Dan Neil, staff writer for the LA Times, has come up with a list of cars from this years LA Auto Show that he thinks are turkeys. I would have to agree with him on some of them like the Honda FC Sport Concept and the Toyota Venza. He also Included the Ferrari California which is ok because it looks odd.
It would appear that the MINI E wasn’t a favorite either.
This is like digging into a luscious Thanksgiving bird to discover it’s stuffed with floor sweepings and sawdust. The electric Mini is, in fact, a crude and rude retrofit of the existing British bumblebee, with a 28-kWh battery lump stuffed into the space where the back seat used to be.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! And thanks to all of you that sent this one in.
From Autoblog Green, who got the chance to talk to Jim McDowell last week at the LA Auto Show and heard first hand a few of the rumors we’ve been reporting over the past year. Here’s an excerpt:
Basically, things have changed. In July, the MINI factory in Oxford England was running full tilt to keep up with demand. Since then, the collapse of the financial markets has meant a drop in sales, including MINI sales, across the board and around the world. That means more supply is now available than demand and we could get more MINIs in America if needed. The other issue is the technical one about US certification. That, too, is being addressed. According to McDowell, BMW is working on a Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant version of the MINI D engine. Instead of urea injection for NOx reduction, this would use a lean NOx trap like the Jetta TDI. While McDowell wouldn’t commit to a time-frame, it looks like we may get the MINI D sooner rather than later.
Originally our sources told us to expect the first MINI diesel in the US to come in the form of the Crossover (R60). However with all the above falling into place we could very well see the current MINI Cooper D in the US as soon as 2010 or 2011.
Leftlanenews.com, along with many other automotive journalists at the LA Auto Show this week, got the chance to actually drive the MINI E.
The Mini E is one of few cars that allows you to pull up next to a Prius, like the one with the personalized “LESS OIL” license plate we saw on our test drive, and smugly look down upon the gas-guzzling heathen behind the wheel. The Mini E uses no oil other than a few drops here and there for moving parts lubrication. Take that, Prius.
With a limited range and limited cargo capacity, the Mini E is a strictly in-town commuter car, and at that it excels. Handling is mostly on par with a standard Mini, though it’s possible to get the front end a little more squirrely here than in the gas version.
By far the most popular display during the first Press Day at the LA Auto Show was the unveiling of the MINI E. The crowd started gathering an hour before the MINI E was uncovered and were not disappointed.
I also have audio from the event plus a little video. Keep an eye out for that later today.
Do you want to lease a MINI E? You now have your chance. MINI USA has officially opened the application process today on MINIUSA.com. But be warned, not only do you have to live near New York or LA and be willing to pay $850 a month, but you’ll only have until December 10th to get your application in. So start your clicking…
Thanks to an intrepid MINI enthusiast we have our first sneak peak at the MINI E as it’s being unloaded at LAX in anticipation for the LA Autoshow.
The MINI E was flown in from Munich via Lufthansa Air Freight and should be seen next at the MINI stand in LA. From there we should see the car in Detroit early next year and then at Geneva in March.
We at MF love the MINI. We love the ideas and the ideals behind it. We love the efficiency but still need the performance it offers. But there’s a opinion shared among all of us at MF that MINI needs to create something that falls below the current line-up. Not only cheaper but smaller but more efficient.
There’s evidence that BMW may be doing this very thing. The project “i” is all about efficiency and small vehicles. And whether the fruits of that project are seen in the BMW brand or something entirely new, we’re sure that the MINI brand will reap some benefits of the work currently being done. In fact we believe the MINI E is one of the first concrete steps of that program.
More from the Dept. of Obviousness. As we already know, the MINI gets great gas mileage. Confirmed yet again by the EPA here in the US, which has ranked the MINI Cooper as the highest mileage car in the minicompact category.
Not only is it the highest in it’s own category, the MINI also fairs well with the rest of the list, boasting the 2nd highest highway mileage of any gasoline powered car right behind the Smart, 3rd highest in the city. Of course, at the top of the list are the Toyota Prius Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Volkswagon Diesel powered Jettas.
Have some fun with the bottom of that list too. Instead of being full of SUVs like it has been in the past, it’s full of Lambos, Bentleys, Aston Martins and Ferraris. Really, if you can afford any of those, do you care that you are only pulling down 8/13 MPG?
Should be interesting to see how a diesel-powered MINI does against the rest of the high-mileage cars. But we’ll have to wait for R60 -D to see that.
