As Toronto's situation show, having a good-sized population base will not seal the deal, since BMW has some specific targets in mind for the places that will sell the Mini Cooper and the line of siblings that will follow by 2010.
The German company is after a particular brand of customer, you see, and they don't tend to live in places like Regina or Calgary or London or Halifax or Rimouski or wherever.
For their part, BMW executives from Germany liked the idea of having a policy of not selling Minis to anyone over 35, since too many buyers who live within commuting distance of Geezerville will not suit the image they're after.
But they realize that's it's probably not feasible to stop Boomers from buying Mini Cooper, so they'll just go to extra lengths to see that 20- to 34-year-olds who are "experimental in outlook" and who "enjoy trying new things and tend to be spontaneous and active" get them.
These ideal customers would "like standing out in a crowd and driving a car that people notice," said Helmut Panke, a member BMW AG's supervisory board, in revealing the first Mini model. "They have a keen sense of style and believe a car says a lot about them. Mini fits their image and their attitude to life. They look for modernity, fun and excitement."
The second target group BMW has in mind will be slightly older and less experimental and less fashion-oriented. They are likely to be 35-50, and the Mini will be the second or even third car in their household.