Archive for May 2004
May 31st, 2004
As some long time MotoringFile readers may know MINI's next generation car (the R56) is due to be introduced in the next 2-3 years. There have been rumors in the past that this next MINI will be a car designed to cost BMW less and in turn make more money as opposed to the current car which by most accounts is over engineered considering the price range it occupies. In fact we covered some of this very speculation over a year ago. Of course the extent of the cost savings is unknown and it may simply be components that we can't see or feel that have no bearing on overall quality of the car. We probably won't know details until the cars make their way out of the plant and into our hands.
The Irish Examiner has some further info about the next generation car in a recent article. While the article is vague in nature, what it hints at is interesting. Here's an excerpt:
German car giant BMW is planning to replace its successful British-built Mini with a new, cheaper-to-make model.
The company, which makes the Mini at Cowley near Oxford, has drawn up plans for a version of the car with a less ambitious design, according to a report.
The Munich-based car maker has decided the high specification of the Mini and its relatively low market price has limited its profitability, the report in the Sunday Times said.
The new model, which will not be available for at least three to four years, will have cheaper components and will be offered with a wider range of body types including a five-door estate.
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May 28th, 2004
Judging the emails we've been getting lately at MotoringFile it seems everyone is either buying a 2005 MINI or in a desperate need to at least play with the 2005 MINI configuator. So after some digging here is what we've learned about it's release date on MINIUSA.com. Apparently it was set to launch around Sept 1 which generally is the new model year timeframe, however due to the changed timeframe for 2005 it will unfortunately debut quite a while after production commences on July 1. That being said those behind MINIUSA are hard at work and pulling out all stops for a late mid/summer debut for the 2005 configurator. To quote an inside source: “we're cooking up some pretty cool features”.
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May 28th, 2004
The web can be a very is a powerful tool to get a point across - especially on a grass roots level. Back in December of 2002 I posted something on my personal weblog comparing the complete failure of the F150 in a recent crash test and how it compared to the just released ranking of the new MINI. I had always heard the (at the time current) F150 had horrible crash test ratings but never really took a look at the pictures. When I did I was so taken a back that I figured I had to let others know about this. Of course this was about the same time the IISH released crash testing data on the MINI. Well the lightbulb went on - what better way to demonstrate the failure of the Ford F150 than to compare it to the success of the MINI!
Over the course of a year and a half that single post has garnered more attention than all the rest of my personal blog combined. And lately the hit level has gone through the roof due to hundreds of weblogs linking to it. So I figured it was finally time to post about it on MotoringFile.
So here it is: Crash Testing: MINI Cooper vs Ford F150. BTW the comments are really fascinating. Enjoy.
May 27th, 2004
While the article is nothing more than a preview of a preview really it does have a full page full of specs that may be news to some. Here's an excerpt:
It's hardly a surprise that Mini has a new droptop version of the Mini Cooper, as we started seeing spy pictures, snapped during cold-weather testing in Scandinavia, more than a year ago. And we knew that Mini was determined not to wait as long as Volkswagen and Chrysler, which belatedly brought out convertible versions of their own boutique small cars, the New Beetle and PT Cruiser, respectively. The Mini brand has been a great success for BMW both in Europe and the United States, and Mini needs to keep the momentum going.
You can check out the cabrio's full specs from the article here. By the way you'll have to fire up the old metric conversion program if you want to see numbers in pounds and inches.
The full article (along with other US magazine previews) should hit newsstands in early June.
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May 27th, 2004
The past week at MotoringFile has been an incredibly busy one. We've managed to get a hold of two internal MINI documents describing plans for the 2005 MY, seen a detailed write-up on the inner workings of MINI's consumer research and learned the truth about some MINI robots among other things. Here are some of the highlights:
May 26th, 2004
Reading the this months EVO I was struck by their first take of BMW's new 1 series including an actual driving review. However it was a quick mention of something that got me thinking:
“Upfront, there's plenty of storage space and a central console with an iPod input plug for the stereo.”
While this is the first I've read of a feature like this specific to the 1 series (it's not even in the brochure) it has been mentioned for the next generation 3 series. Here's a quote from a recent Autospies scoop regarding the new 3 series:
“Audio system will finally have a CD/MP3 capable playback and an interface connection to iPod-like devices… we're even hearing rumblings out of the Palo Alto Technology office regarding a potential deal in the works with Apple.”
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May 25th, 2004
No idea how we missed this but the New York Times recently dove into the world the “Men of Metal” with an article describing how the marketing campaign was created. While discerning readers of MotoringFile have known that the campaign was indeed a campaign, it apparently fooled quite a few out there. But even more interesting are the ideas proposed by the 2 Walls Webzine about the exact conclusion to the campaign. But we'll get to this later. First here's an excerpt from the NYT article:
The truth is out there about Mini Cooper car parts being used to build humanlike robots. But do you really believe everything you read?
The mischievous folks at Crispin Porter & Bogusky in Miami certainly hope so. They have concocted an elaborate advertising campaign disguised as a debate over whether a British engineer has built robots out of Mini car parts - or not.
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May 24th, 2004
Here's an update on the MINIs On Top event for 2004 (via Ian Cull).
The premier North East USA MINI event is coming up fast - MINIsOnTop is set for June 19, 2004 and currently more than 120 MINIs have signed up to attend!
