2006 Convertible Mini Cooper on 2040-cars

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Mini goes zany with latest accessories catalog

Driving a Mini is most definitely an individualistic choice - one that not everyone would get on board with. So if you're going to go with such a fashion statement, you might as well give it your own sense of style. That's where Mini's new line of accessories come in.
Available for the new third-gen Mini hardtop, the accessories offer buyers the opportunity to customize their retro hatchback as best they see fit. There are roof graphics, accessory lighting, wheel upgrades and mirror caps (like the cartoonish ones pictured at right) just like you would have found in the parts catalog for previous iterations of the Mini, but now the brand is offering four appearance kits it's calling Mini Design Lines.
The kits are color coordinated in either Vivid Green, Speedwell Blue, John Cooper Works Pro (in black, red and grey) and Essential Black and include everything from the interior trim to exterior graphics. They might not be to everyone's taste, but that kinda strikes us as the point. Scope 'em out in the extensive high-res image gallery above and the details in the press release below.

Did BMW drag its feet on Mini recall?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening an investigation into BMW's reporting of a recall for 30,456 examples of the 2014-2015 Mini Cooper Hardtop, Cooper S, and the 2015 John Cooper Works. According to the government, "it appears from a review of NHTSA's databases that BMW may have failed to submit recall communications to NHTSA in a timely manner." The automaker issued the recall in July because crash tests showed the models didn't meet side impact requirements for passengers in the back seat. While there were no reported injuries at the time, the company decided to install energy-absorbing material in the space between the rear interior panels and the exterior. However, NHTSA has decided to investigate whether this campaign should have started much earlier, given the evidence the company had. According to the government's report, the Cooper Hardtop failed side-impact tests in 2014, although one of these tests was five-miles-per-hour faster than the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The agency claims: "In January 2015 BMW verbally committed that it would conduct a service campaign to add padding to the rear side panels of MY 2015 Mini 2 Door Hardtop Cooper models. However, BMW did not initiate the service campaign and failed to inform NHTSA of its failure to do so." A subsequent crash test of an example with this fix showed it to make the vehicle compliant with the rules. Mini spokesperson Mariella Kapsaskis told Autoblog: "Regarding the NHTSA audit query, BMW Group is evaluating the request and will respond to NHTSA as appropriate." INVESTIGATION Subject : BMW Reporting & Timely Recall Execution Date Investigation Opened: SEP 24, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: AQ15004 Component(s): STRUCTURE All Products Associated with this Investigation Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) MINI COOPER 2014-2015 MINI COOPER S 2014-2015 MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS 2015 Details Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC SUMMARY: NHTSA is opening this AQ to better understand and evaluate BMW's process(es) for its notification procedures and for timely and efficient execution of its safety recall campaigns. In mid-2014, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) had side impact moving deformable barrier (MDB) tests performed on two model year (MY) 2014 Mini 2 Door Hardtop Coopers. These two tests were performed at a speed 5 mph higher than required by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 214, Side impact protection.

BMW ReachNow just became a full-fledged mobility services program

Since officially opening its doors with 370 cars in Seattle in April, BMW's ReachNow has made little expansions. It stared operations in Portland and grew to 760 cars. Today, it also announced that Brooklyn would join the list, and that the number of available cars to share would climb to 1,030. But the big news is that the scope of ReachNow's efforts has just grown tremendously. Instead of just the original, short-term car rental option ReachNow will now be able to do all sorts of things. These include: ReachNow Ride: Similar to Lyft and Uber, this is a ride-hailing program where someone drives you to your destination. You can request a driver and set personal experience options, like setting a radio station or requesting silence for the ride. A pilot program will start in Seattle. ReachNow Fleet Solutions: BMW's version of Zipcar, but only for residents of specific apartment buildings. This is a station-based, dedicated car sharing plan and the first pilot will be in Manhattan, starting in a few weeks. It will be based at The Solaire in lower Manhattan and will use plug-in i3s exclusively. ReachNow Reserve: Remember good, old-fashioned rental cars? This is like that, but a bit fancier. BMW's longer-term rental service will let you schedule a particular model, which will then be delivered to you. You can keep it as long as you like, but we assume that if you're thinking of not giving it back for a few months, you're doing it wrong. ReachNow Share: BMW saw what Turo (nee Relay Rides) was doing and figured it was a good idea. With this program, you will be able to rent out your own 2016 or 2017 Mini for a minimum of two days, making you a bit of cash from your car when you're not using it. This rolls out in December in Seattle, and ReachNow CEO Steve Banfield said that it may expand to other models in the future. At #AutoMobilityLA, @turo says it has 2 million activated users and 120,000 listed vehicles. Claims the average monthly earning is $536* pic.twitter.com/gWHdrvPRWV — AutoblogGreen (@AutoblogGreen) November 15, 2016 ReachNow currently have 32,000 members, and all of these services are available to them through the ReachNow app. For a "limited time," new users can save the $39 registration fee as part of an introductory offer, and per-minute charges for the regular ReachNow service are 41 cents a minute instead of 49. At #AutoMobilityLA , @reachnow announces third city for @BMW's car sharing services: Brooklyn.