UKPylot's MINI Blog » MINI News

MINI Home Entertainment System

ukpylot — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:42:24 +0000

I’m sure this has been posted to every MINI blog out there but just in case the 3 or 4 of you that read this didn’t see it, here’s what someone did with their MINI. Pretty cool, although putting an Xbox in there kinda devalues the whole thing.

Click on the image to go to the article [http://www.metro.co.uk]

A Little MTTS Jealousy

ukpylot — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:19:07 +0000

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!

MINI: Most Unreliable New Car in 2009

ukpylot — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:56:48 +0000

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:

San Diego Dealer Coming Finally

ukpylot — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:08:23 +0000

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.

MINI Cooper “Marginal” Rear Safety

ukpylot — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 01:29:57 +0000

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.

Interesting 2007 MINI Options

ukpylot — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:43:19 +0000

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.

No More Pulley Parties?

ukpylot — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:49:44 +0000

[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.

Send a Motoring Card Today!

ukpylot — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 19:07:02 +0000

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.

Congrats to GBMINI!

ukpylot — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 14:53:09 +0000

Google released their new google blog search today. My first search was for MINI Cooper blogs and whose blog was at the very top – Ian’s GBMini weblog!! Well done, Ian!

Sadly, this humble offering was not on the first page and neither was the rockin’ dbmini either!

However, if you search for ‘private pilot’ then my flying diary is the top related blog – whoo hoo!

Dates for AMVIV 2006

ukpylot — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 20:43:35 +0000

AMVIV3 will be March 24-26, 2006 at the Palace Station. I think we’ll try to make it this time.