Mini Dealer Dallas

The last week of May saw the delivery of the first MINI e taking part in MINI’s lease program.
450 “lucky” drivers get to drive/use the MINI e as their primary mode of transport for a year.
Not that this is free though; they had to shell out $850 a month for a years’ (which is almost twice the lease amount for a regular MINI) lease plus taxes and insurance.

The $850 monthly lease goes to maintenance, parts replacement and other technical services needed.
After a year the vehicles get sent back to BMW-MINI for comparative testing.
It seems though that BMW won’t have to wait an entire year.
Already unforeseen problems are starting to crop up.
The first major issue was with the charging cable.
Apparently in many areas where the vehicles are being distributed, there is a local building code/s that states that all electrical hardware must be Underwriters Laboratories approved.
One of the requirements when applying for the lease was that there must be a socket/service inside the garage that supplies 220V.
Ooops. not too many of those in the US.
It has been a few months now. Check with your MINI dealer to find out the latest.

The 2010 Crossman is Mini’s entry into the SUV market. There has been talk about this new toy as early as 07. Some say that it will be out in the market in October or November this year. Then again some say early next year. The Crossman as some say it will be called is not even on any official Mini website yet.

Frankly there’s a lot of speculation going around still. Some say that it will come with the same 1.6 liter, 16 valve engine of the base Minis. Other proponents give it the super charged, 1752hp engine of the S. and then there are still other that insist that the Crossmans’ heart will be based on the 208 hp John Cooper Works engine. Looking at some of the spy photos, the Crossman looks like a Clubman on steroids. Bigger, wider front, larger tires, a skid plate and roof rails.

The only 3 points that all agree on is that it will come with a new all/four wheel drive system and the Crossman will be built in Austria by Magna Steyr, the same company that built BMWs’ X3. The third is that based on the other Mini variants, this is going to be another fun drive.

The other day a friend of mine asks my opinion of the Mini as she has plans on buying one-a Mini S JCW in fact.

So I went through the usual stuff: 1.6-liter (DOHC), 208 hp, 16-valve, in-line 4-cylinder aluminum-alloy engine, 6-speed Aisin Agitronic Automatic transmission (she wants an automatic), 0-100kph in 6.5 seconds (they’re used to metric here), either 16” or 17″ alloy wheels with run-flat all-season or performance tires and so on.

Ride wise I told her it’s a fun car to drive.

Safety wise, it’s got CBC (Cornering Brake Control), ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) among other things. Side impact protection and six airbags.

Handling is superb. Knowing she’s single, I said that this would be a good buy.

I wouldn’t have it she had a family knowing that the legroom at the back isn’t that great not to mention the pains for a rear seat passenger in a 2 door. Plus if she had kids it’s rather hard finding a car seat.

Overall she’ll have a blast in this car.

In an otherwise depressed auto industry, the Mini car is doing quite well.

Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, GM and others will roll out new mini car vehicles at Paris Motor Show.

BMW Sales of Mini cars jumped 11 percent to 16,257

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will introduce new models this week at the Paris Motor Show

Among Hyundai’s other new offerings to be shown is the i10 mini car.
Kia will show off its Soul crossover compact car at the show.

The Soul hit showrooms in South Korea last week, and is Kia’s first crossover model to challenge Toyota Motor Corp.’s Scion xB in Europe and the U.S.

Toyota will debut iQ mini-car which will be the smallest four-seat car on the market,

When the original Mini was introduced back in 1959, it was revolutionary.

No car before it had combined front-wheel drive with a transversely-mounted engine and a unibody chassis structure and four-wheel independent suspension.

The second generation of new Mini debuted last year, which introduced the naturally-aspirated (turbocharged) forced-induction 163 horsepower engines developed in a joint venture with Peugeot-Citroen.

And now Mini has improved on that with the John Cooper Works version of the Cooper S. offered in both hardtop and Clubman body styles.

The JCW upgrades the suspension, brake, wheel and tire, and interior from the standard Mini Cooper S.

The 1.6-liter twincam direct-injection turbo engine that increase power to 208 hp (at 6,000rpm).

Click here to find the best pricing on a New Mini Car.

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