MINI Cooper Info A place to learn about the MINI Cooper
Mini launches teen driving school at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
MINI has teamed up with the new teen driving school Miles Ahead to bring licensed youth to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and train them to drive properly. Indy 500 veteran Stephan Gregoire founded the effort to combat the high number of crashes, injuries and deaths involving teenage drivers.
The chance of a teen crashing in the first three years of driving is 82.9 percent, according to Mini, and a 16-year-old is 20 times more likely to be killed in a crash than an adult. Furthermore, in 63 percent of teenage passenger deaths, another teenager is driving the vehicle.
Mini has supplied 12 copies of the Cooper hardtop to be used for half-day courses at the Speedway. The courses include on-track and classroom instruction.
Instructors for the program come from either the Izod IndyCar series or the Firestone Indy Lights series. For 2011 and 2012, the roster of instructors includes Dillon Battistini, Dan Clarke, Conor Daly, Alex Lloyd, Philip Major, Stephen Simpson, Stefan Wilson and James Winslow.
MotorTrend – First Test: 2012 Mini Coupe John Cooper Works
From Motor Trend…. Call it what you want — just don’t call it boring. If you’re struggling for a descriptor, call it a trailblazer, because the all-new 2012 Mini Coupe touts some significant brand firsts: It’s the first Mini with room for only two; the first to have active aerodynamics, and the first to be engineered with what designers call a three-box structure. (More on this later.) And here comes the biggie: Nearly everything about this Mini — particularly in sportier John Cooper Works form — is honed specifically for “optimum performance” and supposedly entertains drivers “even better” than the rest of the lineup. Full article here.
British long jumper leaps over three Mini Coopers
In honor of a brand-new limited edition Mini Cooper created for the 2012 London Summer Olympics, British track and field athlete J.J. Jegede took flight for a rather interesting stunt involving the cars. Jegede who is a champion British long jumper decided to take on a stunt where he would jump over three well-placed Mini Coopers and land in a sand pit on the other side of the structure. For most this seems like an impossible task but it appeared to be a day at the beach for the Olympic hopeful.
When he was asked about the stunt itself, Jegede stated that he was excited to take on the challenge: “When you watch athletics on TV it’s hard to really understand just how far professional athletes can jump. “I’ve always wanted to demonstrate my ability in a fun way, so I jumped at the chance to perform an Evel Knievel-style display. It is my ultimate dream to compete at London 2012.”
We’ll Make a Manual Out Of You Campaign
MINI has done it again – a cheeky look at manual driving vs. automatic. Check out this handbook and then go to the MINI website and watch the video . Lastly, look at the comparison chart of Stick vs. Automatic drivers (click on image to enlarge). Don’t know how to drive a manual transmission? MINI of Westchester will teach you. Contact me for details.
Mini: The car that made the ’60s swing
Courtesy of IOL Motoring…. Nice history of the MINI. Click here for article
U.S. Sales of Fiat 500 Fail to Live Up to Expectations
Fiat blames nascent dealer network on poor sales
Fiat was supposed to make a triumphant return to the U.S. market with its diminutive and distinctively styled 500. However, things haven’t exactly panned out exactly the way that Fiat planned according to The Detroit News.
The 500 is a subcompact that is being pitted directly against the Mini Cooper (an upcoming Arbath model will target the Mini Cooper S). On a lesser degree, the 500 also competed with the Smart fortwo and the upcoming Scion iQ.
However, sales of the tiny four-seater are nowhere close to reaching the lofty goals set by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. Fiat expected to sell 40,000 500s during 2011 in North America. Through the first seven months of 2011, Fiat sold fewer than 12,000.
For comparison, BMW AG’s Mini brand had total sales of 34,527 through July. The two-door Cooper/Cooper S coupe and convertible models alone accounted for over 20,000 of those sales.
Laura Soave, head of Fiat North America says that establishing a dealer network in the U.S. has taken longer than expected which has contributed to the poor sales. “We have coverage now, so now is the time for us to turn this up,” Soave added.
Two basic models of the vehicles are currently available to U.S. customers: the 500 (coupe) and the 500c (convertible). The cheapest model available is the 500 Pop which has a base MSRP of $15,550 (the cheapest Mini Cooper will set you back $19,400). The Fiat 500 also has good fuel economy for a subcompact with EPA ratings of 30mpg in the city and 38mpg on the highway with a 5-speed manual.
Shares of Fiat SpA dropped over 4 percent on the news of poor 500 sales.