Buy A New (Sort Of) Mini Moke

Check out this wonderful article on the perfect beach car - the Mini Moke - which you can still buy today from Ryan Pilla.

[Source: Hamptons.com]

My MINI Has Too Many Rattles Since I Replaced The Stereo

Groovy Baby, Vive Le Sport 1969

Check out this groovy swinging sixties short film advertising Dunlop SP Sports radial tyres and the legendary Mini Cooper S.

The main story is about 2 groovy babes driving all over Europe in a brightly coloured MKII Mini Cooper S, whilst being pursued by some very dodgy men.

So its a kind of psychedelic 'Thelma & Louise' on acid, but with a happy ending and a bit of comedy thrown in along the way too.

The film stars the late Barrie Gosney, former professional racing driver Liane Engeman (who drives the Mini) & Beth Morris.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



[Source: YouTube user Domitron1998]

We Think We Know What Mom Did With All Your Matchbox Cars

Made them into Wall Art.

[Source: Apartment Therapy via Tchochkes via Jalopnik]

How To Negotiate Your Next Car Purchase

Car and Driver provides an excellent Car-Buying Negotiating Guide.

Don't Try This Stunt At Home Especially If You Want To Have Kids

California Budget Crisis Closes DMV On July Fridays

The California Department of Motor Vehicles reminds that, in keeping with the Governator's Executive Order, DMV offices will be closed on Fridays July 10, 17, and 24, 2009. Motorists who have a registration renewal date that falls on a Friday closure day will have penalties waived until the next business day.

The DMV urges you to use their website, www.dmv.ca.gov, to schedule office appointments for up to three transactions or for three separate customers; renew driver licenses; renew vehicle registrations; make changes of address; register to vote; purchase personalized plates; file a notice of release of liability; check the license status of driver’s education or traffic schools and new or used vehicle dealers; file vehicle transfer forms; calculate fees and taxes due; request refunds; and make appointments for both car and motorcycle driving skill tests.

"[F]rom A Standstill The Car Is Basically A Glorified Golf Cart"

. . . so says Wired Magazine in its review of the MINI-E. Wired actually liked the car but mused to their host,

[s]urely the monthly cost for those of us who can’t pay cash will have to come down for the Mini E to be truly successful. In fact, when we told [James] Van Nostrand [executive director of the Pace University Energy and Climate Center] that $850 a month could probably get him a Lamborghini, he just smiled.

“But who wants a Lamborghini?” he replied."

[Source: Wired]

Your Wife's Health Or Your Car? Hmmm

Watch this clip from American Dad. Are you this obsessive over your car restoration project?



[Source: Hulu (full episode available at iTunes) via TheCarConnection.com]

Backroads Rally Pre-Rally Puzzle Pieces Still Available

There are still puzzle pieces available for the Contra Costa Backroads Rally Pre-Rally contest and the custom graphic from minimotoringgraphics.com is still up for grabs. Visit or call (866-997-9700) MINI of Concord if you have questions. The Rally is Sunday, July 19, 2009 with a tech session starting at 8:00 a.m.

The Most American Car

What car is the most American based on the percentage (by cost) of parts in the vehicle that are made in America? The Toyota Camry according to Cars.com's Annual American-made Index. Four Toyotas are in the top 10. Only 5 of the top 10 cars in the Index were made by American manufacturers.

[Source: via The Auto Channel]

MINI One D Coming

MINI will release the MINI One D, with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, this September. No word on whether it will be available in the US although, based on past experience, it is unlikely to be offered here.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Beat It, Just Beat It

Watch this segment of Operation Repo on truTV where they repossess a Delorean and get kicked in the ass by a Michael Jackson look-alike. Just click here.



[StupidVideos via Jalopnik]

Can You Name This Car?

One of these 1976 classics will be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed July 3-5, 2009 according to car body design.

Most Traffic Accident Deaths Occur Due To Poor Road Conditions

According to a study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) on traffic accidents and fatalities over half of the deaths that occur on US roadways are due to poor road conditions. Over $217 billion dollars of taxpayer dollars per year are spent due to these accidents which PIRE breaks down as follows:

"$20 billion in medical costs; $46 billion in productivity costs; $52 billion in property damage and other resource costs; and $99 billion in quality of life costs which measure the value of pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life by those injured or killed in crashes and their families."

The study recommends road improvements, such as road shoulder "rumble strips," more and better guardrails, wider road shoulders, and more space to provide a bigger buffer between drivers and structures.

[Source: TransportationConstructionCoalition via PRNewswire via TheCarConnection.com]

Fix That Power Window Regulator Yourself

doityourself and 2CarPros have excellent step by step directions for replacement of those power window regulators when your car windows refuse to go up or down.

Female British BMW Drivers Love Sexy Lingerie

Online used-car vendor Carmony.co.uk studied British drivers' attitudes and habits, and asked about their underwear choices (we have no idea why someone would do this). According to the study, 27 percent of women BMW drivers (as well as 22 percent of women over 45) routinely wear what was described as 'sexy lingerie.' Eight percent of male drivers go "commando" and five percent claimed they wore a thong.

[Vancouver Sun via TheCarConnection.com; photo by Flickr user BenediktSebastian]

Ignition Interlocks May Be Made Mandatory For DUI Convicts

Time Magazine has an article that discusses a federal highway bill that is presently moving through Congress that will require mandatory breathalyzer ignition interlocks be placed on all cars belonging to DUI convicts. The bill would block federal infrastructure funds to any state that does not approve mandatory interlock laws.

