Sign of the Times #2: CD Change Prep No Longer Standard

Sections: Sales Dec 13th, 2008 25 Comments

MINI USA has eliminated the standard CD Changer prep from US market cars for all production going forward. The reason? Only 50 cars out of over 50,000 actually had CD changers installed. Thank the iPod and iPhone.

Update: We’ve confirmed that this change will ONLY be for the R57 Convertible. The R55 and R56 will keep the CD Changer prep for the time-being. However don’t be surprised to see this go away in the near future.

Written By: MF Staff

C4

The CD changer is so 1990s is not even funny. I don’t remember the last time I carried or inserted an actual CD in our cars since 2004.
C4

Also the optional no charge cassette tape player MINI used to offer was axed circa 2005.

You could also have gotten the Harmon Kardon with the in dash tape deck.

I have never seen a first gen MINI with the factory tape deck.
lavardera

MP3 discs hold more music than a CD changer, gives you track and album names like the iPod interface, and frankly is easier to live with (unless you are going to leave an old iPod in the car until the elements kill it). I make them with iTunes.
Sideways

signs of the times…Its one of the only things MINI has lagged behind in.

Does this mean that the cool pop-up dash panel will nolonger be functional?
STIGG

Have not played any of my CD’s in ages other than to load my external hard drive. Haven’t bought a CD album in ages unless it’s a special edition set and the last one of those was the Complete Led Zeppelin. It’s iTunes all the way now.

Even at home I send my music or internet radio to my radio receiver downstairs. In Car it’s my iPod. Come to think of it I haven’t listened to my in car radio stations in about a year. Schlock Jocks are dead in my world, thank you very much, who needs the commercials or their BS. I just remembered… I do have one CD in the in dash changer, been there at least 2 years… what else… Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy. It doesn’t get any better.
dbhouston

I can’t imagine loading up CD’s into a changer. I keep a handful of them in the door. Other than that, it’s iPod, Baby. I do like the hidden compartment where the changer would go. It is the perfect place to store my iPod and Nuvi when not in use. Someone recently rifled through all the cars in the neighborhood stealing whatever was in the consoles. Needless to say, they didn’t find the GPS.
JSW

What’s a CD?
Josh

What are CD’s?

Owned my Mini for over a year now…never once have I even put a CD in the player! I don’t even know if it works!
rkw

I don’t know about the R56, but in the R50/R53 the prewiring was good for more than just CD changers. Aftermarket iPod adapters used the CD changer interface and were better than the one sold by MINI.
Dr Obnxs

What’s a drag here is that this was an easy way to get to the iBus and for aftermarket extensions like the icelink and some sattelite radio (if you wanted to integrate for less than Mini charged). Bummer.

Matt
mike c.

It’s logical step given the trend of digital everything. The only time I use my CD player is when I listen to a CD I just bought and I’m on the way home to load it on the computer (then to the iPod).
STIGG

No Zunies?
robble

I’ll miss the secret compartment. Or will that remain?
http://www.lilcoopr.com lilcoopr

Iâ€™ll miss the secret compartment. Or will that remain?

Robble, I was just about to ask that!! Hmmm that lil secret compartment has been popular!
gokartride

I still use CDs, but then again I have never sent a text message.
glangford

I use CDs from time to time, but primarily its an xm roady for music in the car. Occasionally I’ll pop in a cd. I have a few mp3 CDs but for the most part all my music in i-tunes is in aac format, and it doesn’t convert and retain play lists, so I’m not apt to change re-import it all into mp3 format.
Rocketboy

“Thank the iPod and iPhone.”

Because there’s no other devices on the market that play MP3 files?

Apple is the only one doing it?
Kit

â€œThank the iPod and iPhone.â€ Because thereâ€™s no other devices on the market that play MP3 files? Apple is the only one doing it?

No, but they are a big factor in MP3 players becoming mainstream.
STIGG

They are the major factor!
Modnar

You know what you can really thank? It’s not the iPod, it’s not MP3 CDs, it’s the >$700 price tag for the bloody thing.
Chilly

Modnar – thank you for pointing out the exorbitant price that MINI was asking; I for one would definitely have purchased the multi CD changer had it been more reasonable in price. A lot of manufacturers include them as standard – as well as offering an iPod adapter – why can’t MINI?

And yes, before everyone accuses me of being stuck in the 90′s, I do have an iPod.
Ted

“…Thank the iPod and iPhone.”

Sure you could have saved the money on the CD changer and purchased an iPhone with the money and still had money left over. Put a DVD changer in there or heck, a solid state hard drive.
David

I got the Ipod Interface for my R56, and its great. I just plug my iPod, and have 120GB of songs available. And I leave the ipod in the CD charger space.

The iPod interface sucks, its not fast and it uses the CD charger option in the radio. I find it easier to find songs if you plug in a USB memory. But then again I want to control my iPod from the stering wheel.

What is the worst part it cost me around $700 for the iPod interface, plus the ipod. Thats more than $1,000 just in music…. so MP3 CDs sounds like a better option.
Timothy

The “50 out of 50,000″ statistic presumably only includes MINI dealer-installed (and factory-installed) CD changers. MINI would have no way of knowing how many aftermarket CD changers are installed in the fleet, and that number is likely to be much higher (though still a minority).
http://www.myspace.com/skipalan Skip Alan – Videos

Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again – taking you feeds also, Thanks.

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