No, the interior you’re looking at above is not a new BMW interior, it’s actually that of the next generation Mini Cooper.

The Mini’s current interior pays homage to the original Mini with a retro-styled large speedometer in the middle, along with some modern enhancements such as toggle switches and coloured interiors that match the exterior. The interior has always been quite polarizing and BMW is clearly listening to the nay-sayers.

Assuming this test mule spotted cold weather testing in the article circle isn’t some elaborute ruse to foil sneaky photogs, it seems the next generation is going to do away with the love it or hate it retro look in favour of a decidedly BMW-esque interior. BMW fans will recognize the familiar looking centre stack as well as the orange conservative styled gauges.

BMW has recently said that the next generation Mini will take on a more modern look, but it was unclear if this meant a more modern exterior or interior. This pic seems to at least confirm the latter.

[Photo credit: KGP Photography via Autoblog Canada]

The Fiat 500, a relative newcomer and arguably the only true competitor to the Mini Cooper, has been for sale on our shores now for the past few months. It is also Fiat’s first model for sale in North America in decades and it takes aim squarely at the offering from Britain Germany. The Mini Cooper has been for sale in Canada for close to a decade now and has been doing well since its introduction. It’s no secret that Canadians love hatchbacks and we love micro hatchbacks even more. So the question is, who is the sales leader so far?

Well the Fiat 500 has sold 889 units. The Mini Cooper’s sales over the same period were 475. Looks like the 500 has taken an early lead. This is likely due to the hype surrounding the return of Fiat, its low starting price and the strong marketing campaigns. In fact, it’s reported that the 500′s success in North America is so important that it’s delaying (possibly indefinitely) Lancia badged Chryslers from crossing the pond.

Chrysler is heavily relying on our market specifically for the 500′s success and it looks like it’s paying off as the 500 even beat U.S 500 sales by 7 units. That doesn’t seem like all that much, but it’s extraordinarily rare that any model from any brand outsells the U.S sales.

Things are looking good so far. Will Chrysler be able to maintain those sales once the hype dies down? I’ll have to get a review of the 500 up quite soon. Getting one to drive seems to be easier said than done, however. Stay tooned.

[BMW Canada, Chrysler Canada]

Andreas Mueller apparently would go pretty far.

Mueller, originally from Germany, heard about a contest a local radio station was having where the grand prize would be a free Mini Cooper. The way to win the contest was to do the most craziest stunt in order to get the car.

Mueller ended up winning the contest because he came up with the idea to tattoo the word “Mini” on his gentleman part. Seriously.

“Once I’m sitting in the car, it won’t matter anymore. The pain will be gone and it’ll be alright”, said Mueller.

Obviously that is the most tremendously painful area to get a tattoo (as evidenced by his facial expression in the picture), but did Mueller consider how this might affect his um, love life? I mean he’d constantly have to explain to his dates that the word ‘mini’ isn’t referring to his genitals but rather his car. And then he’d have to explain why he did it. And then he’d have to explain to the waiter that it’ll just be a table for one because the girl would surely run away at that point.

I don’t think I could do it. I mean, it’s just a regular Cooper, not even a Cooper S!

Would you tattoo the word Mini on your genitals to get a free Cooper?

[Anorak]

By Kevin Harrison

Sometimes the more simpler things in life can give you just as much or even more pleasure than all the fancy gadgets and technology that we surround ourselves with. All my friends have smart phones. I have a $70 LG that insists on dismantling itself piece by piece if you even so much as look in its direction. But I actually like it. Sure, smart phones are cool but I really just use my phone for what Alexander Graham Bell originally intended it for: talking. Okay, I do text a fair amount but that’s only because everyone else insists on communicating to me that way and if I dared to call someone in response to a text they will react as if I just has sex with their girlfriend.

If I had a fancy iPhone or Blackberry I’d likely lose my job. Seriously, how do people with smart phones keep their jobs? Or their girlfriends? All smart phone people do is become hypnotized and nothing else around them matters. I know because I was once given an iPhone to hang on to for 10 minutes. When its rightful owner came back he pointed out everything that I had missed: three very attractive girls waiting at the bus stop, a car stopped by the police across the street and an unusually large spider that decided my leg would be an excellent chill spot.

So when I was given the opportunity to test BMW’s adorable little Mini Cooper I was not only excited at the prospect of a test drive, but I was also intrigued when I found out it was the absolute most base trim level you could get. Usually manufacturers like to give the most decked out model you can get for car reviews hoping to swoon the auto journalist that reviews it. What gives?

