WheelTronix

The rate of the lease is also being reduced from $850 (€675) per month to $600 (€476). This is real good news for BMW Group’s MINI brand. This proposal has helped half of its MINI E clients to renew their leases and extend it for a second year.

The MINI E is an electric variant of the MINI model and the iconic British brand has 450 of them raiding the streets of Los Angeles and New York. This is a pilot plan which is meant to prove the real-world feasibility of the car.

Rich Steinberg, who is in charge of the North America’s BMW electric vehicle operations, stated to InsideLine that “the brand will only be offering the renewals to private customers and not fleet users. The monthly lease price is also being cut from $850 (€675) per month to $600 (€476).”

Under the hood of the MINI E is a 150 kW (204 hp) electric motor provided by lithium-ion batteries. The all-electric features an array of around 120 miles which is 193 km. The MINI E is intended for manufacture next year.

One need not worry about someone stealing one’s pride and joy from their garage. The reason is that now the car can be parked in the living room.

This is the extreme method which has being adopted by William Cardiff, of Guildford in Surrey, who is worried that his classic Mini is a key aim for car cops.

This fresh garaging explanation is perfect. It makes sense.  To make it work William Cardiff has fitted a pair of double doors to his front room to permit him to drive the mini in and out whenever he needs to do so.

He further asserts that “Classic cars are a prime target for thieves, particularly so at present when money is tight.” But the sad thing is that stealing mini does not render any benefit from anti-theft gadgets to defend them from the light-fingered.

The first Mini celebrated its 50th birth day yesterday by returning to its Oxford birth place at Cowley.
The Mini Minor, painted in Old English White and with the registration number 621 AOK, called in at the renamed ‘Plant Oxford’ for the day to celebrate its birthday in fashion.

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Mini has got together with iconic caravan builder Airstream for a unique conception which will be shown at this year’s Salone del Mobile furniture show in Milan.
The idea will be demonstrated for the first time at the Interni Design Energies exhibition in the courtyards of Università degli Studi di Milano from Tuesday 21 to Thursday 30 April.

Republic of Fritz Hansen which is a Copenhagen-based furniture brand and is quite famous for its minimalist and functional design is also involved with the construct, by having its own spin on the inside of a Mini Cooper S Clubman and the retro-style silver Airstream trailer.

The shade of the whole concept will be predominately jet black with black ‘wetsuit’ neoprene accents with green trim on the inside, plus green lighting.

The 22ft silver Airstream trailer will also have the same exterior details as the Mini. The only change is that it will have an interior designed for life at the beach.

This model makes use of the turbocharged 1.6-litre engine of the Cooper S, gets fine-tuned for 211bhp and up to 207lb-ft of torsion when the supercharge kicks in.

The JCW cabriole will go between 148mph and 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds, giving 39.8mpg and gives off 169g/km of carbon dioxide.
Alterations to the engine in the form of a larger air intake and new exhaust system, some light weight and non-breakable components plus beefed up transmitting gear.

An exclusive JCW speedometer – which can read up to 160mph – and JCW alcantara steering wheel, gear knob, sports seats, floor mats and piano-black trim are the few inner changes in the car.

It has a 17″ cross-spoke alloy wheels with run-flat tires, and an Aero body kit standard besides extra-large brake discs, red Brembo brake calipers and an electronic differential lock control function for deactivated stability control. This decelerates a spinning inside wheel to improve grip, but does not cut engine power.

The UK sales begin at the end of March. Prices are from £23,470.

A fleet of electrically-powered Mini Es is to start testing in Berlin.

BMW is offering 15 test cars to both companies and private customers in this trial programme, which will run at the same time as with the programme already declared for Los Angeles.
The electric Minis offered will be similar to those used in LA, with no European-specific changes; they are capable of a 250km range between recharges, though this has only been made possible by fitting a huge 5,000-cell battery pack.

BMW wants to gauge consumer demand, customer expectations and reaction to the electric Minis, usage patterns and how its dealers cope with the vehicles before developing the concept further.

Minis are the best at holding their value and the Alfa Romeo 166 is the worst, according to a new report.

The Mini 1.4 TD hatchback and the Mini Convertible hold their value better than any other vehicle sold in the UK, according to data from EurotaxGlass’s. These models are resold for an average 63.2% of their original new list price after three years and 37,000 miles, making them a pretty good investment.
Bottom of the class is the 166, which retains just 12% of its original value at trade-in time.

BMW is to establish a succession of field trials of electric Minis and is organizing a swift of several hundred.

The automobiles are to be constructed at the Cowley factory and then altered in Munich, before getting into real-life trying out for 12-18 months.
This step will permit the BMW Group to achieve a primary knowledge of how quality can be accomplished expeditiously using strictly electrically-powered vehicles. Our job here is to join the eventual driving experience with a competent electrified drive with almost no emissions announce the chairman of BMW.

Alfa Romeo MiTo the UK debut is the smallest Alfa Romeo model after the Alfasud in the 1970s. It is smaller than the 147 and is a B-segment model which is based on the ground of the Fiat Grande Punts. It is the main competitor of the Mini, Ford Fiesta and Audi A1 which are due next year. It is a compact, fashion oriented model.

When you look at the Alfa shield grille from a few distance it looks like a bird because of the minute width of the car, stressed by the teardrop shape of the headlamps and a lower grille with turned-down ends, which increments the odd expression of the car.
The interior is one of Alfa’s best designs so far. The IP top has a characteristic Alfa twin-hooded instrument binnacle supported with four round vents projecting out of the main facade to create a stunning landscape of forms. Inserted into this is a carbon-fiber consequence soft plastic pad that envelops the instrument housing hood and spans down into the center stack. Other features include a plug-in MP3 player and Bluetooth phone connectivity. A final point, note the DNA electronic control system paddles just in front of the gear lever, featuring three modes: Dynamic, Normal and All-Weather.