Section: Best of the Web
May 8th, 2008
A great article via the Paper of record. It would seem that those SUV drivers are really getting tired of having to swipe their credit cards twice to fill up their tanks.
In what industry analysts are calling a first, about one in five vehicles sold in the United States was a compact or subcompact car during April, based on monthly sales data released Thursday. Almost a decade ago, when sport utility vehicles were at their peak of popularity, only one in every eight vehicles sold was a small car.
Amazing stats. Oh, but there’s more.
Sales of Toyota’s subcompact Yaris increased 46 percent, and Honda’s tiny Fit had a record month. Ford’s compact Focus model jumped 32 percent in April from a year earlier. All those models are rated at more than 30 miles per gallon for highway driving.
Not to mention MINIUSA Sales up almost 40% for April.
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May 7th, 2008
You have to give it to the good lads over at Jalopnik. Besides being huge fans of the Chevy El Camino, they also find some of the coolest stuff you’ll ever see on a car. Case in point, this race-prepped Mini.
Here are things we know about this racing Mini from Japan: mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, gigantic wheels, Honda B18c engine. We’re not sure what compelled this individual to take the original Mini platform and flip it on its head, but we’d like to see this thing take on a Renault R5 powered by an SR2ODE motor for some reason. Clearly, what the Mini has been missing all this time is Integra Type-R power.
I’ve seen this done with a MINI (mid-engine BMW 6), but not in a Classic. Crazy.
[ Japanese Mini Cooper Does Everything Backwards ] Jalopnik.com
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Apr 21st, 2008
You must remember when we told you about Lifan 3 Series. It’s really getting built, has gone through a name change and will be debuting at the Beijing Auto Show according to Auto Blog.
The production version of Lifan’s egregious MINI clone is set to debut this weekend at the Beijing Motor Show. The Lifan 320 as it’s called has an 87-horsepower 1.3L underhood that drives the front wheels alone. We’re sure that Lifan will point to the car’s standard 5-door hatchback layout as evidence that its not a true MINI copy, but let’s all be serious here.
Follow the link below for the rest of the story and more pictures that will make you shake your head.
[ Lifan 320 to debut at Beijing ] Autoblog
Apr 18th, 2008
A brand new Mini book is now available chronicling the history of Mini in South Africa.
Have you ever heard of the Mini Mk3 with a boot, or the Safari, Sunshine and Moonlight special editions of the Mini? Interested? Then this book might just be for you!
Fresh from the publishers, this excellent 255 page hard-cover book tells the story of the Mini in South Africa. It’s all there, the entire production history, from the very first locally assembled Austin 850 in 1959 to the very last Mini to roll out of the plant in 1983. If that were not enough, there’s plenty of unique South African motorsport to whet the reader’s interest.
For those of you that are keen on all things about the Mini history, it may be worth checking out.
[ Thanks for the Mini Memories ] MINIPassion.co.za
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Apr 17th, 2008
Please note that is a small i, small n, small i. Yes, they do Mini Cooper S Classic. Which could only mean, really, one film. The Italian Job from 1969.
The Mini Cooper which played a starring role in the classic crime caper The Italian Job has been named best movie car of all time. continued →
Apr 11th, 2008
Sent in my our friend Tim from MINI2.co.za, here is some South African specific advertising MINI ads that should be appearing there market shortly. continued →
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Apr 7th, 2008
At least according to tech site dvice.com.
Using sites like Facebook, Mini Cooperites are meeting up around the clock, no doubt sharing stories about how cool their cars are, and probably even trading some car porn shots. The study also reports that “It is interesting to see that cars are not only viewed as a symbol of wealth and status but they are increasingly becoming a crucial part of people’s identity and social life.” Hmmm, I wonder what it says about my social life that I’m still driving a beat-up minivan with a Cheerios-encrusted carpet. continued →
Mar 21st, 2008
The MINI seems to attract create types like almost no other car out there. And true to this tradition the fine folks at Outmotoring have commissioned an piece unlike any other. Artist John Weber has created a incredible MINI logo built out of products we all know and love and in turn Outmotoring has created a poster of it we can all enjoy. Here’s Arron at from Outmotoring to help explain:
Having a deep appreciation of art and design as well as all things driven by creativity I commissioned John to make this 100% sweet work of art for Out Motoring. It was a very fluid process that actually started one day in the Out Motoring install and test facility at the world HQ. We were talking and just happen to get on the topic of the finer points of how artists know when something is ‘done’ and ‘done right’. Realizing that he shared a certain passion for quality design it became evident that we should do a project together. Within minutes we had narrowed in on a concept and John was off and running, literally grabbing hundreds of products off our shelves, squirreling them away in numerous boxes in the boot of his 2007 MINI. He had a few twinkles in his eyes…. In a flash he was gone. I was left with not a doubt that a) I would see the $5,000 dollars in product again someday and b) that John would do something amazing. As an artist who has created work for many well known clients and has assembled a portfolio of unique imagery, I knew he would come up with a unique interpretation of our idea.