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May 24th, 2004
In the third of our “Spotlight” series we'll be featuring Ryan Malcolm or Ryephile as he's known on various MINI forums. Some of you may remember Ryan from his work with MINIUSA in helping them identity a solution to the “yo-yo” issue that has plagued the Cooper S.
So without delay let's hear about Ryan's MINI experience:
My MINI experience began at the MINI’s debut into the U.S. at the ‘02 NAIAS. Their display was quite a departure from everyone else’s; colorful lighting, a DJ mixing live, and the cars had lines to sit in them! While I was aware of the Mini history, I was unsure this brand resurrection was the real-deal or just a marketing ploy.
Fast forward to late 2003. I was now in the market for a new car. My ole’ 325i was getting dangerously expensive to maintain, and I was looking for something more hands-off in terms of maintenance. My goal was simple: it must feel and handle better than my //M suspension equipped 3-er. This turned out to be quite a challenge, and only one car met my goals; the Honda S2000. This was, until…
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May 23rd, 2004
This news comes from frequent contributor Lee Johnson:
I finally got around to the business section of today's NY Times and in the “Openers” section on page 2 there is a brief comparing the MINI and the Hummer under the headline Goliath Stumbles, But David Keeps Humming Along. Here's the text:
“A decade ago, after another Iraq war, one Arnold Schwarzenegger spied a hulking military vehicle and decided it was the chariot for him. The seeds of the Hummer craze were sown, blossoming when the Hummer H2 military chic for the leather-seat-and-cupholder set appeared in 2002.”
“That same year, in a parallel automotive universe, BMW was thinking far smaller, introducing its retooled Mini to American drivers.”
“Both cars were hits, and the Mini the ultimate anti-S.U.V., at least until the even more minuscule Smart Car arrives on these shores still is. But whether it's because of war weariness, surging gas prices or drivers fed up with righteous glares from Mini drivers, the Hummer is fading. Sales have dropped for eight consecutive months. Now, in fact, dealers offer rebates, though the Terminator would surely wince at the word.”
So keep up those righteous glares: It's working!
Lee
May 23rd, 2004
From JCW Press
Building upon the popularity in the UK of the John Cooper Challenge, a brand new MINI / John Cooper Motorsport-backed one make racing series has been launched in Germany, called the MINI Challenge.
Comprising seven race weekends at some of Europe’s premier motor sport events and venues, the MINI Challenge looks set to emulate the fun and full grids formula of the John Cooper Challenge. The series will make a prestigious debut alongside the German Touring Car Masters (DTM), at the Eurospeedway in Lausitz, before providing a curtain raiser attraction for crowds at the Nurburgring 24Hrs race. Later in the season the race-prepared MINI Coopers will line up as part of the Formula One race weekend at Spa, and then grace the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) at Oschersleben in September.
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May 23rd, 2004
As I'm sure you've discovered by now, keeping up with all the conversations on your favorite weblogs can be nearly impossible. In order to help you keep track of what's going on here, the site is now generating an RSS feed of all the comments from the last seven days. Any feedback from those who subscribe to the feed would be appreciated.
If you're not quite sure what I'm talking about, this post should clear things up.
May 23rd, 2004
From JCW PR:
Following the team's debut entry in last year's Nurburgring 24 Hrs race, John Cooper Motorsport is back for more, with a two-car entry for 2004's epic on June 12/13. Demonstrating the team's increased ambition, they have signed the hugely experienced Touring Car and Endurance racing ace, Roberto Ravaglia to spearhead the effort.
The 47-year old Italian, now principal of the Ravaglia Motorsport ETCC team, has previously won the Spa-Francorchamps 24 hrs race, finished third at Le Mans and is a former World, European, German and Italian Touring Car Champion.
Ravaglia heads up a team of six drivers, under the charge of two team managers, with Mike Cooper acting as overall team principal.
It is not just the talent that has undergone an overhaul since last year; the MINI Cooper S Works has been considerably enhanced too, with the 200bhp engine being stepped up to a far more powerful fire-breathing unit. The engine has so far stood up well to some intense testing carried out by Coopers.
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May 23rd, 2004
Here's something that arrived in the MotoringFile mailbox the other day that we thought it best to pass it along directly to our readers:
I am writing an interior and exterior modification feature on the New Mini for MiniWorld magazine (UK). I'm trying to collect digital photos of internal and external modifications owners have fitted. Could I post a request on your website asking for high resolution images from owners of New Minis featuring modifications they have fitted (or had fitted) including who supplied the parts and how much they cost?
You can send your photos and info directly to the author at rhpress@hotmail.com.
May 21st, 2004
We recently received a very detailed technical brief from John Ewald that explain in detail the functions and capabilities of the MINI CVT gearbox. The PDF weighs in at 31 pages and 1.4Mb in file size. You can download it here. The following is an introduction:
An enthusiast community is growing up around the CVT-equipped cars. There is natural curiosity about how each of the onboard components integrate with others in the MINI Cooper CVT, and interest in how each the devices actually function in the cars.
With cooperation from ZF Getriebe N.V. Sint-Truiden (Belgium) we have this
very good mechanical description of the Continuously Variable Transmission
now available.
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