Late last night I saw the new Mini Cooper cruzing down State Street in SLC, UT!!! I must state how small that vehicle is and I own an A1 VW GTI!!! The Mini was going the opposite direction from where I was going but I was able to tell that a young female was driving with a big grin. Makes me wonder what she was grinning about, was it the Mini or my S2000??? We may never know but one thing is for sure, the Mini Cooper will be everywhere similar to the New Beetle with females driving them all.

 

from the New Jersey VPC:

 

Yep - they're starting to become popular here too - won't be long before they're a very common car.
Personally I'm not entirely sure that I like the exterior looks.

As with the new Beetle, I can't help feeling its over-priced.
Compare it with the Civic Type R.

 

Thanks Loki... We can always depend on you for the best pictures.

 

I will not be common in Texas anytime soon.. no dealers authorized to sell them here.

The story I heard was that BMW and the State of Texas had a disagreement regarding classification when the X5 came out that slowed the introduction.. so BMW seemed to lose all the paperwork for Texas dealers when it came to the Mini.

I guess they are very confident regarding sales since that prevented retail outlets in the second largest auto market in the country.

 

They aren't going to miss the Texas market for the first year but still don't understand BMW's stance.

The front license plate bracket ruins the front. Should've lowered it to keep from splitting the chrome strip like the European version.

 

I think these cars are really cool lookin'. They seem to be a bit pricey though. At any rate, I was always a fan of the originals just because they looked so funny. I can see how these things might catch on with the female and yuppy crowd though. Trend always seems to kill a perfectly good idea. If I see another Boxter in the DC area I'm just gonna yack. Thank God the S2000's are still relatively rare here. We'll see what the situation is like next year.

 

My wife loves the mini. I don't think they look very safe. Not a very big car...

Have they made it stateside already? I thought that wasn't going to happen for a few more months at least.

Jaykkub

 

according to crevier bmw/mini... the new mini will be available for sale march '02. the cooper s won't be available until august '02

 

I sat in the new MINI last Friday at the local dealer!! The mid-atlantic MINI rep has a silver Cooper with black roof and mirrors. The car is very shwwweet, I really liked it. Just the right size. It's beautifully designed inside and out. There is lots of room in the front, and the back isn't too bad. I'm 5'7" and just barely fit in the rear seats with my 6'0" friend sitting in the front seat. There are lots of options, such as a dual-pane panoramic sunroof, Xenon lights (like S2000 ), 17" wheels, etc.

I am #1 on the list here in Richmond and I can't decide between the Cooper and Cooper S.............must wait for a test drive. We are getting 3 demos around March 18th - 2 Coopers and 1 Cooper S. Can't wait!!