The charm is that it is much more than ‘just a bunch of car parts’. The more you look at it the more you will see. A spring resting on a checkered flag valve cap. A spark plug comfortably wrapped in a watch. It’s layers will draw you in the more you study it.
Incredible stuff. A big thanks to Aaron for being the catalyst for this project and to John for actually making it happen. You can check out the artwork and the limited edition poster that’s currently available for sale at Outmotoring below.
+ ‘Sweet” Limited Edition Poster (Signed) / Outmotoring
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Mar 20th, 2008
And you thought you’d seen the last of the Weinermobile MINI.
Wednesday morning in Times Square a small crowd gathered in the cool shadow of ABC Studios to watch Michael Strahan, defensive end for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, drive a car.
Not just any car: Mr. Strahan had squeezed his 6′5″ frame behind the wheel of the new Mini Wienermobile, a smaller, sportier version of Oscar Mayer’s somewhat famous Wienermobile, also in attendance.
I would imagine we’ll be seeing more and more of this MINI in the future. Of course, if you should spot it and get a picture of it, be sure to add the pic to the Motoringfile Flickr Group for all to see!
[ Seeing a Man about a Dog ] Nytimes.com
Mar 15th, 2008
We all know the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile, right? A giant motor-home shaped like a hot dog in a bun, painted the colors of mustard and ketchup.
Well, someone over there thought it would be neat-o to give that same treatment to a MINI Cooper S. Same bubble top, same mustard and ketchup paint scheme, but this time, with chrome S-Lites. Bonus, we even have video of it from Good Morning America!
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Mar 7th, 2008
MINI has updated the international portion of the website to include the JCW MINI and JCW Clubman. There is a little bit of information there that we already posted, but it is nice to see it on the official site.
Of course we still can’t actually build one online. We’ll probably have to wait a few more months for that to happen. Don’t worry though, we’ll be sure to give you a heads-up as soon as we know more. However you may want to start rescheduling meetings now, just to be safe.
[ John Cooper Works ] MINI.com
Feb 10th, 2008
In case you missed the memo, the OL has undergone a HUGE transformation.
Most of you already know that I (along with Gabe) have never been a huge fan of the Owners Lounge. Before the update, the text was too small for me to read, the navigation was less than great and the message boards lacked any kind of organization.
With the update, I think it’s just as bad, but it has some really cool new features that don’t work.
Maybe it’s because I’m on a Mac running Firefox (even though I had the same problem with Safari), but I got the feeling it was still in beta. And, if this is even possible, it’s harder to read now than it was before!
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Feb 2nd, 2008
You would think that MINI + El Camino would equally Subaru Brat, but I don’t think so. This is the 2nd time I’ve seen a MINI modded this way. And I like it! The lads over at CarScoop provide the skinny.
The customized MINI Pick-Up truck you see in the picture above will make a special appearance at Pioneer’s stand at the forthcoming Paris Tuning Show on February 29. It is equipped with a series of Pioneer products including a high-end navigation system.
Click through for more info and pictures.
[ MINI El Camino Pickup by Pioneer ] CarScoop
Jan 27th, 2008
Here’s a great interview with Peter Doulman, winner of the Australian 2L Touring Car Championship in 1993, who will also be running in the upcoming Australian MINI Challenge.
“I’ve had experience working with BMW in the past so I know the quality of their product and the MINI Challenge so far seems to be an extension of that,” he said.
“They not only know how to build race cars, but with the success of MINI Challenge overseas they know how to run a professional and thriving category and we wanted to be a part of that.”
After enormous success in Germany, Great Britain and New Zealand, MINI Challenge Australia will hit Australian tracks at Eastern Creek in March.
[ Doulman To Make Tracks For First Mini Challenge Title ] NMD.com.au
Jan 22nd, 2008
Time magazine has recently published a great article on the greatest, most important cars of the last 100 years.
Along with the ‘55 Chevy, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and VW Beetle lies the BMC Mini.
First car in the world to lie the engine across the vehicle rather than longitudinally. Revolutionary design proved that cars could get smaller -and still be hot. Its technical layout was copied by everybody and is still basically used in today’s small cars. Ten feet long with 10 inch wheels, it handled like a dream. continued →
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