May 14th, 2008
Brian Cooley from CNet Car Tech takes his turn with the MINI Clubman S. It’s an interesting review to say the least.
Of course he doesn’t like the rear pillar or the Club door. Also, it would seem he isn’t a huge fan of the Automatic Transmission either.
It’s a great way to spend 3 1/2 minutes if you don’t have anything to do. If you are a fan of the 1 Series, he does a pretty good review of that as well immediately following the Clubman review.
Thanks everyone for sending this in!
[ 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman S Review ] Cnettv.com
May 13th, 2008
A few weeks ago we talked about timelines and general information on the JCW cars. This week we’ve got the final (and official) ordering guides from MINI USA. You can grab them below.
+ MINI USA JCW Ordering Guide / MINI USA Official PDF
For more information check out our previous story on all things JCW and MINI USA related.
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May 12th, 2008
To start, get used to hearing the reminder about MTTS, coming up in just a few weeks! Don’t forget to register.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for a new badge from Motoringbadges.com. The ‘I’m the Stig’ badge is very cool and it’s the next one coming!
So, live again tonight, sans Gabe. So Todd and I spent some time talking about electric cars. Of course we’d love to hear your thoughts about electric cars as well!
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May 12th, 2008
This one sent in by MF regular Nathaniel Salzman. It’s a great way to get iPhone integration in your MINI without breaking the bank!
MINI iPhone integration: The Shure Music Phone Adaptor
The topic of iPod integration in the MINI is nothing new on MotoringFile. Options abound for getting your music through the speakers of your MINI’s stereo. With everything from integrated factory and ICE-LINK adaptors, to factory AUX port adaptors, to head-unit replacement. Each option has its inherent advantages of function and integration, and disadvantages of sound quality, chord management, or price.
Another common topic is that of mobile phone integration, particularly BlueTooth solutions both OEM and after market. Like with iPod integration, the available solutions vary in cost, compatibility, and function.
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May 11th, 2008
Live again, audio only since I wasn’t wearing pants. Also, we got Gabe for tonight, but he was too wiped out to keep going, so tomorrow it’s just Todd and myself.
If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to register for MTTS! Remember, if you don’t register you won’t get the free bag of swag! And, if you are going to LA, come by and look us up. We will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary!
To those of you that have offered to run the WRR myspace page, I will be getting back to you later this week. Thanks!
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May 9th, 2008
Sure the price of gas is going through the roof with no relief in site. But, if you are really a MINI person, trust me when I say this is an event you are not going to want to miss!
If MTTS this year is half as cool as MINI United was last year, it’s going to be awesome! Check out the MTTS site to get the lowdown on all of the events that will be going on. Don’t forget to subscribe via RSS or email to get those updates as they happen! Of course, the games and activities are cool to be sure, but the real reason you’re going is for the MINIs and the people. If you have never experienced a large scale MINI event, you will be in for a treat!
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May 9th, 2008
Official BMW Press Release: Munich / Stuttgart. With six awards for five engines gained at this year’s “International Engine of the Year Awards”, BMW has successfully defended its position as the world’s leading manufacturer of efficient high-performance power units. For the second time in succession, the 3-litre straight six engine with Twin Turbo and High Precision Injection has won the overall ranking in this most significant international engine competition. The 225 kW/306 bhp engine employed in the BMW 3 Series, the BMW 1 Series Coupe and Convertible, as well as in the new BMW X6, also has repeated last year’s victory in the 2.5 to 3-litre engine category. continued →
May 8th, 2008
That’s right, going for 3 in a row. Todd and I will be doing the Woofcast live tonight via uStream.tv.
Thanks again to everyone for stopping by and listening along! If you missed it, don’t worry, this is getting very easy for us to do and we will doing it more often than not in the future.
Check back at 9PM CST (7PST, 10EST, 8MTN, 4HST, 03GMT) for all the action. Last time we did this at night we had over 50 people. Lets try to break that tonight!
