Archive for June 2004
Jun 30th, 2004
From the BBC:
In recent weeks, the company has taken some of its colleagues on nights out at comedy clubs, or lent them cars for the weekend.
They are all being rewarded for their ideas which have helped transform the fortunes of this plant.
All employees at Cowley – or as BMW has renamed it, Plant Oxford – now have to come up with three ideas a year on how to improve the production process.
In the last year their suggestions have produced cost-savings of more than £11m.
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Jun 30th, 2004
For the first time you can actually see all the new colors on both cars:
Cooper / Cooper S
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Jun 29th, 2004
The MINI Convertible is here. Instead of the usual write-up everyone seems to be doing (and we already did back in early April) we're going to instead focus on some of the changes and additions that are less talked about.
- Everyone seems to take photos of the convertible with the top up or down. Here are a few in “sunroof” mode: 1 / 2 / 3
- According to the initial MINI PR release about the new convertible there was to be rear LED lights. Well I've seen quite a few convertibles in the past 3 months and all of them including the US spec one I saw today did not have rear LED lights. I'm not sure why the spec changed but there certainly seems to have been a change. You can read an excerpt of the original PR release here.
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Jun 29th, 2004
You may want to file this under rumor: AutoExpress is reporting that the next generation MINI may have a clip-on roof that would help with production times. Here's an excerpt:
The Oxford factory is already working flat-out to try to keep up with customer demand, but it can only make 180,000 models a year. It's the plant's paintshop which is being blamed for slowing the manufacturing process down, and Auto Express can reveal that it's the number of orders for colour-contrasting roofs which is causing the logjam.
A senior BMW boss admitted that painting the main body of the car and the roof different colours was causing a serious problem, and that a plastic coating – which could be clipped to MINI's distinctive roof gutter while the car rolls down the production line – might be the best solution.
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Jun 28th, 2004
MotoringFile is happy to introduce Ask an Motoring Advisor or Ask an MA today. The idea is to help those that have questions about the purchase, spec, or just about anything else regarding the MINI get some answers.
Our trusty MA works at a large MINI dealership and is well versed in all things MINI.
Here's how it works. Post the questions in the comments section below that you'd like to see answered. Then in several days we'll post the questions chosen and the subsequent answers. Questions will be chosen by the MA and not all are guaranteed to be chosen as I'm sure there will be some redundancies.
The Motoring Advisor responsible for the answers will remain anonymous but rest assured – he/she is a real MA!
So… ask away!
Note: While our MA may try to answer some service related questions he/she would in no way, be an authority on the those topics. Questions that a Motoring Advisor can easily answer would be things such as spec questions, release dates, and pricing to name just a few. Also Our MA can't look up details on specific production numbers or VINs.
UPDATE: We have closed this edition of Ask an MA. Answers to selected questions will be posted Monday. Don't worry if you didn't get your question in on time – we'll be doing this again soon!
Jun 28th, 2004
For those who have purchased or are looking into the purchase of the MINI FINI Sport Link system and have been searching for install instructions – look no further! We've got the official PDFs for both the base system and the bike holder. You can find them in the How To section of Motoringfile under “Exterior Mods”.
FYI – we've also changed the look of the “How To” page. Check it out when you have a chance. It's a bit of a preview of what's to come…
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Jun 27th, 2004
A while back Ian Cull posted short article on his MINI blog
about a recent purchase of the original Rover press release about the MINI Spiritual concept. It got me wondering how many of today’s owners know the rather turbulent and interesting history of the MINI in the 1990’s. That turbulence is reflected in the three concepts that BMW and Rover built in the mid 90’s and the design process that surrounded them.
Various government backed companies that manufactured the Mini through the years were less than successful on the business side of things. In fact British Leyland, Rover, etc tried to kill the Mini more than once (first to avoid converting the engine to run on unleaded, then to avoid increasing safety requirements) but English public opinion was too negative. So when BMW bought Rover and the Mini there was quite a bit of hope for the future.
Development on some of these concepts took place independent of BMW which was also creating what would eventually become the E50
and then the R50 – the new MINI. Here’s an excerpt from Robson’s “New
MINI” that details some of this time period:
“Even as early as 1994, designers on both sides of the
channel dusted off their sketches of Mini-sized cars and started
turning them into models, both scale and full size. Though neither knew
that the other was running rival projects, Fave Saddington looked after
MINI work at Gaydon, while Frank Stephenson ( an American citizen with
much experience at GM and Ford before he joined BMW in 1991) forged
ahead in Munich.
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Jun 25th, 2004
Newmini-technik.de has a video of the new “gatling gun” Xenon lights in action. For those that like already like them – you'll probably like them more. For those you don't… you won;t. You can check it out: here (4.5 megs).
<
p>For those that haven't been following the changes to the 2005 the new xenon lights offer several advantages. First off they have what MINI refers to as automatic range control (a new self leveling system perhaps?). Secondly they have an additional ring of spots that “give the car another sign of distinction.” And finally they have the natural advantages of HID.
You can see more of the lights in our 2005 lighting gallery.
