I've also posted a note on MINI2 and NAM about the group buy and asked that interested folks post on the respective forums. We'll see what happens.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1120576#post1120576

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?p=402046#post402046

You're the man! :-)

I'm definitely interested in one (but you already knew that).

– The Office Maven

Reading your comments in this section I'm thinking about setting up another group buy :) !. This time I'll do the full work by myself in order to speed up shipping a little bit cause my dealer really reached his limit with all those armrestorders (by the way: 50 out of 70 have been posted so far! that's what i was told today)!. I will contact BMW tomorrow in order to figure out some prices for the camera. Therefore I need some feedback though!. How many of you guys would like to have one of these cameras ?.

Take care

Alex (who hopes that everyone gets his/her armrest these days :) )

For those of you who are interested…

StevePSB over on http://www.mini2.com was kind enough to find out the following information for me on the retrofit kit's part numbers:

The first part number you quote is listed as 'Reversing camera retrofit kit' and the second part number is listed as 'Retrofit kit extras', and it looks like you need both. This is rear only.

66 21 0 392 370 – £269.09 +VAT – Part on hold, not yet available 66 21 0 303 085 – £156.60 +VAT – Available to order from Germany

For front it looks like you need one camera

66 21 0 392 371 – Unknown price, not yet available

and another of the extras kits as above.

That's the best as I can interpret it ATM. The fact that they're not available yet means that a dealer can't order the parts ATM.

Thus, it appears that the “switchbox” (and possibly the “handle seal strip”) is part of the “Retrofit kit extras” package (although I'm not positive). However, it's strange that the “Retrofit kit extras” component is available in Germany, but the main “Reversing camera retrofit kit” isn't. Weird…

There is not a safety substiture for airbags. As far as monitors go, if you remember in driver's education, you are suppose to walk around the car and look for any obstructions prior to backing the car out. If semi drivers and Hummer drivers can back out without killing people, I think Mini drivers can probably do the same thing.

I still think it is cool, don't get me wrong, but from a pure level of safety, I don't think it is the best money spent. But to each his own.

I see the benefits of these gizmos in cars with terrible visibility out the back or whose exterior dimensions pose a threat to any living creature.

In fact, I think you increase your chances of hitting something by trying to look at the screen rather than having your eyes look out the back window.

Just an opinion, so to each thier own.

When you try to think about or criticize something, try to envision the argument from all angles.

I can see the camera being of better use in the convertible version which has horrible rearward vision with the top up, but the hardtop MINI???

If you are a sucker for gizmos, maybe this toy will do the trick to “impress your friends”, but if you need a camera everytime you go in reverse, probably you need to revisit your driving skills and learn to use the side mirrors (And turn your head back) when backing up.

The nice part is that the retrofit system does NOT require recoding by the dealer.

BTW, here are the part numbers listed in the PDF for those that don't want to bother downloading it:

66 21 0 392 370 66 21 0 303 085

Although, as stated in the PDF, the switchbox (i.e. part Q) is not included.

I hope this is made available in the U.S., but if it's not, maybe we can get someone in Europe (like Alex) to do a group buy on it for us. :-) I'd love to have this functionality in my MINI. I was really surprised that MINI didn't already offer it as an option with the navigation system as it's much nicer than the parking distance control they offer now in my opinion (and many other car manufacturers are already offering such a feature in the U.S. – My neighbor has one in her Infinity Q35 and it's great).

Also, if it is going to be available in the U.S., I wonder what the cost will be for the retrofit kit?

BTW, how come the switchbox kit isn't included as it looks like it's an important part? Also, why are two part numbers given in the PDF for the kit? What's the difference?