Looks like we will get to see the R56 in January at the North American International Auto Show. According to this article from Auto Spectator, the second generation MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S will make their debut at the show alongside the new MINI Convertible Sidewalk edition. You can check out the entire article at the link below:

[ R56 MINI Cooper / Cooper S Debut in Detroit @ Auto Spectator ]

Looks like some football fans at Esquire.com got their hands on a MINI Cooper Convertible and found out just how much fun it can be as a tailgating vehicle:

“You ever see one of those luckless, gateless schmoes peeking out from under a smoked-glass SUV hatch, like a mollusk who happens to really admire Michael Vick? His face says, “Yeah, this works.” But the guys with the F-150’s and Silverados know better. To them, the idea of tailgating with no tailgate is like eating a burger made out of vegetables. It’s a giant neon billboard that reads, AMATEUR HOUR IN PROGRESS. Fair enough. But what if you don’t want to sacrifice sporty driving for football-themed debauchery? What if you parallel park more often than you haul construction equipment while listening to Toby Keith? What if you want a tailgate without the truck? You have but one choice: the Mini Cooper convertible.”

Just a word of caution – PLEASE heed the tailgate weight limit warning posted on the MINI (read the article to find out why!). 😉 Thanks to James for this find!

[ Mini-Barbarians at the Gate @ Esquire.com ]

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 ]

Now here’s a switch! When I ordered my first MINI back in late 2004, Consumer Reports displayed the dreaded black circle next to the MINI Cooper in their car review issue, indicating it as an unreliable car. Granted, that did not stop me from buying my MINI of course! However, it is nice to see that MINI has turned things around in the reliability department and earning the Consumer Reports’ Most Reliable Sporty Hatchback for 2006.

[ MINI Cooper – Most Reliable Sporty Hatcback ]