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Jun 24th, 2004
Autoweek has a preview of everyone's favorite new little BMW that isn't coming to the US – the 1 series. The article is an interesting read – especially with the 1 series sharing so many components and technologies with the next generation MINI. For instance here are some of the more noteworthy mentions that may relate to the next MINI in some way:
As on some other BMW family cars, including the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, a computer-chipped key fob for the 1 Series inserts into a slot in the dash. The car's software allows for four different user settings and each set of parameters is stored on its individual fob. Starting and switching off the car happens via a start/stop button on the center dash, which is slick for this segment. Also mimicking other family members, the fob doesn't even need to be inserted at all because the comfort access sensor within the fob can activate everything to your liking as you approach the car. Just press the button.
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Jun 24th, 2004
Here's a look at a few of the more interesting ads seen in Germany: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
MINI should be debuting a commercial (at least outside the US) that follows along the themes of the first ad above. The US advertising blitz should start in the next few months. BTW for those that aren't handy with German (or their Google language tools) “Immer Offen” means “Always Open”
Jun 23rd, 2004
Since we ran this story (originally titled “Production Shortage at Oxford?”) I've recently been informed that there is no parts shortage at the MINI plant in Oxford. Good thing to becuase that title was really nice to delete! The plant in Oxford typically seems to run like a well oiled machine so any type of shortage would be a bit out of the ordinary. That being said there seems to be some shortages in the allotments of the 2005 Cooper at some US dealerships. Here's some insight from someone at one of these dealers:
” We were one of the top 10 dealers in the country last year, so our allocations have been pretty big (we got almost 40 Coopers for June production), but we were only allocated 5 Coopers for July (first run of \'05\'s) and 0! for August.
Of course we only got 12 MCS's for August production and 5 each of the convertibles, so things are tight all over.
<
p>Update: We've got word from a source on the other side of the pond on the real issues at play here:
The normal allocations are lower for 'stock' vehicles due to the change from 04 to 05 spec and the introduction of Cabrio, which effectively soaks up 30% of what would have been pure hatchback cars. Demand for Cabrio has gone ballistic, so something has to give, that coupled with 05 change over means
that waiting times will inevitably increase for a while until things settle
down again. That said 'and off the record' we're looking at ways to increase
production still further.
So there you have it! Now go out and order your 2005 MINIs!
Jun 23rd, 2004
Yet more on that iPod integration everyone seems crazy about these days (via Maccentral):
“We are beginning a really big push into a world we all spend a lot of time in — our cars,” Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, told MacCentral. “So many people invest in great cars that have great stereos, but one thing they don't have is access to their music library. Now you can put your iPod in your BMW or MINI and have all of your music everywhere you go.”
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Jun 22nd, 2004
Update: Just got this from someone at MINI:
Looks like the chrome restrictions have been lifted. The supplier has come through with sufficant quantity. Option 405 & 346 are now available.
Previous article:
Here's an excerpt that appears to be from an internal MINIUSA document just released regarding some newly placed ordering restrictions for the 2005 MINI:
Mini Product Planning & Strategy Dealer Bullitin: 2005 Option Restrictions
The 2005 Model year is off to a great start. Lets keep it going.
In particular, demand for the 346-Chrome Line Exterior and 405-Chrome Mirror Caps (and Hinges) has been very high.
To ensure the volumes and quality can be maintained during the MY05, both of these items will be restricted. Please do not order these items until further notice. This applies to all vehicles.
This will help balance supply issues and help you set the proper customer expectation.
It's not clear what the time frame of this restriction is or if it's US only or worldwide.
Jun 22nd, 2004
While the convertible hasn't been released yet there are a handful on US roads as we speak. Here's an email from a reader who encountered one:
Heads' Up on the new new Mini Cabrio!!! I live in Schaumburg and was driving home from work on Roselle Rd yesterday. I saw a new BRG Mini Cabrio w/the roof down and Cordoba Beige interior!!! I didn't think these were going to get to the dealer until later in the summer.
We were driving in opposite directions (in traffic of course) so I didn't get a close-up of it. However I did honk and got an
acknowledging “wave” from the driver. It was definitely a dealer
demo car (had the dealer plates on it and the driver looked like a car salesman i.e. – decked out in white shirt and tie)
Happy Motoring…..
Chris
I believe I know who that was actually as there's a BMW Corporate facility in Schaumburg. In fact that will probably be the car that will be making the rounds making the rounds at the local Chicago dealers later this month and in July.
Jun 21st, 2004
Yes that also includes a MINI version. As mentioned in Sunday's article the MINI kit retails for $149 (I/F kit, part no. 65 11 0 392 139) and will be released “later in the summer” (the BMW version will be released July 12th).
It looks like all the speculation regarding the unit's functionality was indeed correct. That being said it seems to make a little more sense when you see it in use on the site. You can check it out in use in the new commercial just posted on Apple's site and you can check out a demo at iPodYourBMW.com.
Here's all the official press release from BMW:
Apple and BMW Group today announced the debut of the BMW iPod Adapter, the world's first seamless integration between iPod and a vehicle audio system. The new system developed by Apple and BMW, allows users to incorporate their iPods directly into their car's sound system, enabling them to connect with music in their automobiles like never before. Now, iPod enthusiasts can bring their entire music collections with them, plug directly and effortlessly into a superior sound system while maintaining uncompromised control over their driving experience. The BMW 3 Series, Z4 Roadster, X3 and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and MINI customers will be able to enjoy the new BMW iPod Adapter.
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