MINI Switzerland is set to publish a book that contains work from ten artists who have applied their talents on the MINI. Nico Ammann, art director and photographer of the works, said that the idea is to get together in one book a wide range of subjects.

Ten artists, who have never worked with a car as a medium, transformed the MINIs into true works of art. These artists and authors who contributed to the book project include: Smash137, Fabian Bertschinger, Marisa Pichler and Gigi Burn, Tika, Euro, Aurèle Sack, Stefan Ege and Seak, August, Rémi Jaccard and Dieter Meier, also famous as the singer in the band Yello. Continued after the jump!

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Tags:car news, Mini, mini 50th anniversary, mini news, mini wash me
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MINI is believed to be considering whether to participate in the World Rally Championship. Nothing has been confirmed yet and in fact, MINI is keeping its plans under wrap as much and as long as possible. We found out though that ultimately, the company has been unable to decide on which car will serve as the base.

Sources say that it won’t be a Clubman WRC car and that MINI is gravitating towards a WRC Crossover. The latest update we heard is that Prodrive has been working with MINI on a rally-spec car. MINI’s Crossover was scheduled to be launched before the year ends but this has been postponed for the next year’s Geneva or Paris Shows. It’s becoming more likely that a WRC-spec car will be seen next year. The past year, Prodrive has been working on developing parts without actually working on a base model. Prodrive’s technical director, David Lapworth, has told our sources that there is “nothing to say” until the spring. Without committing to anything, he added though that it will be “very difficult” to hide this thing since very soon, more people and firms will be involved.

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Tags:car news, Mini, mini crossman rally car, mini crossman wrc, mini crossover, mini crossover rally car, mini crossover wrc, mini news, miniwrccrossover
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Fans of the Mini 4×4 will be dismayed to hear that the launch has been postponed again. The Mini SUV, which is rumored to be called either the Crossman or Countryman, was originally planned to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September but was moved to this January’s Detroit Motor Show.

Reports now are saying that since the production facilities for the vehicle are not yet in place, the launch will transpire in March’s Geneva Motor Show. Magna’s plant in Austria where the Mini will be built would only be able to accommodate it if BMW moves its X3 production facilities to Spartanburg, South Carolina. This move has not yet been completed.

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Tags:2010 geneva motor show, car news, mini 4x4, mini countryman geneva, mini crossman geneva debut, mini news, mini suv
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MINI is capitalizing on the demise of several GM and Chrysler dealerships in some areas of the US. And it isn’t because their vehicles compete in the same segment. Apparently, the closure of these dealerships has made real estate available for Mini in places where it wants to be.

MINI has a future line-up to display and it plans to ramp up its marketing by increasing its dealership count in the US from 86 to about 120 by 2012. Jim McDowell, BMW’s MINI brand vice president in the US, said that the company is currently eyeing 19 stores to be added, most of them in secondary markets where Mini ownership is high. The GM and Chrysler dealership closure left room for MINI to enter new markets because more real estate is available. For instance, MINI will open a store in a former Cadillac dealership in Birmingham, Alabama and one in a former Chrysler dealership in Alexandria, Virginia. The next two years for MINI will be productive in terms of lineup. MINI’s Coupe Concept is preparing to debut in Frankfurt next week, while the crossover has already been spied undergoing testing.

Tags:car news, mini cooper news, mini news, mini us dealerships expand
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MINI owners who are also iPhone and BlackBerry users can now call for roadside assistance at the click of a button. MINI USA announced that it has a free mobile application that quickly allows users to contact roadside assistance while also automatically sending out information about the vehicle and its exact location. Jim McDowell, Vice President MINI USA, said that MINI owners will welcome the peace of mind that comes from getting fast and easy access to free roadside services provided during the warranty period.