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May 8th, 2008
Official BMW Press Release: Sales of the MINI brand continued to be very positive. In the month just past, 21,463 MINI were delivered to customers, 17.5% more than in April 2007 (18,264). For the year to April, 79,680 MINI were sold, which represents an increase of 22.1% (prev.yr.: 65,244). continued →
May 8th, 2008
A great article via the Paper of record. It would seem that those SUV drivers are really getting tired of having to swipe their credit cards twice to fill up their tanks.
In what industry analysts are calling a first, about one in five vehicles sold in the United States was a compact or subcompact car during April, based on monthly sales data released Thursday. Almost a decade ago, when sport utility vehicles were at their peak of popularity, only one in every eight vehicles sold was a small car.
Amazing stats. Oh, but there’s more.
Sales of Toyota’s subcompact Yaris increased 46 percent, and Honda’s tiny Fit had a record month. Ford’s compact Focus model jumped 32 percent in April from a year earlier. All those models are rated at more than 30 miles per gallon for highway driving.
Not to mention MINIUSA Sales up almost 40% for April.
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May 7th, 2008
You have to give it to the good lads over at Jalopnik. Besides being huge fans of the Chevy El Camino, they also find some of the coolest stuff you’ll ever see on a car. Case in point, this race-prepped Mini.
Here are things we know about this racing Mini from Japan: mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, gigantic wheels, Honda B18c engine. We’re not sure what compelled this individual to take the original Mini platform and flip it on its head, but we’d like to see this thing take on a Renault R5 powered by an SR2ODE motor for some reason. Clearly, what the Mini has been missing all this time is Integra Type-R power.
I’ve seen this done with a MINI (mid-engine BMW 6), but not in a Classic. Crazy.
[ Japanese Mini Cooper Does Everything Backwards ] Jalopnik.com
May 6th, 2008
As we indicated on BimmerFile a few days ago (we sat on it for a while as per a request from a source) BMW would be utilizing engines similar to the four cylinder turbo specifically utilized in the John Cooper Works MINI Cooper S. Today it was all made official:
(Official Press Release) Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. will use the four-cylinder engines it has jointly developed with French carmaker PSA in BMW brand cars, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said in a pre-release of his interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He said the future generation of the BMW 1 Series will be fitted with these four-cylinder engines.
The report said BMW had previously intended to use these engines only in the MINI brand cars.
Reithofer also disclosed the new generation of the BMW 7-Series, which will be launched this year, will be fitted with a new hybrid engine.
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May 6th, 2008
MINI will be launching a new connection aimed directly at the iPhone and other smartphones for 2009. The option (code named 6NF) will be available on September ‘08 builds. It will connect a smartphone using the phone’s digital USB port for the connection, instead of an analog connection like that MINI currently offers with the 6NE Comfort Bluetooth. This provides quicker response time and offers clearer sound when playing MP3s.
Of course one thing to keep in mind is the armrest is mandatory for this option due to the connection (which as you guessed it is in the armrest). You’ll also need to purchase a separate snap-in adapter from MINI for your specific phone. And yes we are told MINI is planning to expand supported phones for 2009 - the iPhone obviously being one of them.
May 6th, 2008
If you haven’t noticed we tend to review new MINIs and BMWs in two phases. The first is at the press launch where we’re invited to drive the cars on predetermined roads and in some cases tracks. While this opportunity is a great way to allow a first drive in the cars before their release, it’s often not enough time to thoroughly review it. Hence the second phase where we get a car for a week for a full test. That means we commute in it, head for the twisties in it and about anything else you can imagine to give us the best information possible for a review.
Last year’s test of the then new r56 on the Dragon was an ideal way to get to know the car and to form some long lasting opinions on it. This year we’ll be testing the Clubman MCS in slightly different circumstances. It’ll be a road trip around the midwest with two to three people with luggage and open road. continued →
May 5th, 2008
Another from our live outing last Saturday. Before getting into talking about MPG and the JCW MINI we had a little Cinco de Mayo Celebration. It was fun if you missed it.
If you did miss the live outing because I forgot to post it the day before, you could always follow me on Twitter. I post that kind of thing there all the time.
Also, some requests out the WRR Audience. Looking for someone to run the WRR MySpace Page and, if you fancy yourself a writer and would like to write a review of a product that you have used to share with the MF audience, let us know.
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