Mini News Most liked posts in thread: MINI presents the new John Cooper Works models.

Shift display tells you when is most efficient to change gears? ...Really? My Mom's 1993 Chevy S-10 had this feature. Not only was it annoying it was also worthless.

The out-puts for the new engines seem promising but we all knew the fully valvetronic engines (N18) were going to be an improvement.

Start-stop and energy regen like a hybrid as well. Not sure how I feel about that. :skep:

One other thing: WHAT RACE DEVELOPMENT?! MINI doesn't compete with any of these chassis or that engine. :frown2:

In a nutshell: I hate press releases. They are some fantastic BS.

 

RIP to the 6MT-only setup on a JCW.

 

Increasing mass market appeal sucks.

 

I am glad that mini is expanding their market, but at the same time the cars might loose some of their "coolness" if mini tries to appeal to more of a mass market. Just my two cents worth. On the flip side I would love to have a John Cooper Works Countryman all-wheel drive just for the simple fact that living in Colorado we do get snow....

 

Why so down on Auto trannies?

I have owned nothing but manual transmission cars (including 3 Taurus SHOs and a Mustang GT - woo hoo!!) since I started driving 42 years ago. But when it came time to buy a new car in 2008, I was looking for an automatic. The reason? In a word, traffic. I was living near Washington, DC and the traffic was so horrendous that I thought my left leg was gonna fall off.

I truly love having a stick, but it simply doesn't work in the constant stop and go traffic that most major cities have nowadays. And, frankly, I have learned to *love* those paddle shifters on my Clubman. They still offer me a semblance of shifting fun and allow me to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. A very nice setup, IMHO.

So, fellas, stop p!ssing and moaning about the new JCWs having an AT option - you can still have your MT if you like...

-RW-