(This article is specifically about the US-spec MINI JCW and not the version that comes with the aero-kit elsewhere in the world)
A lot has been made of the new factory JCW MINI not coming with the JCW suspension let alone the sport suspension as standard. In our review last week we found the car to be exceptional in all but two ways - lack of visual distinction and lack of an upgraded suspension. And it’s not rocket science how you fix both of those issues. JCW has the parts to do it, but they just decided leave the car relatively untouched and ready for each owner to tailor it to their own needs. Of course the problem (as we said in the review) is that MINI hasn’t done the JCW brand or the car any favors with this visual restraint. People simply can’t recognize a JCW MINI (like they do an M3) from across the parking lot and due to this there’s a lack of brand recognition as well. But worse for the enthusiast, the lack of an upgraded suspension signals a serious compromise in the character of the car. People want to believe in a brand and the ideals it stands for. They want authenticity. At this point it’s a little unclear how authentic the JCW is or will be.
It looks like MINI has another hit on their hands with the MINI E. Here’s an except from Bloomberg:
Applicants, who will pay $850 a month for the zero-emissions car for one year, are outnumbering the models available by 4-to-1, according to the Munich-based carmaker.
BMW’s electric experiment beats Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. in delivering a fully alternative-fuel vehicle to drivers concerned about gas prices and global warming. Sporting a luxury-automobile brand name and being first to take corners in an environmentally friendly car trump functionality, said Mario Soto, a Southern Californian who signed up for one of the two-seaters.
The morning edition with Todd, Michael and myself talking about all things MINI like we like to do. Sitting here, I am seriously bummed about missing the big jump on New Years Eve. At least mine was better than Micheal’s, so there is that.
We roll through news of the week from Motoringfile.com as we normally do, spending a fair amount of time talking about colors and the cars that we have been seeing on the road.
Official Release: MINI USA reported December sales of 3,566 automobiles, up 0.1 percent from the 3,562 cars sold in December 2007. In 2008, the division reported sales of 54,077 automobiles, an increase of 28.6 percent, compared to the 42,045 cars reported in 2007.
“Fuel efficiency and small cars had a big year in 2008 even with low fuel prices slowing down the positive sales development in the past few months,” said Jim McDowell, Vice-President of MINI USA. “A balance of rational and emotional reasons are going to be the way of the future to continue small car growth in the U.S. MINI’s success in 2008 may be a good indication of this balance.”
A new year is upon us and it’s time for visit our respective state or country Department of Transportation websites to find out what the latest motoring laws are. Here is a short list of some of the new laws that took effect this morning.
Do you live in South Carolina, Illinois, Alaska or Washington? These states will start enforcing a law that requires first-time DUI offenders to have a Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device, or BAIID, installed on their cars.
In Dallas, Texas, you are going to want to make sure your insurance is up-to-date. Failure to do so will result in your car getting towed.
So you have a MINI. You got the Sport pack and thought performance tires were a good idea. Then it snowed and you almost died. What should you do? That’s the question that prompted this week’s Ask MF sent in by Scott:
I have a 2006 MCS with the sport package and performance runflats I just bought used and I need some recommendations on snow tires to get me through winter. I’m in western Michigan so I really need some dedicated snows rather than all-seasons. Any suggestions?
Blizzak, Nokian, Dunlop and Michelin all make solid snows for the MINI. There some versions that do better in deep snow and some that are more performance oriented. It would seem you need something that gears towards rather than performance due to where you’re located and the amount of snow I remember getting growing up not far from there. Because of that I’d start with taking a look at the Nokian and Blizzak line-up first.
But what else is out there? Lets hear it in the comment section below.
This from our friends over at Leftlanenews. It’s quite a different story than we’ve been hearing from some dealers especially in the US. But we certainly welcome the news. Here’s an excerpt:
Thanks to healthy demand for its small, sprightly coupes and convertibles, as well as plans for its upcoming Crossman off-roader, Mini says that it expects to see an increase in sales next year, despite a generally dismal outlook expected by most industry analysts. Mini is aiming for a 1 percent increase in sales this year.
