Gasp! Is the bottom falling out? Is the MINI success over? Oh wait… dealers didn't have any cars to sell due to the early 2005 model year change over. So chalk up the decline (and subsequent lost sales) to unfortunate timing and less than stellar US production planning. Here's are the details from MINIUSA Press:

MINI USA reported continued demand for MINI automobiles, resulting in extremely low inventories. Sales of MINI automobiles in July were 2,607, down 15.5 percent from the 3,084 sold in July of 2003. Year-to-date, sales of MINI automobiles were down slightly, with 20,419 cars compared to 20,614 sold a year ago, a dip of 1 percent.