Jul 16th, 2009
Over the last year we’ve been reporting that the new MINI Countryman crossover vehicle would feature a standard hatch similar to the R56 design. And during that time MINI has been continuously taping what looks to be rear door handles that mimic the Clubman’s “club” doors. Nevermind that they are usually crooked, they have fooled much of the automotive press over the past year (and a few MF readers). But as you see above courtesy of automotivetraveler.com, the secret is now out.
Look for our special report on the Crossover next week.
Jul 16th, 2009
With the UK/Irish car market burdened by the local government’s tax system with 21.5% VAT tax rate on the MSRP, and then a further tax of between 14-35% for registration of the vehicle depending on the emmissions from the tailpipe.
To combat that, the MINI First is a low horsepower, low emmission, and really low specification MINI, based on the 75 Bhp (55kW) engine. This new model is ideally suited to the Irish market where younger drivers pay anything up to 2500 Euro insurance on any engine larger than a 1.4L enbgine. More interestingly, the Irish Dealer Network was asked to choose what options should be standard, and to design the additional option packages for these vehicles.
+ MINI First / Internal MINI of Ireland PDF
Big thanks to Owen who helped create this report.
Jul 15th, 2009
Dare we say it Autoexpress has created a pretty interesting article. They’ve taken 12 of the best MINIs ever and tested them all. Worth a read for sure but there’s no definitive conclusion unfortunately.
+ Greatest Mini Ever / Autoexpress
Jul 14th, 2009
BMW AG (parent company of BMW and MINI) has officially registered the “Countryman” name for trademark. We can only assume it is intended for MINI’s upcoming crossover considering the timing. In classic Mini days the Countryman name was used for the long wheel base version of the car in specific markets (along with “traveller”). Its use makes sense here and would be a welcome tie-in with classic Mini history.
Look for the car to officially debut on the web in the weeks ahead with a public debut set for the Frankfurt Motor show in late September. In addition to this look for a special report next week the R60 and the secret story behind its development. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll probably not like it.
Side note: As mentioned on last week’s podcast my money was on either Traveller or Countryman based on BMW’s previous use of classic Mini naming conventions. Minute 34:00 if you’re keeping score at home… Todd…
Jul 14th, 2009
Automotive News sat down with the head of BMW India recently and talked about the future of MINI on the sub-continent:
BMW’s India chief Peter Kronschnabl said the company will reconsider launching Mini in India by the end of this year, having already delayed it from 2007.
The luxury hatchback market was not developed in India, and the investment to launch a new brand would be substantial, Kronschnablhe said. continued →
Jul 14th, 2009
A pretty good show for all y’all this week as we rapidly approach Woofcast 300 next week! Gabe actually joined Todd and I this week with his take on the news from the last few weeks. Also joining us tonight was Michael from BimmerFile and he added his own unique take on what’s happening in the MINI world.
Micheal joins us this evening because we recorded Episode #1 of the brand new BimmerFile podcast! It will be going up Tuesday and should be available in iTunes later in the week. If you are subscribed via iTunes to WRR, you will get this episode, but the rest of them you will have to subscribe too.
Woofcast 299 :
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continued →
Jul 13th, 2009
Nestled in the latest BMW sales release was this nugget:
Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “There are first indications of a slight recovery on the automobile markets. It remains to be seen whether this trend will be sustained. With 12.7%, the BMW Group saw a much smaller decline in sales volumes in June than in previous months. In the first half of the year we were able to gain market share in the global premium segment, as we had planned. With a decrease of 18% in the second quarter, we also performed better than in the first, where sales were down about 21%.†continued →
