Tag Archives | Mini

Review: 2012 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4

By on May 1, 2012 in Reviews

If it looks like a Mini, sounds like a Mini and drives like a Mini, is it truly a Mini?  Last year, Autosavant tested this theory as implemented in the Mini Cooper S Countryman: the brand’s first true four-door crossover. Equipped with a six-speed manual, front-wheel drive and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Countryman proved a capable defender of the brand, albeit stretched several sizes. But could it stand up to its competitors that offer all-wheel drive and turn the focus to technology?

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Review: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport 5MT

By on February 21, 2012 in Reviews

One of the worst-kept secrets in the auto industry is that the Fiat 500 was not going to hit its sales target of 50,000 units for 2011.  Instead, Fiat sold just 19,769 cars in the US in 2011, falling short of its goal by more than 60 percent.  While analysts have blamed the company’s slow rollout, tepid marketing, and lack of Fiat dealers for the car’s flop, I think I actually know the real reason.  People literally laugh at big guys who drive these cars.  Trust me – I’ve experienced this first hand.

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Complaints About the Names of Cars

By on January 27, 2012 in Editorials

By Chris Haak

Ah yes, the “good old days.” Remember when cars had names like Comet, Monterey, Nova, Tempest, Metropolitan, and Zephyr? Though there is more diversity in the auto market today than there has been in decades (though no longer thousands of boutique automakers in the US as there were in the early days of the industry), vehicle names that are actual words found in the dictionary are becoming more scarce. That is not news. Some automakers, though not all, have decided that rather than building better, more sophisticated cars, they might just trick the buying public into believing that a DTS is more upscale than a Deville, that an MKZ is more contemporary than a Zephyr, or that a G6 outshines a Grand Am. Again, this is all old news. Today I’m more concerned about model names that once described engine displacement. If you read on, I have some solutions too.

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Review: 2012 Fiat 500C Lounge

By on October 4, 2011 in Reviews

By Chris Haak

While Fiat’s 500 may be late to the party in some ways (it arrived in the US four full years after its overseas launch and it’s also coming in at what may be the tail end of a “retrofuturism” era), in some ways it’s also right on time.  The car represents not only a beachhead for the Fiat brand’s return to the US, but also desperately-needed fresh product for Chrysler as the company awaits further reinforcements from its new owners across the pond in that boot-shaped country named Italy.

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Review: 2011 MINI Cooper S Countryman

By on October 3, 2011 in Reviews

By Kevin Miller

The MINI franchise started with just one retro-styled small hatchback, and proved to be a success. But how to build on that success? MINI’s parents at BMW decided that the best way was to expand was by building bigger MINIs, first in the form of the extended-length Clubman, and now in the form of the Countryman crossover, which is MINI’s first four-door vehicle.

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Official Pricing For MINI Coupe Revealed; Price Bump In Store For Rest Of Lineup

By on June 22, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

The 2012 Mini Cooper Coupe has just been revealed, but Mini has now taken the wraps off the official pricing for the upcoming two door, and the price of entry for one of these two door driving machines starts at just $22,000. That $22,000 USD price is of course for the base version of the Mini Coupe, with midrange S versions ringing in at $25,300 USD, and the top of the line John Cooper Works performance model which checks in at a wallet thinning $31,900 USD.  While these final pricing numbers may seem a bit pricey – especially in higher trims of the new coupe – Mini is hoping that the coupe’s driving dynamics, bold styling, and two seat configuration will be enough to justify the high price of admission when compared to similar vehicles in its class.

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BMW Group Reveals Official Details on MINI Coupe

By on June 7, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

BMW Group has released the official details on the soon-to-be-released MINI Cooper Coupe.  The company claims that the MINI Coupe is a model that has been bestowed with “go kart like handling” which has become a signature selling point of the brand’s recent models. Unfortunately MINI chose to feature a prototype vehicle in the official photos that still sports a disguise in the rear, which makes any final judgments on the styling very difficult. Despite this final bit of camouflage, the majority of the design that is visible is quite handsome and it also makes the coupe look much more aggressive than its fellow MINI siblings. MINI also says that the new coupe is going to be a class leader in the sport compact segment, but whether the MINI Cooper Coupe can live up to this bold claim or help increase the brand’s slow sales remains to be seen.

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MINI Countryman To Recieve Bench Seat Option In the U.S

By on May 10, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

When MINI first launched the Countryman CUV, it was decided that the U.S spec version would only have a four seat configuration (two bucket seats up front and two in the back). However MINI has confirmed that the rear bench seat option would make its way to U.S bound Countryman’s beginning this fall. The addition of this option would give consumers an alternate seat arraignment if they need to haul more people or cargo than the present four seat configuration allows due to the use of the interior center rail storage system.

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MINI to expand Goodwood Lineup

By on May 5, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

Whether it’s brilliant marketing or if it’s just a thinly-disguised marketing pitch, many people have opinions about the limited production “MINI Inspired By Goodwood,” Mini’s limited edition luxury model that takes its cues from corporate sibling Rolls Royce.  Despite this vast difference of opinion, the “MINI Inspired By Goodwood” is here to stay.  However, there is word that the Goodwood line could expand its reach to other products in the MINI lineup in the near future.

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World Class Luxury In a Small Package: BMW Unveils The MINI Inspired By Goodwood

By on April 13, 2011 in News

By Carl Malek

Even though the MINI brand is currently seated at the bottom rung of BMW’s brand ladder, the company has always positioned itself as being more premium than mainstream. To help prove that point, MINI has pulled the curtains off the MINI Inspired By Goodwood Package, which will be on display at the Shanghai Auto Show. MINI has had its fair share of special edition models produced throughout the company’s long history, but the MINI Inspired By Goodwood will be positioned as the most expensive model in the MINI lineup.

Starting with a MINI Cooper S hardtop model, the company leveraged its connections with fellow BMW brand Rolls-Royce to bring some of the elegant equipment and features that would otherwise be more at home in Rolls Royce models like the Ghost and the Phantom. Nearly every surface in the new MINI has been covered in the same type of leather that is regularly reserved for Rolls products, and the door handles and dashboard are covered with burled walnut accents.

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