MINI Cooper


NAIAS Gallery, Day One

Day one of the 2013 North American International Auto Show has come to a close, and it is time for a quick rest before day two gets fired up with another round of rollouts, debuts, and premieres. Here is a gallery of the bedazzlement that the opening day offered from automakers such as Jeep, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Volkswagen, Hyundai, MINI, Bentley, Honda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, Infiniti, and Maserati.


Grinding Gears Garage and the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe, for When Cute Wants to Raise a Little Hell

The good thing about MINI cars is they don’t pretend to be anything they are not. The great thing about MINI cars is they deliver everything they promise. And the new MINI Cooper Coupe – specifically the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe – promises to be one of the funnest driving experiences on the road. One thing about MINI Coopers is they are deceptively roomy inside, but with this new Coupe — while seating area is aplenty — headroom is somewhat scarce; but what do you expect from an adult’s version of a go-kart? The Coupe is a two-seater version…



LeaseTrader.com app picks leads to ‘Wheels of Summer’

From the good folks at LeaseTrader.com came an e-mail announcing their picks for the top car leasing apps for smartphones. While I personally have not explored the depths of the auto lease, I know it is a choice many consumers have made. Not to kill their thunder, I got to wondering that with summer upon us, and folks turning their attention to vacations, what about those of us just looking for a temporary detour from the reality of the daily drive. You know, a very VERY short-term lease.


MINI Cooper John Cooper Works convertible – Oliver Twist finally gets his wish

All photos by the Author The tide has turned on large, mobile real estate-hogging vehicles here in the U.S. and the new trend is small – OK, mini. And one of my favorite vehicles of the past decade has been the MINI Cooper. It was love at first sight (and drive) when the millennial Cooper hit U.S. shores in 2000. Built by BMW, this is one of my favorite overall vehicles and they offer one of the most enjoyable driving experiences – of any sized car. MINIs are available in hardtop, convertible, supercharged, Clubman and, coming soon, full four-door Countryman…


MINI Cooper and smart fortwo – good things come in small packages

The tide has turned on large, mobile real estate-hogging vehicles here in the U.S. and the new trend is small – even tiny. We recently tested a couple of tiny cars – the MINI Cooper and the smart fortwo passion coupe – and one of the most common comments was relating to accidents, something along the lines of “I sure wouldn’t want to be in a wreck in one of those.” Well, I wouldn’t want to be in a wreck in anything, but I certainly concede their point after driving these little passenger vehicles in traffic next to one-ton duallies…