Dec 23rd, 2003
As announced here several weeks ago the MINI Cooper S base price will be increasing by $450 dollars January 1st. From MINIUSA PR:
While MINI has only made minor pricing changes since its launch, the base price of the supercharged MINI Cooper S will increase by $450, effective January 1st 2004 to coincide with the beginning of January production.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the MINI Cooper will remain unchanged, maintaining its competitive price point of $16,999, including destination. The new MSRP for the MINI Cooper S will be $20,449, including destination. Pricing for available options and packages across the entire MINI range will remain the same.
Dec 23rd, 2003
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Well we all knew it was bound to happen. Today marks the first time that we can actually see the cosmetic changes to the '05 MINI range. These exclusive pics come straight from MINI2 and a big thanks should go out to Paul Mullet who made a big effort to bring them to us. I know he's been working on getting these for some time – thanks Paul!
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Our new exclusive leaked images show in more detail some of the changes that will come in for the convertible and upcoming 2005 revised MINI range, for which we expect, and have reported on, a range of cosmetic and engineering modifications.
A snapper in the US recently captured a long range shot of the new MINI, one thing that really grabbed people was the new Cooper bumper trim, however the image was a little unclear and this probably raised more questions than it answered. Well, we hope this answers those questions:
You couldn't see the rear of the new MINI in the photos that were shown previously, and of course, the tail end bumper will include modifications to echo those on the front of the car. As mentioned previously, the “chrome line” Classic Mini style bumper inserts are gone, and a new look will be offered instead. The other change, shown below, is the rear fog light mounted low and centre.
For those of you unfamiliar with our previous reports, you may wonder why the rear fog light has been moved to the centre? The reason is the new rear light clusters that will also come in to production next year.
Analysis
First off let it be said that these design changes are certainly very noticeable. One of the largest frontal changes seems to be the elimination of the chrome strips (which of course were an option) in favor of the smaller chrome strip that runs across the lower air intake. Further, and possibly in an effort to match the current level of chrome, the designers have chosen to outline the front foglights in chrome as well. I would assume this chrome will now be part of the “chrome line trim” package that is currently offered on the Cooper.
Also upfront we see the secondary lights are now more flush with the bumper and appear to be slightly larger than before. The lower black piece on the bumper now has a bit of contour to it where there was none before (actually reminding me of the upcoming 2005 M5). It, along with the shape of the lower grille, seems to lend itself to a more aggressive look.
Around back we see more design changes. First off, as Paul mentions in the MINI2 article the rear fogs move to where the reverse light had been previously. Further the light clusters are cleaned up a bit design wise and the yellow turn indicator lights have been reduced probably in an effort to follow current automotive fashion trends.
Interstingly the rear retains the small bumps on the back which will continue to be part of the chrome line trim option on the MC. The lower black portion seems to borrow some design cues from the current crop of BMW M cars (as does the lower front spoiler mentioned previously).
When you look at the changes for the first time you can't help but notice how the chrome has been used in different ways than before. In the past when chrome was used it was of course used on actual metal. But in this day in age of constant concern of the safety of pedestrians chrome and large amounts of metal (even in larger trucks) has all but disappeared. Because of that it seems as if designers have largely forgotten the real reasons for a surface like that of chrome. Surely chrome accents are easy to understand but the use of chrome on bumpers and bumper guards is lost on this car. Now of course the question is… is this a bad thing? I'm not sure I can answer that from these photos but it is interesting to note the changes in the design language of the car as it's heritage moves forward.
Overall I'd say these changes are interesting steps in a new direction. They are clean and modern. They don't extend the retro look yet they don't negate it either.
Dec 22nd, 2003
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After almost a year of speculation (and often fairly negative opinions) the 3-spoke steering wheel should start showing up in dealer showrooms over the next month worldwide. As reported earlier the wheel will be a no cost option on the premium package in the US or an option at the same price point as the standard two-spoke leather/MFSW.
This is the first of what will likely be several interior design changes coming over the next year – culminating in the 2005 MINI and MINI Cabriolet. These changes should first be seen officially at the Geneva Auto Show this spring if not before via leaked photos and spyshots.
Picture via Paul Mullet at MINI2
Dec 20th, 2003
Some of you CVT owners out there may remember a post awhile back regarding the retrofitting of the Euro spec CVT steering wheel paddles on a US spec CVT MINI. Well it looks like the retrofitting was a complete success:
I am happy to announce that the retrofit is a success! I know the picture of Mini paddles doesn't really excite the non-US Mini CVT drivers, but here it is: http://home.comcast.net/~paddle.shift/US_CVT_PaddleShiftretro.jpg
Here's the cooper I worked on: http://home.comcast.net/~paddle.shift/miniyellow.jpg
Thanks again for your help.
Vincent
You can read a review of a Canadian spec MINI with the paddles shifters here
Dec 20th, 2003
This bit of info came in recently from a reader of the site:
“Fantastic site, I've found lots of information here in the two months before I took delivery of my 2004 MINI last week. I recently installed the new XM Radio system, XMDirect with BMW/MINI Blitzsafe adapter included, and put up some pictures with simple directions. If it would be useful to anyone else in the MINI community, I'd love for it to be added to your How-To Guides section.
http://nickpresley.com/xm/
Thanks for providing such a great MINI resource on the web.”
Thanks for the info. I'll be adding this to the How to page shortly. As always if anyone else has any guides or how tos that they'd like to share use the contribute form above and I'll be happy to pass them along.
Dec 18th, 2003
MINIUSA is highlighting some great ways to (A) get together with other MINI owners and (B) help out your local community.
And the coolest part… they're utilizing a photo that was taken by a Chicago MINI Motoring Club member this past spring and digitally enhanced by your's truly. You can check out a larger version here. In fact you can even download this image as a desktop wallpaper in the wallpaper section of this site in a variety of sizes. And if you still can't get enough you can see the entire set of photos from this even here (keep in mind this was suppose to a “spring” event!)
You can check out the MINIUSA “Make a Difference” website here.
Dec 17th, 2003
This bit of info came directly from MINIUSA was posted on North American Motoring. It's actually in regards to a (rather odd) rumor that MINIUSA was going to release something similar to a JCW kit for the CVT Cooper.
So according to MINIUSA here's the reasoning why the US will never see the John Cooper Works kit for the MINI Cooper:
- It doesn't make economic sense to bring the JCW COOPER kit to the U.S.
- The cost of the JCW COOPER kit (without installation) would be nearly as much as the $3000 price difference to get the COOPER S, while producing significantly less power than a COOPER S (COOPER = 115 HP, JCW COOPER = 130 HP, COOPER S = 163 HP)
- The JCW COOPER kit does not work on the CVT.
For those that don't know much about the John Cooper Work tuning kit for the Cooper here's a bit of information from their site: (PDF)
None of this is really new information, and I think it's been assumed for some time by most of us, but it's nice to see it come directly from MINIUSA. A big thanks to Mark Ferguson at NAM for getting this info from the source.
