Just finished my 580 mile drive down to southern PA, where I’ll be working this week – nicely, the temperature has risen to close to 50! On the downside, it’s supposed to rain soon 😦
Anyway, catching up on MINI news, I just read the “gloom and doom” from MotoringFile (joke!) discussing whether the significant drop in MINI sales in other countries, will soon occur here too.
Personally, I suspect that sales will drop but maybe just down to the “more normal” 3500-4000/month level.
But then, I also just saw this news item indicating that MINI of Peabody is having a “clearance” sale:
… until December 31st, Mini of Peabody is offering a $0 deposit, $0 down lease deal on select Minis with a monthly payment of $266.86 for 36 months …
Is that an indication of poorer sales, or simply a desire to close the year nicely?
Also in the news today, NHTSA, BMW Fighting Over Mini Cooper Recall! I can understand why MINI/BMW think that hot exhaust tips is not worthy of a “safety recall” (which typically conjures up images or roll-overs and fires) … but as the article states, “the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act provides for a safety recall when there is a safety-related defect, and the law does not give the manufacturer the option of choosing a different course of action“.
Of course, if MINI is expecting sales to drop, the last thing they need is lots of media coverage about a MINI safety recall!
M&I / GBMINI 
Interesting that MoP’s having a sale. I dropped Scrat off on Sunday afternoon but forgot to look if they still had the ’06 MCS with 2k miles on the odometer. That’s the car that ignited Sarah’s search for a Cooper S to replace her Cooper. It was a sweet car, but at $27,000 just too much money. I wonder if they brought the price down on that, eventually…
I am pretty sure that MoP is doing this partly because of the downturn in business, have talked to more than one MA friends at other dealerships and most are seeing numbers falling somewhat. Kinda sad day to see “deals” at a Mini dealership, to date the car has always been a consumer demand that has kept deals at the bay.
As related to the tailpipe issue… What a CROCK this whole thing is! Maybe MINI should just issue a personal babysitter for those who need to be coddled. These same people are the types that need warnings on hair dryers so they won’t use them in the shower. Gad, why does the world always have to be geared to the lamest among us? OMG the tail pipe is hot, what a concept.
As related to the sales issue… Was going to get a Clubman JCW but my retirement funds have been hit big time but 2009 might be a good time to at least look at a Clubman JCW as there might be some good deals back in your neck of the woods. My local dealer is still pushing a fully loaded Clubman JCW for $42,000.00.
Here’s my question for those who think the tailpipe is in the wrong position and MINI should fix it…
How far back is safe? How many inches back? Do you have a motorcycle? Do you think Honda should be sued if you burn yourself on the tailpipe? Aren’t you supposed to be somewhat coherent as a parent when you have kids around hot objects?
I can only agree, Robert … it’s a class action driven country, sometimes 😦
[don’t know if this issue is class action, but it’s that level of nonsense]
So this is only a USA thingy? Wow, not only can we not govern ourselves very well but now we look like a bunch of namby pamby’s to other countries. I could see a recall if the tailpipe was razor sharp and you sliced up your hand while washing the car.
We seem to coddle these people who need to be held by the hand to get through life, who refuse to take responsibility for their lives as parents and adults and want the government to breast feed them.
Perfect example warnings on hair dryers against usage in the shower, and buckets that have warnings that your kid could drown in them. Only in America.
to bad this deal is for only one car on the lot. They show a cooper s and the deal is for a cooper. Just like a dealer.
I was at MoP last Friday and looked at the price of the ‘special offer’ in the showroom. It was a Clubman, so wasn’t that interested, but I think it was over $30K and I think it was ex-demo. Not exactly used in terms of miles, but not exactly well treated either…
Having just had a ride in a friend’s Audi S4 that he got on their certified program with 100,000 mile warranty for under $25K, I’d have a very hard time buying a MINI, new or used for close to $30K..! I like my ’02 S, but the recent MINIs just don’t appeal to me like the first ‘new MINIs’ did, and they still hold their value too much to be a good used buy.
I imagine there are many people who ditched their V8 S4s when gas was $4/gal who are now kicking themselves..! 🙂