UKPylot’s MINI Blog

So thanks to a business trip to England I couldn’t do MTTS and so far I haven’t seen much that has made me sad about that (missing the chance to meet Ian and Margaret being the main thing), but today’s run to the Bonneville Flats would have been very cool!

I was watching CNN this morning while getting ready for work and they announced a new JD Power initial quality survey that showed (in their view) that the US car industry was improving. They were quoting figures for the number of repairs required in the first 90 days per 100 cars. Only ones I remember (roughly) are:

• Lexus – 84 repairs per 100 cars
• Porsche – 90
• Cadillac – 91
• MINI – 165 per 100 cars
• Industry average – 108

In trying to find the article I found this one that says that MINI came dead last: ouch! The full details are on the JD Power website. But here is a summary:

According to a comment from a MINI USA online press event yesterday, there will be a MINI dealership opening in San Diego in about a year. It’s about time, is all I can say. It’s too late for me, I’m not paying MINI service rates any more, but I am sure many San Diegans will enjoy not having to make the trek north to Escondido. Not sure what this means for Brecht – maybe they’ve made all they are going to make from MINI now, and I am sure it is a worthy fortune.

Of course in this economy a year is a long time and we may not see the dealer at all, but I sure hope we do.

Heard on CNN this morning that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had released a new report on the safety of mini cars and they specifically mentioned the MINI Cooper has being highlighted for poor rear safety.

You can find a summary of the report or go here for a bunch of links about the study. Bottom line is that the MINI (up to and including the ’06 models) scored Good for front protection, Acceptable for side, and Marginal for the rear. Contrast this with the Nissan Versa that was top with Good protection all around, and the Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio which finished last with Acceptable front, Poor side and rear.

Update: GBMini posted a good debunking of the report; Motoringfile posted a link and, of course, the MINI fanboys got their knickers in a twist that someone dare say something negative about our precious tin cans.

By now everyone and their dog has configured a 2007 MINI or two on the new configurator, of course I am no different. Two things I found interesting in the options list: the folding mirrors are finally available, and you will be able to get a lifetime Sirius radio subscription, no notice of cost for that one.

Off to England on Thursday so this blog and my others will be even more dull than usual until I return at the beginning of December.

[Update:] Decided to bite the bullet and go for the pulley install while the Webb-meister is still around. Sunday, May 7th 11.00 am, Carrie will be getting a little bit faster.

Was reading today that the infamous Pulley Parties by Randy Webb are coming to an end, only three left (LA, SFO and CIN) before he hangs up his pulley removal tool. Not sure of the reason (I suspect his real business is keeping him from touring the country to do the parties) but its a bummer as I want to get the 15% pulley at some point, but had figured I’d wait a year or so. I either have to get it done May 7th when he is in LA or find someone else who can do it when the time comes.

Whilst looking at the Google Analytics report for my little site today that almost 50% of my traffic comes from the excellent MINI ‘news’ portal GoMotoring.com. They’ve recently added a new site to their family: MotoringCards.com which lets you send a motoring-themed e-card. There are some excellent pictures to choose from so send a loved one a card today.