The Mini. Without even seeing a picture, the moniker tells any English speaker this vehicle is small. With just a little more thought, it's immediately clear that the small size must be one of the car's most important features. It might be simple, but it must stand among the best branding decisions of the 20th century.

The original Mini became an automotive icon of 1960s Britain both on the streets the track. And even after that initial heyday, the little scamp managed to stick around with only minor changes until 2000. Then, in the early 2000s, BMW bought the name and built a whole brand around it.

BudgetDirect illustrated the Mini's changes over the past 59 years. Click through the slides above to see how the little car's evolved in that time.