Sections: R56 (Hatch) 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 (Clubman) 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 →
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