical. Yes, other parts of the world can manufacture cars of note 
I remember riding in a Mini in Panama in about 1975; it was called an Austin Mini. Even at the time it made me nervous to be so close to the pavement and so small compared to the cars around us; I can’t imagine driving one today in SUV land.
If you ever want to know anything about old cars, watch some old CHiPs reruns (U.S., late 70s/early 80s).
In the first season of the show, Jon drove an old Right-Hand-Drive Mini that was painted up like a racecar.
Speaking of old reruns, did Ford ever distribute the original Ford Fiesta or Capri in the US.
I recall an episode of the Streets of San Fransico where someone was caught out in a lie, not being able to drive a “stick shift” car that looked like a Ford Capri. And another rerun somewhere seems to have a wee Fiesta in the background (the car, not the party)
My sister had one in the early '70s (probably early '60s vintage). The thing was always clattering to a halt, ususally in the middle of an intersection, and she would have to jump out, open the hood, lean WAY in and tweek something or other to get it going again.
At the time, she was short, stacked, and given to wearing very short cut-offs and a tightly cinched work shirt. As you can imagine, when she performed the above while wearing the aforesaid, she got a LOT of attention. Probably caused more than one accident…
We had the Fiesta here. IIRC the Capri was sold as a Mercury.
I wondered how well smaller or European designed Ford cars would go down in the US. Did either car sell well? I couldn’t see anyone wanting to have a Capri/Mercury over something that (IIRC) was as relatively cheap and powerful as a Mustang.
Here’s a 1980 Mercury Capri in Ohio. Here’s one from the '90s.
Wikipedia has this so say:
So apparently I have erroneously been calling it a Mercury Capri all this time; though it was sold through Mercury dealers.
Wikipedia says the Ford Fiesta was sold here 1978 - 1980. Apparently, it was replaced here by the Escort.
I had the pleasure of a college roommate in 1968, half of a set of identical twins, who shared a Mini-Cooper. Insanely small at first blush, it was a bit difficult to enter or exit at first, buy I was so used to riding in it by the time I went home at the end of the term, that Dad’s Fury III felt like an ocean liner.
The twins rallied their Mini, both time/distance and navigational, and had it rigged with a roll bar, fire extinguisher, and a tiny map light on a gooseneck that bent out from under the glovebox so that the navigator could check maps or work his figures without ruining the driver’s night vision. They also had zillion-candlepower extra lights up front as well. Relentlessly underpowered, it yet was enormous fun to drive, and cornered like you wouldn’t believe. They told tales of regularly beating muscle cars, by choosing courses with lots of curves…
The 1980 Capri you linked is an American built successor to the original German imported version. The first imported Capri’s were sold in the US from 1973 till 1977. In 1978 the Capri became a corporate twin to the Ford Mustang, it was discontinued after the 1984 model year. The German built Capri’s were susceptible to rust and used Brazilian built 2.0 liter engines that were far junk compared to the American built 2.3 liter engine used in the Ford Pinto. Ford stuffed a 2.8 liter V-6 in the 75 to 77 Capri’s but by then the car had earned it’s POS label.
