Jalopnik asked its readers what ten vehicles were "category-killing cars" and asked them to tell it why.. These are cars that define a category. The Mini came in third. Here's why according to Jalopnik:
The Mini defined small cars, not just because of its physical size, but because of its packaging. "Transversely-mounted four cylinder engine that drives the front wheels" could be the description of any one of a dozen cars on the road today, a full 52 years after the Mini's launch in 1959. It may not have been the first to do it, but it was certainly the first to make it a success.
