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20 Jan
MINI Countryman officially revealedPrompted by yesterday’s leaks, MINI have officially unveiled the new MINI Countryman, with a slew of photographs, accompanied by the usual wordy press release. Among the usual heavy marketing jargon are plenty of juicy details. One stand out fact, as it’s highlighted in the very title of the press document, is the MINI Countryman is [...]
19 Jan
Official MINI Countryman photographs leakedAs has become the tradition with MINI press releases and images over the years, somebody, somewhere, leaked the first official photographs of the forthcoming MINI Countryman / R60. As is also the tradition, the images have spread like wildfire, and we’ve no idea where they originated from. But, for those of you who haven’t stumbled [...]
18 Jan
MINI marketing meets magic eye makes mayhem!If you are of a certain age, you probably remember spending far too long staring at a load of spirals and other random patterns in an attempt to reveal often underwhelming 3D shapes, all thanks to the Magic Eye craze that appeared to sweep the world. If you’re an avid MINI watcher, you may have noticed [...]
17 Jan
More power, more colours for MINI in 2010The MINI range is having a spring makeover, with new petrol engines across the range going on sale from March 2010. All petrol MINIs will now meet UE5 emissions regulations, and the MINI One will be swap it’s current 1.4 litre petrol power plant for a 1.6 litre engine with new variable valve timing [...]
16 Jan
Mini MINIs land theme park in hot waterAccording to a report in the super soar-away Sun, BMW has filed a lawsuit against a South Carolina amusement part for copyright infringement, after a cease and desist order from last November apparently went unanswered. The Round About roller-coaster ride is one of the top attractions at the Myrtle Beach based Freestyle Music Park (formerly [...]
07 Jan
MINI UK sales heat up, while production freezesBMW Group Plant Oxford, manufacturing and spiritual home of the MINI in the UK, halted production as factory workers felt the force of the UK’s current cold snap. While some workers did manage to show yesterday morning (6th January), the Oxford Mail reports that a decision was made to halt production as the chilly temperatures showed [...]
01 Jan
MINIs for Christmas?So here we are, 2010. The Christmas season is drawing to a close, and the streets are filling up with empty bottles, recycling, rubbish, even perhaps the occasional dishevelled partygoer. But the pavements of Amsterdam have been littered with some rather more unique litter. MINI Netherlands and their ad agency came up with a [...]
16 Dec
Introducing the MINI Beachcomber ConceptJust over one week ago, theSwitchback predicted that a MINI Moke concept would be making an appearance at the forthcoming Detroit Motorshow in January 2010. Now it’s official, as MINI have taken the wraps off the latest concept from MINI Design, the MINI Beachcomber Concept. The MINI Beachcomber Concept now projects the principle of the Mini [...]
13 Dec
MINI E hits the UK streetsThe MINI E trials in the UK officially began today (13th December 2009) when 40 of examples of the all electric MINI were handed over to their new keepers at Plant Oxford. The UK MINI E trials, which are similar in nature to those already underway in the US and Germany will, according to parent company [...]
11 Dec
MINI UK report impressive November salesThe number of new MINIs registered in the UK during November 2009 reached an impressive tally of 3,097. This put MINI in the top ten for the month of November, and keeps MINI at an impressive 8th spot for new car registrations for the year to date. According to figures released by the SMMT, November [...]
07 Dec
MINI Moke for Motor City?Back in January 2001 I was working on a new MINI website called MINI2. One of the first articles I reported on was from UK rumour mongers extraordinaire, Auto Express. Apparently, so said the piece, BMW had encouraged stylists on the new MINI project to “let their pens run wild”. The results of these [...]