“You’ll have just as much fun with this,” assured Campbell Harbord of Halifax BMW. Apparently this was the same vehicle that Halifax BMW uses as a loaner car. I gave an unsure acknowledgment in return to Campbell, grabbed the keys from him and set out into the lot.

The first thing I noticed when I got to the Cooper was “my, what small ugly wheels you have”. I crouched down to see what the deal was. 15 inches. Oh, and they still had winter tires on them. From last winter. What the hell? They kept the winter tires on since last winter? Aside from the fact that winter tires wear down more quickly in warm weather, I didn’t want the Mini to have an unfair disadvantage. This was a review after all and Minis are renowned for their handling abilities. This would surely cause the Mini to misstep if I pushed it to the limit. Campbell mentioned no possibility of getting another Mini with summer tires on, so this had to do.

Turns out, the Mini Cooper is quite surefooted despite wearing the wrong shoes for the conditions. I know you always hear this when you read Mini reviews, but go-kart like handling really is the best way to describe it. There is a touch of understeer at first. I’m not sure if this could be blamed on the horrible tire/wheel set up or if it’s a characteristic of all Minis. Either way, it doesn’t quite matter as the point and shoot steering ensures you go the direction you intended. And it does it quite sharply. There is little hesitation from the Mini no matter how aggressive you drive, it is generally very pleased to do whatever you want it to. As far as front wheel drive cars go, this is easily in the top five for handling abilities.

Power comes from a 1.6 litre making 118 horses. Considering the Mini’s size and weight, this is indeed quite adequate. Power is mostly available in the top end. As a result of such a small low horsepower engine, the Mini retains excellent fuel efficiency scores. Rated at 7.9 city and 5.7 highways, the Mini has earned a spot on Natural Resources Canada’s most efficient vehicles of 2010 awards. It is the most efficient in its class. That is, if you drive as if there is a carton of eggs under the gas pedal. Which is really hard to do. The 1.6 is so peppy, and despite the rather buzzy exhaust note, you’ll find yourself over the speed limit rather than under it. On another note, when I say ‘buzzy’ I don’t mean annoying buzzy. It’s almost like an adorable characteristic.

My tester had an optional automatic. It’s pretty meh all the way around. Shifts aren’t fast and quick, but not terribly slow and jolty either. There are no paddle shifters available on the classic. Do yourself a favour and get the six speed manual. It will really bring out the life in the engine, whereas the automatic kind of robs it to a certain degree.

The interior tries everything it can to blend retro with modern styling and as is the usually the case, it doesn’t work out so well. Being a quirky car, the Mini’s interior has an abundance of somewhat confusing toggle switches, a large speedo in the centre stack which definitely takes some getting used to, and the hood release on the passenger side of the car. The radio unit is a bit hard to work as well as the two knobs that control the tuning and the volume are not labeled, look exactly the same and are positioned fairly close to one another. As a result, when Ke$ha comes on the radio and you naturally wish to change radio stations as quickly as possible, you inadvertently turn the volume knob ans suddenly her talentless blood churning voice gets louder.

Cargo capacity is obviously not this car’s main selling point, however the boot does have room for about four full grocery bags and the rear seats do fold down. Which is good because they are pretty much useless otherwise. The hilariously quotable Graeme Fletcher says it best, “this is where you put your briefcase, and not your favourite mother in-law”.

The exterior is the victim of a rather unfortunate colour choice and of course the wheels and tires so I won’t be too hard on it. Usually Mini’s are quite nice looking with a blend of sporty, classy and quirky, but my tester doesn’t really have any of those going on.

At the end of the day, Campbell was pretty much right. Despite this being the most base Mini you can buy with the only option being the automatic, I came away fairly impressed. At $22, 800 to start the Mini isn’t exactly cheap compared to… well, the Mini doesn’t have too much competition as such. The Audi A1 would be a good comparo but we don’t get it here unfortunately. Mercedes-Benz has the Smart Fortwo, which is grossly overpriced for what it is.  Maybe the Volvo C30 is the best to compare to and that starts at $27,000. You get more power, but it’s also heavier. In any event, the Cooper is all about fun at the end of the day, and it’s good to know you can get some good old fashioned fun in a base model without having to fork over money for things like leather seats.

You want cheap, fuel efficient fun? Here’s your answer.

Price: $22,800

Pros:

• Peppy engine
• Great on gas
• Some of the best handling abilities I’ve experienced in a FWD car
• Usable daily cargo area
• Cool styling

Cons:

• Complicated interior set up
• Trying a bit too hard on retro theme for interior
• Starting price is a bit high
• Could use a bit more refinement

Overall: 8.5/10

When BMW isn’t prodding Porsche to race, they’re hard at work refreshing the Mini lineup for the 2011 model year. We’ve pretty much seen what the refresh is going to look like through spy shots, but BMW has released official photos of the Cooper lineup.

