The latest edition of EVO has a two page spread devoted to BMW/MINI and some of their upcoming upcoming products. One of the more interesting pieces in the spread are their thoughts on BMW's US plan with the 1 series compared with that of the MINI. It really speaks to the issue many of us have been debating on MotoringFile regarding the new BMW 1 series, how it competes with the MINI and why it won't be sold in the US (at least anytime soon) Here's an excerpt:

Exactly four years ago BMW got rid of Rover. It was so keen that the new owners paid a tenner and got a £500 loan, an engine plant and tens of thousands of cars thrown in. Most people have forgotten, but the reason for the sell-off was that BMW had decided to build a medium car under the BMW – rather Rover- badge. The 1 series is that car, and it will hit MG Rover hard.

With the success of the MINI and a slew of new models arriving in the showrooms, BMW should be on teh crest of a wave. But it isn't. The great Rover dabacle meant it lost some very experienced managers – some of whom had built up the company over a couple of decades.

There are signs that this disruption is starting to show. As the first pictures of the 1 series appeared, BMW said plans to send the car to the US may be pulled until 2007. But the 'compact premium' segment is booming in the US. Witness the new entrants: Audi A3, Volvo S40, Saab 9-2X, MK5 VW Golf. Compact prestige cars with big-capacity engines in saloon or sportwagon format are the hot ticket.

But the six-cylinder 1 series is years away. As is the 2 series coupe and the sportwagon. This is a sophisticated rear-drive chassis. So why has BMW served up conventional five-door, four cylinder hatchbacks? Isn't the MINI Cooper S a runaway success in the US? But what EVO reader wouldn't relish a three-door, six-pot 1 series for under £20k?

It's interesting to read a car mag use the same argument in relation to the 1 series that many of us have been using. Of course we don't typically make it a point to pay so much attention to a car other than the MINI but the 1 series is both a competitor and a close cousin created by the same parent company and thus many of us find the overall soap opera rather interesting.

EVO can be found in the UK and North America at finer newstands.