Paulie Walnuts shills for MINI

Paulie offers some protection (source: mini)

Remember the Simpsons episode where Moe jammed a crayon up Homer's nose until Homer exclaimed "Extended warranty? How can I lose?"

MINI would like you to put aside your concerns about insurance contracts and buy its protection plans.  How do you sell such a product to a skeptical hipster audience?  MINI thinks that using a cool pop icon like Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri from the Sopranos just might do the trick.   In this short film, "bringing protection" definitely has two meanings.

MINI buyers will be given the opportunity to view this video when they are in the dealer's finance and insurance office, signing papers on their new car.  Will this be an offer that they can't refuse?

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MINI turns 50, belches out the Concept Coupé

Would you buy a MINI Coupé?

Fifty years ago Mini was presented to the public for the first time and shortly thereafter began a career of stealing gold. Yadda, yadda, BMW buys the brand, relaunches the Cooper as a modern icon and creates a blockbuster success where customers actually wait months to get the exact car they wanted.

Click this link to view a slideshow of the MINI Concept Coupé.

BMW knows that if it wants to keep the cash rolling in, it has to keep things interesting by adding body styles. First there was the MINI, then the MINI Convertible, a longer MINI Clubman, the MINI E all-electric prototype and soon a four door model will be upon us (most likely called the Countryman). What this concept represents is another take, an extreme coupe robbed of most functionality in exchange for the “Thrill of individual mobility and the focus on pure driving pleasure.”

MINI has never been shy with superlatives and then press release is chock-a-block with them:

The new concept car carries over the unmistakable front end look from the four-seater MINI. Smoothly balanced contours on the engine lid characterized by wide and sweeping radii, the large headlights, the homogenous shape of the radiator grille and the wide lower air intake give each model that unique look, openness and charm so typical of the brand. Through the greater rake of the windscreen on the MINI Coupé Concept, the car looks even more striking and dynamic, the low and streamlined body proving clearly that the MINI Coupé Concept is a particularly outstanding performer.

The hexagon radiator grille and the large round headlights are unmistakable design features re-interpreting the front view of the classic Mini in particularly modern style. The direction indicators are integrated in the headlights, just above the innovative three-dimensional surrounds for the positioning lights and the foglamps. The entire front air dam has been adjusted to the sporting look of the car, standing out even wider and more striking than before.

Don’t get me wrong, I love MINI and have toured the factory. I enjoy building Coopers on the MINI site and am looking forward to the Countryman. However, I just don’t think this Coupé is anything to write home about.

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Our electric car future? First MINI E delivered to customer

Think he is headed for electric avenue?

Pacific Palisades resident Peter Trepp has become the first customer to receive a leased all-electric MINI Cooper. The monthly payment on the MINI is a rather steep $850 but that is probably a minimal concern for the venture capitalist specializing in green industries. Just think of all the PR is getting!

According to BMW, the MINI E can travel up to 156 miles before a recharge is necessary. Peter won't be taxing that limit as his office is only 15 miles round trip away.

More manufacturers are creating small test fleets of electric and hydrogen vehicles, attempting to capitalize on a groundswell of eager customers willing to endure the limitations that these vehicles present. Honda has a limited fleet of FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicles and GM has its Project Driveway which is a fleet of fuel cell equipped Chevrolet Equinoxes. These beta customers become ambassadors for the brands, spreading the good word without looking like a corporate shill.

For more info: You can follow Peter's exploits on his blog Peter's MINI E

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MINI Crossover Shows Its Face?

What we have here is a group of spy photos of the forthcoming MINI crossover. The top photo is a clay model of an unknown MINI model, however it sure looks like the crossover's face to me.

Well, it happens to everybody: we expand. The MINI just keep getting bigger and bigger. Hopefully this is as large as the brand plans to get.

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Paisley Park: MINI Crossover

It doesn't look like much in this photo, does it? We can laugh all we want, but MINI makes money, even in a down market. Last year MINI introduced the Clubman model and gave a middle finger salute to the sales funk that has constipated the rest of the industry. For 2009 MINI is giving us a revised convertible model and next year we'll be getting this 2010, four door crossover.

What has been so fascinating for me to watch is that MINI has been able to rake in piles of cash by selling Americans a high content, small hatchback vehicle. That's something that most automakers have found to be impossible, but obviously with the proper execution it can be done. Rumors have it that the above vehicle, with more flattering paint, will start in the high twenties. That's right folks, it will START in the high twenties. Cha-ching!

MINI has its hands so full that production of this crossover will be subbed out to Magna and it will be assembled in Germany. I fully support MINI and its efforts to show that big money can come in small packages.

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Bargain?

