German Minis: Sounding the Shallow Depths of National Identity

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Autocar reports this morning that BMW will likely be opening an assembly line for the Mini brand in Germany. What is unclear from the tone of the article is whether this is perceived as a good or bad thing. To me, it is little other than a foregone conclusion. When BMW bought the Mini brand it was buying just that: a brand. In that time, the Roundel has almost single-handedly created the market for luxury small cars. Now competitors have gotten wise; Audi has the A1, Mercedes has the A-class. In a situation that is somewhat the mirror of our earlier Phaeton discussion, BMW has no direct competitor for either of these cars; it has Mini. As the article states, one possible explanation is that BMW is planning to create a BMW-branded small car.
Not to do any transatlantic finger pointing, but isn't this exactly the issue that GM ran into: too many fingers in too many pies? Granted, luxury small cars are still something of an oddity in the US. Why would you want to pay more to get less when you could have more? A couple of quick disjointed thoughts:

1) From the connoisseurs perspective, this may not be that much of a bad thing. Better to have a little of a good thing--say a bottle of a fine microbrew--as opposed to a whole lot of something of lower quality; the ubiqutous case of Natty Light. This is anathema to a lot of people; look at the Camaro, I need say no more. By the way, how bizarre is it that Natty has commercials now? Do they really need to advertize? What emerging markets are they trying to reach? Was there uncharted territory in the 18-20 fratboy demographic? Returning to the automotive sphere, the Mini and its competitors offer that 'microbrew' option. You could get more car for the money, yes. Do you need more car? Maybe. However, if you don't, there is something luxurious and pleasurable for the money.

2) This unfortunate episode highlights how shallow cultural identification has become in this age of globalization and rebranding. While the Mini exudes 'britishness' like a greasy slab of cod with some double-fried chips in a styrofoam container on a rainy seaside afternoon, it is a German car, through and through. The Mini would not be so good if it weren't German. It's 'britishness' is as thin as the sheetmetal of its body panels. Through the token gesture...actually, through the vast charity of BMW in modernizing the Morris factory in Oxford, the Mini has kept physical connection to the country that gave birth to it. However, it was only a matter of time before it became little more than a brand. Is Mini about to jump the shark? Possibly. But for the time being, lets revel in its second rennaissance.