CAUTION - the link below is a spoiler. If you don’t want to spoil your fun on the MINI spy gear adventure we have all been on, please do not click it. If you want to save some time and get right to the goods, click the link below. You have been warned! This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds…

[ The Awesomeness of Small ]

If you are in the Northeast part of the US, please take a moment to check out this event that is happening THIS weekend. Thanks to zzMINI for this post!

“Mini Cooper owners from all over New England and New York will gather in Westerly, RI on Sunday December 3rd as the Mini’s-Making-A-Wish organization hosts their 4th Annual Toy Run and Rally to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Rhode Island. Wish Kid Hillary, who was granted her wish of visiting the Big Apple, will be leading the Mini Cooper troops from the front seat of the Wishmobile.

Mini’s will meet at 9 a.m. at the new Westerly Middle School on Sandy Hill Road in Westerly, RI. At 10 a.m. sharp the Mini’s will pack up and rally to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Rhode Island headquarters in Cranston, RI, to deliver hundreds of new, unopened toys for Wish children that have been donated by the public.

For more information, visit www.mmaw.org or call at (401)322-8004 or the Make-A-Wish Foundation® office at (401) 781-9474.”

[ MINIs Making a Wish ]
[ Event Info @ NEMINI.org ]

Once again, MSN Autos featured our favorite small British car on their site. This time they preview the 2007 MINI (the R56). I can’t wait to test drive the new MINI as I want to see for myself the real difference the BMW powerplant will make. The writer at MSN Autos (Brian Laban) really did not seem to care for the “ordinary” Cooper, going so far as to call it “MINI Lite”! Yikes - that is worse than “base Cooper”!! In fact, he even called it “dull”. Having owned a “base Cooper” before, it was anything but dull. If the 2007 MINI Cooper is now dull and the only way to enjoy a MINI is to spring for the S, then MINI may have done something wrong here… We’ll see in a few months when I get to go behind the wheel for myself and see if, in fact, the Cooper has now become dull.

[ Preview: 2007 MINI Cooper @ MSN Autos ]

Looking for some gifts for that someone special in your life who loves to motor? Take a few minutes and check out the 2006 MotoringFile.com Gift Guide. There is something in there for every motorer. If you look closely, you may even spot my 2006 MCS, “Scooter” under “Exterior” (hint: look at the MyMini Carbon Fiber Inserts). Guess Scooter is now famous .

[ 2006 MotoringFile Gift Guide ]

Motoring Fun MINI Club member, popey from the UK, gives us his take on the new R56 which he test drove this past week. Can’t wait for him to pick up his R56 in mid-December!! For all of us here in the US waiting to test drive the next MINI, here is what he had to say to carry us over till January/February, 2007:

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier tonight I checked MINIUSA.com but it still had the same site we have been used to seeing for a few years and then just now I checked it again and BAM - a whole new site is there! Oh - and guess what? The new configurator is online. I am happy to report it is nothing like the German version I could not figure out. It actually looks almost like the old configurator, just with the new car. If you look closely though, under accessories, you will still see the old model MINI shown sporting some of the items. Well what are you waiting for? Go and configure your R56!

[ MINIUSA.com ]

This is an entertaining little video on the MINI Cooper robot done in an almost X-Files sort of way. I give it 2 thumbs up .

The first run of the limited edition Motoring Fun MINI Club T-shirts is about to be printed and today is the last day to get your orders in. If you have not done so, please visit the Swag section of the site and place your order. Your support is appreciated!

[ Order Your Shirt Now ]

I have mixed feelings on this one… On one hand I think this is pretty darn cool that a new car so closely resembles the Classic Mini. On the other hand I am like - WAIT JUST A DARN MINUTE!! What are they thinking trying to copy the Mini?? It has a 58hp engine and can do 0-60mph in 12.2 seconds. I suppose that is not all that bad all things considered, but I am still on the fence on this whole idea… Thanks to Snooter for this find!

[ Daihatsu Trevis @ Winding Road ]

MotoringFile.com has an AWESOME exclusive on the last MINI commercial for the current MINI (pre-R56). Big thanks to the guys at MotoringFile for posting this up for us all to enjoy!

[ MotoringFile.com ]