We had a suspicion that MINI’s new fuel saving technologies wouldn’t make it to the US market, and yesterday we got the confirmation that we didn’t want to hear. With this news, it would seem that US spec 2008 MINI’s won’t get the following fuel saving tech:

* Brake Energy Regeneration
* Auto Start-Stop Function
* Gear Shift Indicator

However other new features such as the cruise control speed display and the optional USB connection should make it across the pond.

Why is the US market getting deprived of these new features? We can only guess at this point. Perhaps MINI doesn’t feel the cost of fuel in the US warrants these potentially expensive technologies?