MINI is the toast of the town. I spoke with a lot folks in the auto industry while I was in Detroit and everyone expressed admiration for what the MINI brand has been able to do. In a down market, MINI added the Clubman model and actually ended the year on a positive note.

Still, when I see stuff like this Clubman with a sticker price of $42,480, well I have to chuckle. Now granted this particular car has a lot of John Cooper Works goodies, but anytime a MINI heads over $40K, I become a bit incredulous. For those who might be interested, it's now on "sale" for $39,880 at East Bay MINI.

Would you fork over that kind of dough for this car?

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128 Reasons To Buy a BMW Over a Mini

Firstly, it's a comparison between the BMW 128i and the Mini Cooper Clubman S, hence the headline. I don't really have 128 reasons to choose one over the other. I don't have 128 reasons for anything I do.

Sibling rivalries--that competitive streak that starts so early in life and for some never really ends. Edmunds recently put blood brothers Clubman and 128 to the test and guess who came out a big winner? Well, you read the headline so you already know.

How did the 128 do it? Well, you're asking reviewers who enjoy driving if they'd rather be behind the wheel of a jaunty, six cylinder, RWD Bavarian coupe or a crafty, turbo four cylinder, FWD hatch. Not a real contest, is it? The 128 ranked higher with superior features, better performance and higher subjective evaluations. It doesn't hurt that BMWs always get a bit of a leg up thanks to the heritage of the brand whether or not evaluators are conscious of their bias or not.

Okay, so that's Edmunds tack...Now I'll give you mine. The 1-Series is a striking enough design. For as many stinkin' 3-Series that cut me off every day, whenever I see a 1 drive by, I do sneak a peek. The Clubman, on the other hand, is a bit awkward. I can't get past those weird barn doors in the back and the odd way that Mini has painted it--those rear pillars just stick out. Points to Mini for the hatchback design. Edmunds said they found the 128 to be a "solid usable machine" and maybe it is, but those rear seats looked cramped. Also, I really don't like trunks, especially on smaller cars--I pack my cars with gear and trunks trip me up. I love the multitude of options that Mini offers on its cars, but the latest Mini does border on silliness. The speedo the size of a dinner plate is just over the top, and the overly stylized controls have placed form way over function. The 128's cabin is a bit austere, even when you spice it up with red leather. The all important driving impressions would have to wait until I got time in both vehicles, but I'd wager the 128i would win.

For giggles, I built a 128i and Clubman S online and equipped them basically the way I'd buy them. The 128i clocked in at $35,470 and the Clubman S at $31,450. I wasn't impressed with either one of those numbers. Truth be told, for that kind of money I'm buying something else.


check out the full review here: 2008 BMW 128i vs. 2008 Mini Cooper S Clubman Comparison
photo source: the fantastic scott jacobs for edmunds

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Diesel Mini Will Be Sold Stateside, But Timeframe is Unknown

An Automotive News story discussing the shortage of Mini's in the USA also contained a tidbit about the diesel model. According to Jim McDowell, vice president of BMW's Mini division, a diesel powered Mini is coming to the United States but not before it can be sold in all 50 states. That's great news for Euro-minded buyers who have been snapping up Coopers like they were garlic fries at an SF Giants game. MMMMM...garlic fries. The Peugeot-Citroen supplied diesel engine is mated with stop/start technology called Efficient Dynamics to boost mileage even further.

Currently, BMW can't pump out enough cars as it is, so adding additional flavors has less of an urgency. The U.S. will see 2,000-3,000 more vehicles allotted thanks to the temporary half of convertible production while that model is switched to the new body style. BMW has said repeatedly that any major increase in production would be very costly and it hesitant to overproduce the car. Once the crossover production is started by Magna in Graz, Austria there will be more flexibility as Mini experiments with production outside of Britain.

source: automotive news

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Mini factory tour

When we visited London earlier this year, my wife and I took a side trip to Oxford to take the Mini factory tour. I made arrangements via e-mail and all they asked for was for three British pounds which went to a local charity. We took the Oxford Tube a bus service from Buckingham Palace Road to downtown Oxford (a lot cheaper than the train) and then a local bus out to the plant.

Before starting the tour we had to don orange jumpsuits. The tour is a complete one, unlike some plants where the body had already been assembled and painted.




Lot's of sparks on the assembly floor where all the welding is taking place. We didn't get to see the painting facility, but we did see a video about it. I thought it was interesting that they inject wax into some of the body cavities and then roll the car around to allow the wax to flow into all the crevices as rust proofing technique. The remaining assembly of the car is pretty straightforward with components being snapped into place by teams as the cars march down the line.

It's fairly quiet and very clean on the assembly line with parts being constantly being delivered by forklifts. A great chance to see all the various paint colors that are available. All that plus a free beverage vending machine in the waiting room (I love free vending machines). What's not to love?

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