I’m not saying that I’ve made up my mind, but if I were going to order another Cooper S it’d probably look like this. It’s what I think is the perfect blend of nice options and economical restraint. It’s also a spec aimed more at comfort than performance.
One sunny autumn afternoon when I was about 13, my dad and I were out collecting canned goods door to door as part of a Thanksgiving charity drive. We strolled house to house, our paper grocery bags filling with dusty boxes of mac ‘n’ cheese and squatty little neglected cans of tuna. The sun was getting low in the sky and as we entered yet another cull de sac, I saw something I’d never seen before.
If anybody’s interested, my 1994 Acura Integra RS Sedan is up for sale. [UPDATE] Four hours after posting on CL, the car sold. Wow!
The small car segment in America is in quite a state of flux right now. Used to be that compact cars were as unequipped as they were unsafe. The concept of a premium or even a luxury small car in America was completely foreign. More accurately, it was european. But in the last few years, the segment has really expanded. The BMW-bred MINI reboot in 1999 and the introduction of the Cooper to the US in 2001 marked a turning point in the segment. Here was the smallest production car available in the market, and not only was it efficient and safe, it was sporty and nice.
The MINI Cooper S and the Clubman followed, but more interestingly, the small car offerings in the US market at large got much better. The premium small car market since then has only really seen the introduction of the Volvo C30 and later the 1-series BMW. Premium small cars aside, the regular small cars available in the US simply got nicer by default. A great example of this is Scion’s redesigned 2008 xB. My wife just recently leased one to replace her petrol-chugging pickup truck, and we both really like it.
Special thanks to db and Gabe for the nod. I’m a big fan of the site.
Todd, db, and special guest Michael Babischkin took some time to talk about the MINI Crossover Concept and gave a very kind mention of my analysis from last week. Thanks, gentlemen. Their discussion of the concept turned out to be very interesting, which is no surprise. WRR is always a fine program worth a listen. db’s comparison to the Infinity FX on looks and Todd’s likening to the Scion xA/xD on concept were very good observations. Likewise the comparison to the Subaru Outback is a really good analog to what this car will end up being, I think. The Outback has a very loyal fan base, so something similar in a smaller package could really be a big hit.
Regular readers of MotoringFile learned ages ago that MINI is developing an SAV (sports activity vehicle) for the 2011 model year. The news broke yesterday about MINI’s new Crossover Concept car, which will give us a good window into what to expect in late 2010 debut of the Crossman Countryman factory car. BMW and MINI generally follow a pattern of releasing concept cars about 18-24 months before releasing a factory model based on that concept. The Crossman, known internally as the R60, will reportedly be a shared platform between BMW’s X1 (the 1-series baby brother to their X3 and X5 SAVs) and MINIs Clubman wagon variant of its iconic Cooper hatchback. Expected features include four doors, all-wheel drive, and possibly even an ultra-efficient diesel engine option. Reports from MINI are that the AWD system will not be a sport-tuned symmetrical system akin to the Subaru WRX, but rather an as-needed system to assist in low-traction situations. I don’t think anyone expects this “soft roader” to be suited for anything more adventurous than Midwestern pothole dodging, but that extra level of traction appeals to an ever-growing number of car buyers, especially those of us with real winters.