From the archive: It's February 1987, and Rover announces that the Mini was saved from oblivion by positive market research following one of the most famous seasonal car adverts ever run...
DAILY EXPRESS By Barry Devney
The Mini car has won a reprieve - due to the abiding love of women drivers. It was due to be scrapped next month after 27 years. But market research has shown that women are still clamouring for the snappy little vehicle. So much so, that Minis will roll off the production line until at least 1991 and weekly output will rise from 650 a week to 750. Rover Group chairman Mr Graham Day, said research showed that 7 out of 10 Mini buyers are city-dwelling women aged 20 to 39.
"Women treat their Mini cars with affection and have pet, names for them," said Mr Day.
At Christmas , the Rover Group ran a TV advertising campaign showing two Minis driving up to each other and stopping just as their noses "kissed" under a mistletoe bough. And sales for January jumped to 1,200 - 21 per cent up on last year.