The biggest news is that both engines get a boost in power. The regular Cooper gets a bump from 115 horsepower to 122, while the spicier Cooper S gets its power boosted from 172 to 180. Mini is still going to stick to turbocharging the Cooper S models, mostly to keep fuel efficiency numbers in check.

On top of that, the Coopers will all get LED tail lights, a slightly refreshed front facia and the Camden edition will be optional on every Cooper trim level, not just limited to the Cooper S like it is now.

Click here to check out an aray of pics, courtesy of Autoblog.

[Mini via Autoblog]

Quick, name the differences between the current 2010 Mini Cooper and the face lifted 2011 Mini Cooper you see above!

Times up. Come up with anything?  They are so similar that hiding the Mini badge really wasn’t needed. In fact, there’s no mistaking it for anything by a Mini.

The first thing I noticed right away was the chrome lining on the intakes up front. The rear snap reveals more chrome lined intakes in the back. And uh, yeah that’s pretty much it. The light clusters are slightly refreshed as well. The rear tail lamp refresh is more obvious with a more pronounced circular theme all while keeping the classic Cooper shape.

The interior is expected to get an equally minor refresh as well. Some new rim styles would be nice.

Check out the rear snap after the jump.

[AutoExpress]

I try not to bash the police on this site because they have one of the toughest jobs on the planet, but this is a pretty dick move no matter how you look at it.

As it turns out the Southern Ontario Mini Club likes to get all the local Mini Cooper owners together to share their common love for the little British German go-kart. These get together’s inevitably turn into spirited drives around the area. The drives then got turned into ‘charity drives’ and I’m sure you can insinuate by the name what that means. These charity drives only happen twice a year, and this year the Mini Club was excited for charity drive number one because they had 30 Mini owners sign up for it.

To ensure everything went smoothly, the Club notified the local Ontario police department as a courtesy to let them know that 30 Minis would be driving around town so that they wouldn’t think something suspicious was happening.

The first drive went smoothly, as they only encountered one OPP officer who seemingly was cool with everything and let the Mini brigade continue on. He even commented how there was only one OPP officer up the road and that he would let the other officer know so there would be no incident.

But that didn’t happen.

Not only was there more than one officer waiting, but there was an entire sting operation waiting to nab the Minis! They pulled over the entire convoy and gave speeding citations out to three of them who were going 120 kph in a 90 zone. One Mini owner even had their car confiscated. Pulling over a convoy of cars who gave notification is pretty low, but doing it to those who are just trying to raise money for charity is even lower.

Oh wait, no it isn’t. Because the police got as low as they could go when it was revealed that they purposely targeted the Minis from the beginning and set up the whole operation ahead of time as soon as they were notified by the Club that they’d be passing through. They even called a local television station so that they could film the sting operation in action! On top of that, they even called child services on some of the Mini owners who had their children with them along for the ride.

The video of the police serving and protecting being huge pricks has since been taken down by the TV station on the request of one of the Mini owners. There have been no apologies given so far by the OPP.

You get a tremendous FAIL for this one, OPP.

There is a billboard up in Germany that showcases the Mini Cooper’s naughtier side.

The billboard says “A good Mini takes you to heaven. A bad Mini takes you everywhere”. That is sure to ruffle a few feathers amongst religious groups, but the next part of the campaign will likely have them fuming.

Pictured on the billboard is a Mini Cooper with an S&M whip dangling behind the rear. There is also a code. If you text in the code word, the Mini will actually get disciplined via said whip. There is actually whipping sounds to go along with it and the Mini actually honks in pain/appreciation.

Get off  to Checkout the video after the jump.

This has got to be one of the weirdest options available right now.

New for the 2010 Mini Cooper is the 50th Anniversary Camden package. It costs $5,000 and gives you metallic paint, interior trim, hood graphics, 17 inch wheels and Camden badging. Oh, and it gives your Mini the ability to literally talk to you. I wish I was joking.

This new option is called ‘Mission Control’ and it “evaluates a vast range of vehicle, driving situation and vehicle environment-related signals and supplies the driver with relevant information and instructions in customary MINI style.” This means that your Mini essentially has a conversation with itself using two voices, both male and female, both with British accents.

Why the hell would anyone want this feature? Is it meant for loners? Is it meant to keep you awake? Is it meant to make you go so insane that you eventually beat your Mini to a pulp so you’ll have an excuse to buy a new one?

It is undoubtedly one of the most irritating options I’ve ever heard and it came very close to making our ‘FAILS’ category. Check out the video above to see it in action.