So it was in the UK using the Imperial Gallon, but still an impressive feat AutoExpress was able to pull off.
That’s not the only trick up the John Cooper Works MINI’s sleeve, though. Despite packing enough punch to cover 0-60mph in only 6.5 seconds, the supermini can now add wallet-friendly 50mpg-plus fuel economy to its impressive list of credentials. That’s 25 per cent more than the maker’s claimed 40.9mpg combined figure. But only if you know how to handle this hot hatch…
Sure the price of gasoline in the US is dropping, but I know there have to be a few of you out there that don’t have your foot in it all the time. What kind of MPG are you getting from your JCW or GP?
The BMW Group will be the world’s first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily traffic. The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without a sound and entirely free of emissions. Specially engineered for automobile use, the battery technology will have a range of more than 240 kilometers, or 150 miles. The MINI E will initially be made available to select private and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the US states of California, New York and New Jersey. The possibility of offering the MINI E in Europe as well is currently being considered. The MINI E will give its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20, 2008.
The MINI E’s electric drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Newton meters, delivering seamless acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 152 km/h (95 mph). Featuring a suspension system tuned to match its weight distribution, the MINI E sports the brand’s hallmark agility and outstanding handling.
BMW’s first purely electric car has debuted. The MINI E is destined for the US (and possibly the UK) next year. It will be leased to 490 select customers in NYC and LA (two cities with the proper infrastructure to support the car we’re told) as a sort of rolling test bed for the German auto manufacturer.
The MINI E will sport some impressive performance numbers along with the (expected) incredible efficiency. Here’s the run-down:
204bhp / 150kw of power
162ft lbs (220nm) of torque
155 miles (250km) range
95mph (152km/h) top speed
2.5 hours to charge
0-62mph in 8.5sec.
Energy consumption around 4.4 miles/kWh.
Just under 1.5 tonne (3230lbs) in weight
2 seats, back seats taken up by lithium-ion batteries
We all know there will be 500 electric MINIs heading to California sometime in 2009. For those of you that can’t get enough, Motorauthority.com just posted quite a few spy shots.
From what we understand, this isn’t exactly what the Electric MINI will look like when it finally becomes available. As previously reported, this MINI is supposed to have a very distict look, having Interchange Yellow roof and mirror caps.
More details should be available closer to the end of the year, so for now, click through to check out some photos of a MINI without an exhaust.
BMW has shelved the X7 - a larger version of the X5 - and in it’s place put more resources on the forthcoming BMW X1 and MINI Crossover. This according to this week’s Automotive News. Here’s an excerpt”
BMW is reacting to the sagging economy and rising fuel prices with two small crossovers, the BMW X1 and Mini Crossover Concept, says CEO Norbert Reithofer. He said the old product plan, which included the now discontinued X7 SUV, would not have generated sufficient growth through 2013.
A production version of the four-seat Crossover Concept is expected to go on sale in 2010.
For those of you wondering how you are going to spend that extra US$57,500 that’s just lying around, you could have Electrorides out of Laguna Nigel, CA, build you an Electric MINI.
Want an all-electric car that will make the girls shout, “oh it’s so cute”? At the Alternative Car Expo in Santa Monica over the weekend, we spotted this very blue Mini Cooper that has been converted by Electrorides Inc out of Laguna Niguel California. The all-electric car can travel approximately 120 miles on a single charge and can reach 85 miles-per-hour. And this thing isn’t a slouch in the power department because it can go from 0 to 60 mph in 9 seconds.
I will have to keep my eye open for this one. With a wrap job like that it’s hard to miss! More pictures at the link below.
Whoa, what’s this? Looks like MINI is testing their own battery-powered MINI out in Munich.
It’s understood that BMW boss Norbert Reithofer will unveil the battery Mini at the 2008 Los Angeles motor show in November – the perfect location for the car’s public debut.
Hybrid technologies has been building an electric MINI for quite some time. Pricing for that car starts just north of US$50,000. Let’s hope BMW and MINI can bring this one to driveways for quite a bit less. This also jives with our production update posted in July.
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Sections: Awards, Efficiency, MINI E Nov 27th, 2008 17 Comments 
Dan Neil, staff writer for the LA Times, has come up with a list of cars from this years LA Auto Show that he thinks are turkeys. I would have to agree with him on some of them like the Honda FC Sport Concept and the Toyota Venza. He also Included the Ferrari California which is ok because it looks odd.
