I came across this very inclusive article on the history of the MINI over at howstuffworks.com. Take a moment and check it out when you have some time as it covers everything from the little car’s beginning back in 1957 “when Leonard Lord, president of the British Motor Corporation (BMC), decided to develop a reliable, efficient small car for consumers…”, all the way to the viral advertising campaign known to all MINI enthusiasts as Hammer and Coop!
Monthly Archives: April 2007
Sexy Road Test: MINI Cooper S
Octane TV‘s Sexy Road Test recently reviewed the 2007 MINI Cooper S. Verena motors around L.A. giving us the facts and figures on the new MCS as well as some history of John Cooper and the classic Mini rally cars of the ’60s.
Video: Team MINI MINI Jumbo Endurance Race
Here is a cool video of a 5 hour R/C edurance race featuring some of our favorite little British cars :). Don’t worry – the video is not 5 hours! Thanks to montyformula1 for this find!
MINI Turns a Million
After six short years, the one millionth MINI was produced in Oxford recently. To do this, MINI has had to ramp up production to 700 MINIs per day (only 300 cars were produced daily back in 2001)! This millionth MINI is like no other, however…
Like all MINIs, the one millionth car was produced to customer order. In this case the ‘customer’ is BMW Group’s heritage division, Mobile Tradition. The designers of the landmark MINI Cooper S were inspired by classic MINI features, but in spite of its numerous special options the one millionth MINI was produced in the regular series production process – a testimony to the plant’s considerable flexibility.
The sporty and unique exterior design of the one millionth MINI is characterised by the colours white (‘Pepper White’) and green (‘Almond Green’). One of the special highlights is the graphic on the roof which consists of one million little MINIs. The white and green colour theme is also reflected in the car’s leather interior, the basic colour of which is black with black-and-white dÈcor surfaces.
– MINI UK Press
Double-ended Mini Cooper
uberreview.com and AVING.net posted up some interesting photos of a double-ended Classic Mini Cooper. Yes that’s right – a Mini Cooper with 2 bonnets :). See for yourself!
For many people a car like Mini Cooper is already a pleasure to see, so just imagine a Double-ended Mini Copper that enables users to drive in both directions.
That type of car was what BMW presented in Techno Classica Essen 2007, a Car Show that took place in Germany.
I guess 2 people canít be driving this Mini at the same time, or else the final result will be a disaster.
[ Double-ended Mini Cooper @ uberreview.com ]
[ Double-ended Mini Cooper @ AVING.net ]
Get Hammer and Coop on Your Phone
According to the press release by Zannel, you can get episodes and images from Hammer & Coop on your mobile phone:
The Hammer and Coop Channel features the popular webisodes in their entirety and can be viewed on any mobile phone and shared with friends on any carrier network or device. Consumers can get the Hammer & Coop Channel sent to their mobile phone by visiting www.zannel.com and entering their phone number, or by visiting wap.zannel.com on their phone browser. The Hammer & Coop Channel will be updated with new episodes as they become available, and the short, funny webisodes represent the type of contagious content that users really want to share on their phones. For this project, Zannel collaborated with Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, MINI USAís advertising agency.
Leave a comment if you are able to get these to your phone.
Reserve a Smart Car For $99
I know this is not a MINI Cooper, but I think it is “mini” nonetheless. If you want to get a jumpstart on the 2008 Smart car, Smart USA will be taking reservations on their website for $99. If you donít end up buying the car, you get your money back. Prices range from $12,000 – $17,000. If you reserve one, let us know!
MINI Cooper Cabrio in Alanis Morissette Video
I wasn’t going to post this until I kept getting it sent to me and figured I might as well put it up so people could stop sending it over. Yes – that is a Pepper White MINI Cooper Convertible featured in the latest Alanis Morissette video, “My Humps”, spoofing the Black Eyed Peas video of the same title. Not exactly my favorite song or video, but hey – it does have a MINI in it!
Video: R56 Navigation System In Action
Alpinamike found this video on the R56 navigation/entertainment and voice recognition system. For those who have not seen this in action, take a look – it is pretty slick. While I may still love my 2006 MINI Cooper S, this is one feature I wish I had :). Thanks for the link Mike!
MINI Cooper Top Performer In South Africa
Wheels24.co.za posted an article today that showed the MINI Cooper was the top choice among passenger cars in South Africa, beating out Mercedes-Benz, which was at the top for the past 3 years:
“Mini and Mitsubishi may have been voted the top buys in the latest Synovate study, but a few local manufacturers experienced a dramatic fall from grace.
The study measures customer satisfaction in four categories, including purchasing of a passenger vehicle and light commercial vehicle, and the servicing of a passenger vehicle and light commercial.
Synovate surveys have been conducted for the last 16 years. The latest findings are for the period January to December 2006.
The Mini Cooper was the top Gold performer when purchasing a passenger vehicle. The little car moved up to the top of the rank following Mercedes-Benz’s virtual dominance at the top of the chart for the past three years.”