Sections: Site News Dec 30th, 2005 24 Comments 
With the door about to close on 2005 I thought it might a good time to take a look back. As you can expect it’s been a ton of fun covering the MINI world on Motoringfile this year. We’ve hosted our fair share of scoops and lively discussions throughout 2005.
Sections: Awards, Official News Dec 29th, 2005 5 Comments Here is the official press release from MINI USA on the recent strategic resale award that we reported on last week:
Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) has awarded MINI a top spot in their annual 2006 Residual Value Awards for the fourth year in a row. With the highest projected resale value in the compact car segment, the 2006 MINI Cooper is predicted to retain 62% percent of its value at the end of a 36-month lease according to the ALG November/December 2005 Residuals Percentage Guide.
Sections: In the Press, R56 Dec 28th, 2005 13 Comments We expect quite a few subtle improvements with music and mobile phone integration over the years with the next MINI. However we’ve never really heard of specifics until a recent Autoweek article. Here’s the excerpt of interest:
BMW spokesman Frank Schloeder says the carmaker’s target is to have a standard USB port so that all MP3 players can be used in the car.
He said future generations of BMW’s cars will offer the feature, but he couldn’t reveal when.
Sections: Podcast Dec 27th, 2005 15 Comments 
Whiteroofradio is back this week with our last show for 2005. This week we critic the new US based MINI magazine content and design and find some room for improvement. We also touch on various news stories for the week that was, and why drive through beer is just plain wrong. Apologies to all those who enjoy the hour plus podcasts. With the holidays upon us (and me podcasting from somewhere deep within the Wisconsin countryside) it’s a bit shorter than some of our previous shows. You can grab the show below:
Subscribe | Show Notes | iTunes Link | MP3 Link (23Mb)
Sections: In the Press Dec 27th, 2005 20 Comments 
The Unofficial Austin-Rover Web Resource takes the new Radford MINI out for a spirited drive and gives us the first review of the £30,000+ coachbuilt car. Here’s an excerpt:
To look at, you might struggle justifying the expense — yes, the black paint job looks a million dollars contrasting the additional chrome trim beautifully, and the body kit is subtle, but aggressive.
Sections: Best of the Web, MF Feature Dec 26th, 2005 9 Comments For those who are new to winter driving (or in need of a refresher like many of us) MINI Canada has an entertaining and even educational portion of their website dedicated to the right and wrong ways to tackle winter driving. There's lots to take in, from slick flash animations to full driving videos. Now all that's needed for you to enjoy the finer points of winter driving are some snow covered roads and a hefty dose of the e-brake.
Sections: MF Feature Dec 24th, 2005 11 Comments ‘Tis the season for the MotoringFile HQ to go a little quiet over the next couple of days. But don’t worry, we’ve got a few classics lined up for you that are sure to entertain. So on with the seasonal content and re-runs!
Sections: R56 Dec 24th, 2005 29 Comments 
We’ve got a little stocking stuffer for you today. Another clear shot of the next generation Cooper S doing some final shake-down tests at the Nurburgring in Germany. The image comes courtesy of MF reader Jordan and looks to have been taken earlier this fall.
Sections: MF Feature, R55 Dec 23rd, 2005 9 Comments Last month MotoringFile exclusively revealed that BMW was planning a third Traveller concept based on the forthcoming next generation MINI. This time the concept will make it’s world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Sections: Awards Dec 23rd, 2005 9 Comments For the fourth year in a row the MINI has earned the highest projected resale value in the compact car segment from ALG.
BMW of North America, LLC has once again made a strong showing by winning the Luxury Brand Residual Value Award for the third consecutive year. MINI USA, a division of BMW of North America, has also won the Compact Car Segment for the MINI Cooper for the fourth time.
You can find the entire list below
[ ALG Residual Value Awards ] ALG
Sections: In the Press, Marketing Dec 22nd, 2005 9 Comments Today’s San Francisco Chronicle features a story on the recent three way competition to fill the gap left when the Crispin Porter + Bogusky ad agency left MINIUSA to take on the much larger Volkswagen of America account. The competition lead to the selection of Butler, Shine, Stern, & Partners by MINIUSA to help shape the future branding of MINI.
What follows are some brief excerpts from the article that give some hints as to the general direction that Butler, Shine may take with MINI’s advertising and branding in the U.S..
“It is basically about the evangelical community of owners (of Minis) and creating technological platforms that recognize those owners and allows them to do what they do — which is be evangelical about the brand,” Stern said. He said the agency’s pitch to the company was titled “Evolving the Mini brand without screwing it up.”
Sections: JCW, Motorsports Dec 22nd, 2005 11 Comments 
The JCW Challenge has now become the “MINI Challenge”. Earlier this year Mike Cooper sold the rights of the racing series in the UK to a company called Total Track Ltd.. As part of the change over, the series made a subtle name change going from “the John Cooper Challenge” to simply “the MINI Challenge”. The 2006 season will feature 16 rounds, eight events, and three separate titles. There are also been a few rumors of the series (or something similar) eventually making it’s way onto US TV via the Speed Channel. Hopefully we’ll have more on that in the near future.
Sections: Official News Dec 21st, 2005 31 Comments Updated with Photos: MINI is more than a car. MINI is a lifestyle. As of December 14th, 2005 MINI fans will be able to experience this exciting lifestyle in the capital of Spain. It is in this vibrant city that the worldwide first MINI LOUNGE opens its doors on Paseo de la Castellana, 123. Bar, restaurant and nightclub are all housed under the same roof: between 8am and 4am, guests can enjoy a wide range of gastronomic specialties - varying during the course of the day. The lounge thus creates an entirely new platform for enjoying and experiencing the MINI brand.
Sections: In the Press Dec 21st, 2005 58 Comments Bimmer Magazine has an article in this month’s edition that compares and contrasts a stock Cooper S to a fully optioned Cooper S with the JCW engine package. The goal (and it seems a little flawed to me) is to find out whether a $40,000 JCW MCS is double the fun of a stock $21,000 MCS. Since this article is not online we thought we’d offer a healthy dose of excerpts to give you an idea of their conclusions (big thanks to Marc for transcribing this):
There’s really no car like the MINI Cooper S…Its styling is totally unique, flawlessly executed and instantly iconic without being annoyingly cute like the New Beetle. Best of all, it is theoretically possible to buy a 2005 MINI Cooper S with absolutely no extra-cost options for under $21,000 before taxes. In the new-car realm, deals don’t get much better than this.
continued →
Sections: R56 Dec 20th, 2005 43 Comments 
[Updated with larger photos after the click!] MINI has been dropping hints about the interior in the R56 for several months now. Today we take a look at the progression of the interior from it’s earliest stages to the most recent test mules.
In early March MotoringFile showed a very early model of the new interior.
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