Mar 31st, 2010
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Today the MINI Countryman debuted at the NYC autoshow with little surprise. In fact the only thing we learned today at the show that we didn’t know before was that the full length center rail will not be offered in the US due to regulations. Instead the US market will be getting the two-piece rail system pictured here and not the single piece seen here.
But rails aside look for the Countryman to land in the US next March at a price between the Clubman and Convertible.
Some photos courtesy of Gene Sanchez of kineticfin.com
Mar 31st, 2010
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Today MINI officially takes the wraps off of the Countryman in the US. We don’t have pricing yet (but we have a good idea on that) and we don’t have final specifications but we do have a press release. Look for photos later this week live from the show floor.
Official Release: The all new MINI Countryman, MINI’s biggest and boldest model, will make its U.S. debut during the New York International Auto Show.
Equipped with four doors, four individual seats and a four-wheel-drive system known as MINI ALL4, the MINI Countryman will be hitting the U.S. city streets and snow-covered back-roads early next year. Measuring 161.3 inches long and with a wheelbase of 102.2 inches, the MINI Countryman offers more passenger space than any other MINI vehicle, along with nearly 40 cubic feet of cargo space.
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Mar 31st, 2010
The following report was written by our newest MF contributor Jon Durdick.
MINI has received an impressive number of awards since its re-introduction in 2001. Recently Ward Auto announced their 2010 top 40 finalists for interior of the year, on reviewing the list we realized one award that has consistently been missed by MINI is for its interior design. With the redesign already under way we can’t help but wonder if any of this almost universal non-praise has made its way to MINI. And we don’t look at this as an exclusive design problem. In fact it’s as much a quality as anything.
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Mar 30th, 2010
Due to some technical issues we don’t have any photos save for the one later in this article. so if you have AMVIV photos you’d like to share please post a link in the comment section below.
Consider this fact. In 2007 (the last time I attended a MINI Vacation i n Vegas – aka AMVIV) there were almost 600 people in attendance at the finale. In 2010 there were (by our accounts) around 250. Weather, the economy and location likely did a lot to bring those numbers down. But none of it detracted from what still has to be viewed as one of the largest and best organized events in the US.
The event started out with cool temps and driving winds that forced participants from the rooftop of the parking garage to a lower floor. That brought temps down even further and definitely detracted from the sunny Vegas vibe that we had seen in years previous. But what likely detracted even more was the location; a full 20 minutes outside of the strip in extreme north Las Vegas. While AMVIV has never technically taken place on the strip, it’s proximately to everything at the Palace Station (just a short cab ride away from the Wynn for example) made for a very Vegas like atmosphere.
But location and weather aside the facilities at the Aliante Station were first rate. And the organization and tireless devotion to the event by member of the Sincity MINI club was also truly inspiring.
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Mar 25th, 2010
As we exclusively reported earlier this year, MTTS is back for 2010. But there’s a lot more we couldn’t tell you until today. First off here’s the official release from MINI USA with some information around dates and locations:
This summer MINI Takes the States is meeting in the middle (well kind’a , sort’a ) for a fun-filled weekend in Denver, Colorado, August 13-15.
This MINI weekend is all about motoring, fans, community and fun as MINI Takes the States in 2010. This year’s event will kick-off with 5 big rallies from Atlanta, New York, San Francisco,
Los Angeles and Chicago as motorers and enthusiasts rally with the all new MINI Countryman to the mile high city.
Mark your calendars and hold on to your seats as MINI Takes the States in 2010.
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Mar 25th, 2010
We’re going to be bringing the site and the podcast to you live from fabulous Las Vegas over the next few days as we head to into town for MINI Vacation in Vegas (AMVIV). For all those also going, look for us judging the famous AMVIV car show and MC-ing the finale Saturday night.
Mar 25th, 2010
Last week we told you about BMW’s plans to develop a new family of 3 cylinder engines to reside in both BMW and MINI engine bays. This week BMW has taken the wraps off of that and a much larger project to develop an entire modular engine platform that will include the 3 banger. Automotive News is reporting that the engines will span the MINI, BMW and Rolls Royce brands by 2020. We believe the first part of this will show up in 2013 in the 3rd generation MINI and a new (as yet unnamed) front wheel drive BMW.
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