It’s nice to see a car company, in the midst of quite a few other car companies, actually doing well. Even nicer, at least to this group, that’s it’s a car we are all pretty big fans of.
What a year for MINI enthusiasts. The new Clubman, the new JCW and the continued evolution of the R56. Not to mention new performance products for the R53 and tons of new cars on the horizon. So we’re going to take a look back on 2008 and give you our top ten stories on MotoringFile based on number of comments, number of page views and how important each story was to us.
For all those wondering if and when any of the MINI Challenge cars would surface state-side, the answer is a resounding yes. But even better one of those cars is now for sale on eBay. However with a buy it now price of $64,000 it’s not what we would cal racing on a budget.
It’s the crazy time of the year again. Motoring from family to family for some, staying put and avoiding the weather for others. Around here we will be busy thinking about things that aren’t really MINI related while we spend some time with our friends and family.
To that end, news might be a bit light for the next few days. But, if you are in need of reading material, might we recommend going back through the archives where you will find more than 6 years of stories that have been posted here at MF, including all of our R57, MINI E and event coverage.
BusinessWeek seems to think so, via Yahoo! Finance.
But there are some good deals out there in this recession; cars that are worth the price and will hold their value. And in spite of our exasperation, we don’t advise buyers to to ignore the American brands. Our outlook is more nuanced than that, although unfortunately for the Wee Three’s sake, it’s still not the story they want to read. Here’s the breakdown, and the logic behind it.
There are a few cars that actually made the list like the Honda CR-V and BMW 328i. Oh yea, and the MINI.
The Mini makes this list because it gets very good fuel economy (28/37), has a huge following (Mini dealers have pretty much failed to create a sustainable certified-used program because Mini owners are so reluctant to sell their cars), and Kelley Blue Book rates the residual value of the Mini the highest on its list for the past five years.
When Hot Chocolate first debuted in the R55 Clubman there were scores of people asking about it’s availability on the coupe. It seem as if MINI may have heard the calls for more chocolate. We know for a fact that the new MINI Convertible will be getting the color starting this Spring. However we’ve also learned from a well placed source that the R56 coupe will also get the brown treatment sometime later in 2009.
Final show for 2008. We manage a full crew and everything. And, of course, we end up with a crappy connection. So, apologies around for that extra hiss in this shows recording.
We covered news of the week from Motoringfile.com as usual. It was nice to have Gabe with us tonight and he added quite a bit, as he usually does.
Then a bit of recap of the year that was WRR/MF. We did some really cool stuff this year! If you missed any of it, you can go back and check the MTTS and AMVIV. It doesn’t seem like much, but remember MTTS did stretch over a combined time span of almost 2 weeks!
This is a question we get asked quite a bit around these parts. It’s also a question that we have covered in a few older episodes of White Roof Radio.
MF Reader Chris writes.
I know nobody trusts Consumer Reports, but they appear to say that Mini Cooper reliability improved greatly from 2005 on. Would it be safe to purchase a 2005 - 2006 Mini Cooper, or should I save up enough money for a 2007 (new model)? Is reliability in the earlier models really that bad?
Keeping in mind that I have a 2003 R50 MINI Cooper with 200+ miles, I would say (and Gabe agrees) to stay away from the earlier MINIs (’02 - ‘03) if you can. There are quite a few build issues with these older cars and if you find one that wasn’t properly tended to you might end up with more headaches that you could handle.
However, moving into the newer model years, it becomes more a matter of what you want and how you want it to look. You didn’t say if you were looking for a Cooper or an MCS, but this should cover you either way.
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1st Gen MINI R50: One & MC Coupe R52: All 1st Gen MINI Convt. R53: MCS Coupe 2nd Gen MINI R55: Clubman R56: One/MC/MCS Coupe R57: One/MC/MCS Convt. R60: MINI SUV
Sections: JCW | MF Feature Jan 7th, 2009 23 Comments 
The morning edition with Todd, Michael and myself talking about all things MINI like we like to do. Sitting here, I am seriously bummed about missing the big jump on New Years Eve. At least mine was better than Micheal’s, so there is that.