[Source: via The Truth About Cars]

Your Smelly Car Is The Reason You’re High-Strung, Overweight And Terrible At Your Job

. . . so says Suzy Batis co-creator of the bathroom deodorizer Poo-Pourri who now has invented a line of automotive aromatherapy products that promise to “transform your driving routine into a rejuvenating experience with mood-enhancing scent." Dubbed "Karoma," an essential oils pendant diffuses the "spa-like" scent throughout the car. Scents include “Peace Baby!” for stress relief; “Just Hope!” for optimism; “Have Faith!” for mental clarity; “Love is in the Air!” to revitalize; “Drive your Headaches Away!” for headache relief; and “Curb Your Cravings!” for appetite control.

[Source: Wired]

We Want Some Of What Jim Is Smoking

Here is the official release from MINI on June sales:

Official Release: MINI USA reported sales of 4,105 automobiles, down 21.2 percent from the 5,211 cars sold in June 2008. Year-to-date, MINI USA also reported sales of 20,885 automobiles, a decrease of 20.9 percent, compared to the 26,400 cars reported after the first six months of 2008.
“This month, we saw consumers coming back into dealerships in some metro areas like Boston, New York and Los Angeles and that’s encouraging,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. “The positive results in those three areas have helped to decouple MINI somewhat from the industry decline and we continue to outperform the market by a wide margin.”

Jim, you have got to be kidding! A 20.9% drop is "encouraging?" Did you discover the spin term "decouple" after your wife learned you compared a new bride to a MINI in initial quality when MINI came in last in the J.D. Powers' Initial Quality Survey?

[Source: via MotoringFile]

The Mazda MX-5 RCFL vs. The Mini Cooper S Cabrio

Fifth Gear finds the MINI is faster, but, it enjoys driving the RWD Mazda more than driving the FWD MINI.

MINI Cooper D A Big Hit Down Under

The Auto Channel reports that, in June, the first month that the MINI Cooper D was offered in Australia, close to one quarter of the MINI orders were for the diesel version. Orders are running at double the anticipated rate.

Retro Arcade Game MINI Graphics

Portland artist Matt W Moore has covered a bunch of MINIs with amazing graphics from retro arcade games such as Pacman and Space Invaders.

[Source: The Cool Hunter/Like Cool via AutoMotto]

People Not All That Interested In The MINI?

Kelly Blue Book has listed the top 20 most researched new vehicles for the first part of 2009. Six are Toyotas, four are Hondas, three are Fords, two are Chevrolets, and there is one Lexus, one Mazda, one Nissan and one Volkswagen. There is not a BMW or MINI among the top twenty. Hey, and Jim, the Auto Channel reports -

"The MINI Cooper saw the largest decline in new-vehicle research in the past year, falling 18 positions from number 19 in June 2008 to number 37 in June 2009. Interest in the MINI was uncommonly high in June 2008 due to extremely elevated gas prices at the time; now that fuel prices have returned to more 'normal' levels in June 2009, new-car shoppers are not researching compact and sub-compact models like the Cooper nearly as often."

Gavin Green Chases History In A MINI Across Australia

Gavin Green's father, rally driver Evan Green, wrote a book entitled “Journeys with Gelignite Jack”, a fascinating account of his groundbreaking journey through Australia in a classic Mini. This year journalist Gavin Green retraced his father's steps in a new MINI. He, like his father 43 years ago, traversed some of the world’s most hostile driving terrain. The stock 2009 MINI Cooper impressed. Running on 16 inch tires Gavin didn’t once have to change tires over 12,000 miles of hard travel, despite the MINI often having to cover a mix of rock, mud, sand and asphalt at high speed.

The full story of Gavin’s trip will be read first by flyers travelling with British Airways when it is published as the cover story on 1 July in BA “High Life” magazine. The story and additional images will also appear online at www.bahighlife.com.

[Source: Motorcities]

Top 10 Movie Cars

Of course the MINIs in "The Italian Job" made the top ten of Autoweek.com's list of top movie cars, but, we didn't expect to see Harry's Dog Grooming Van from "Dumb and Dumber" as No. 9.

The Midas "Touch"

Everything King Midas touched turned to gold. However, according to the Contra Costa Times the only thing turning into gold at 22 Midas shops, 8 in the East Bay, were the alleged "brake special" scams uncovered by the California Attorney General's office during stings from 2005 through 2007. The franchises include Midas shops on Main Street in Walnut Creek, Monument Boulevard in Concord, Village Parkway in Dublin, two shops on North Blackstone Avenue in Fremont, a pair of Hayward shops, one in San Leandro and four in San Jose.

The franchise owner, Maurice Irving Glad, already operating under the terms of a 20-year-old injunction that set permanent restrictions on his companies over the same practices, has been charged with bait-and-switch practices that cost nearly $300 on average in unneeded, and in some cases unperformed, brake service. Mr. Glad's attorney decries the charges as unfounded and based on "rigged" evidence. According to the Attorney General's allegations, the Midas shops used "brake specials" to draw in customers, then made false or misleading statements to pressure customers to buy unnecessary parts and services. In some cases customers were promised work that was never done. In other cases customers did not receive proper paperwork, or appropriate tests were not done before a diagnosis.

Jet Turbine-powered ATV

Built by Popular Science -



(Source: Popular Science via Jalopnik]

NHTSA May Mandate Rear Amber Turn Signals

The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating whether to mandate that vehicle rear turn signals be amber-colored. Currently, they can be amber or red. A NHTSA study determined that amber rear turn signals were 5.3% more effective than red lights in preventing collisions.

[Source: KickingTires]

Big Increases In Car Rental Rates

Based on the New York Times review of Abrams Consulting Group data on car rental prices, rental rates have increased 73% over last year due to cuts in the size of rental fleets and price gouging.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]