Official Release: MINI is proud to accept the Polk Automotive Loyalty Award for highest loyalty in the compact car segment. The 2009 MINI Cooper was named as the winner at Tuesday night’s ceremony held at the Automotive News World Congress during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
“Our existing customers are a top priority for this company, and owner loyalty has been fundamental to MINI’s success here in the U.S.,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. “We are very pleased to accept the Polk Automotive Loyalty Award, and are grateful to our customers for their enthusiasm and commitment to the MINI brand. Our goal for the coming years will be to steadily increase owner loyalty rates by continuing to ensure a high-quality motoring experience.” continued →
JD Power has released their latest initial quality survey and the MINI came in (drum roll) dead last. The survey asks owners about mechanical and design problems they experience in the first 90 days of ownership.
It’s a bit of a shock to us considering the perceived increasing quality we had seen in other surveys. Jim McDowell was on CNBC this morning talking both about the expanded dealership offerings as well as MINI’s very low initial quality.
Official Release: Scoring outstanding wins in the three categories of the International Engine of the Year Award, the BMW Group once again highlights its top position this year as a manufacturer of particularly powerful and, at the same time, efficient engines. In the world’s most significant engine contest, the V8 power unit featured in the BMW M3, the straight-six with Twin Turbo Technology to be admired, among other models, in the BMW 3 Series, the BMW 1 Series and the BMW X6, as well as the four-cylinder twin-scroll turbocharged engine in the MINI Cooper S, have all scored triumphant victories in their respective classes. continued →
We are fans of Winding Road around here as has been mentioned before. Issue 41 is a good reason why. Chock full of clever Top 12 or Top 5 lists, including their favorite cars from 2008.
Sure the MINI made the list.
The Mini Cooper line has been a favorite with the automotive media since its introduction in 2002. The latest iteration sallies forth as a wonderful mix of performance and fuel efficiency, particularly the S variant with its 172 horsepower four-banger that achieves 26 miles per gallon in the city and 34 on the highway.
Other cars in the list include the BMW 1 Series, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, The Audi R8 and Dodge Sprinter. Yes, that Dodge Sprinter.
The MINI is also featured in their Top 10 most fuel effecient cars, coming in at number 9.
Winding Road is a free online car magazine. You can read it on the website or download it to your computer to read any time. Well written, great photos and easy to use. It’s no wonder it always makes the Motoringfile Gift Guide. Well worth checking out and subscribing.
BusinessWeek seems to think so, via Yahoo! Finance.
But there are some good deals out there in this recession; cars that are worth the price and will hold their value. And in spite of our exasperation, we don’t advise buyers to to ignore the American brands. Our outlook is more nuanced than that, although unfortunately for the Wee Three’s sake, it’s still not the story they want to read. Here’s the breakdown, and the logic behind it.
There are a few cars that actually made the list like the Honda CR-V and BMW 328i. Oh yea, and the MINI.
The Mini makes this list because it gets very good fuel economy (28/37), has a huge following (Mini dealers have pretty much failed to create a sustainable certified-used program because Mini owners are so reluctant to sell their cars), and Kelley Blue Book rates the residual value of the Mini the highest on its list for the past five years.
Dan Neil, staff writer for the LA Times, has come up with a list of cars from this years LA Auto Show that he thinks are turkeys. I would have to agree with him on some of them like the Honda FC Sport Concept and the Toyota Venza. He also Included the Ferrari California which is ok because it looks odd.
It would appear that the MINI E wasn’t a favorite either.
This is like digging into a luscious Thanksgiving bird to discover it’s stuffed with floor sweepings and sawdust. The electric Mini is, in fact, a crude and rude retrofit of the existing British bumblebee, with a 28-kWh battery lump stuffed into the space where the back seat used to be.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! And thanks to all of you that sent this one in.
MINI Release: The MINI Cooper family of products has been awarded top honors in the compact car category of the 2009 Best Resale Value Awards presented by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, a leading provider of new- and used-vehicle information. Additionally, the MINI Cooper has been named to the Top 10 models list, which recognizes best resale values across all vehicle segments.
These latest honors from Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com mark the sixth year in a row that the MINI Cooper has won in either the compact car, hatchback or convertible categories, and also the sixth time it has earned a spot in the overall list of Top 10 models. continued →
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Sections: Awards, Official News Jan 16th, 2010 3 Comments 