If you’re a MINI owner, what you do is download it to your iPhone or BlackBerry. You will be asked to enter your VIN, name, address and other details, as well as a photo of your MINI. When you need roadside help, you simply launch the application, select the service you require, and press “call.” All your information and vehicle location is sent to a customer service representative. The service uses GPS technology, which pinpoints your location. The customer service representative identifies the nearest available service provider and gives them your location. It saves a lot of time and that’s a primary concern when you’re in that tight situation. Remember that the service is only free as long as your car remains under warranty. If yours has expired, you can still download the free application and use the roadside assistance for a minimal fee. Video after the jump!

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Tags:car news, mini baclkberry road assistance, mini iphone road assistance, mini mobile road assistance, mini news
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After months of haggling, it’s becoming clearer that the R56 MINI Cooper D may never set their wheels on US soil. The reason is that the costs for converting the European Diesel engine to US specifications are too large for a three- or four-year production run.

Even if MINI USA charged 10%-15% more, they’d never make any money. And if MINI USA priced the car at 40%-50% more to pay for the re-engineering required, few would buy them at today’s moderately low fuel prices. However, plans for the R60 based Cooper S D to be available in the US are still up in the air so stay tune as we’ll have more updates in the coming weeks.

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Tags:car news, cooper d us debut, mini cooper d us, mini news
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Take a look at the new Mini First! This budget model, that costs around £10,950, is powered by the 74bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine with 89lb ft of torque that is also found in the Mini One. The Mini First hits 0-62mph in 13.2sec, has a top speed of 109mph and averages 53.3mpg while averaging 128g/km of CO2.

The Mini First was created to take advantage of the UK’s scrappage scheme. In Germany, an equivalent car got a third of all German Mini sales due to its local scrappage scheme. The Mini First comes with a variety of extras sold in packages. These range in cost from £390 to £855 and add items such as a three-spoke leather steering wheel, Bluetooth connectivity and front fog lights. The Mini First is available with Mini’s TLC package, which provides service and maintenance for five years for £185. Photo gallery after the jump!

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Recently, Bmw AG, the manufacturer that owns both Bmw and Mini, registered the “Countryman” name for trademark. It appears that this would be the name chosen for the upcoming crossover which will be revealed at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

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The MINI brand of the German carmaker BMW will be experiencing big improvements in the next 18 months. The company is expecting big bumps in product sales by 2011 and will consequently add 17 new dealerships to accommodate the expected sales volume.

The new dealerships, which will bring the total to 100 dealerships in the US, will be spread in urban areas where the MINI does not already have a presence. MINI is expecting to top its 2008 record of 54,077 sales in the US by a double digit increase by 2011. Although the figure they are aiming at seems steep considering the economic state of the market, the introduction of a new model line, the Clubman, may aid in attaining such a lofty goal, provided that the US economy improves soon enough. The following 18 months will see new dealer networks opening in urban centers beginning with: Pensacola, Florida; Alexandria, Virginia; Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Fort Myers, Florida; El Paso, Texas; Ontario, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Raleigh, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Loveland, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Mount Laurel, New Jersey; Allentown, Pennsylvania; San Diego, California and Tempe, Arizona..

Tags:car news, mini american dealer network expand, mini dealer network expand, mini news
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Graphite, Mini’s special edition model, will be launched to boost its lineup in the UK. The special edition model will come with lots of standard elements and will be offered in guises of the MINI One, Cooper and Cooper D.

Color finish for all Graphite models will be Dark Silver metallic paint, a color usually set aside for MINI Cooper S and JC Works versions. Standard equipment for the Mini One Graphite consists of black stripes, white indicators, interiors in piano black, special badges on the B-pillars and 15 inch alloys all included in the ￡13,075 OTR. The cooper and Cooper D Graphite copies will come with ￡14,590 and ￡15,660 OTR price tags, respectively, with a choice of black or white hood strips and bigger 16 inch alloys. Photo gallery after the jump!

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Tags:car new, mini cooper graphite edition, mini cooper graphite edition details, mini cooper graphite edition images, mini cooper graphite edition news, mini cooper graphite edition price, mini cooper graphite edition wallpapers, mini news
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