2002 Mini Cooper S Hatchback 2-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Judge to approve settlement of Mini CVT lawsuits

BMW has agreed to settle a number of class-action lawsuits out of court. The suits stem from drivetrain issues on the 2001 to 2006 R50 Mini Cooper - in particular, its continuously variable transmission. The transmission was known to fail, often without warning on otherwise healthy and well-maintained vehicles. This wasn't the only major issue to afflict the original BMW-era Mini models.
According to legal site Topclassactions.com, the suits alleged that BMW knowingly hid the defects in the CVT from customers while informing dealers of the issue. The first suit was filed in 2011, while four additional suits have followed. Now, BMW has reportedly settled, offering to reimburse 1,200 owners that needed repairs within eight years or 150,000 miles of their purchase. Repair prices for the transmission range from $6,000 to $9,000.
Under the agreement, BMW will also offer up to $4,100 to members of the suit that had fixes performed at a third-party shop, while owners who sold their cars at a loss due to the issues are slated to receive up to $2,000. Finally, owners who are part of the suit will be warrantied for a further eight years and 150,000 miles.

2016 Mini Cooper Convertible First Drive

Conventional gearhead wisdom says to go for the biggest, most powerful engine. For the first two generations of Mini Convertible, this was a no-brainer. You bought the Cooper S. But as Senior Editor Alex Kierstein argued in our first drive of the Cooper S soft top, the less-powerful Cooper Convertible has an ace up its sleeve: a highly entertaining, three-cylinder, turbocharged engine. After some time behind the wheel, this two-time Mini Cooper S (hardtop) owner is ready to say the Cooper Convertible is the droptop Mini you should buy, full stop. The Cooper's 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder makes just 134 ponies and 162 pound-feet of torque. That's a 55-horsepower deficit and an extra 1.5 seconds, compared to the Cooper S. But who's clocking a Mini Convertible with a stopwatch? The 8.2 seconds it takes to get to 60 mph is perfectly adequate , and the triple's power delivery is addictive. Peak torque comes in at 1,250 rpm, making for effortless acceleration around town. The engine is positively diesel-like in the way it generates twist below 4,000 rpm, and the way it runs out of steam well before its 6,500-rpm redline. But this isn't annoying. There's more than enough torque to make the Cooper's acceleration sprightly around town. Think about it this way: The Cooper S' 2.0-liter turbo has enough power to rescue you from bad driving. But because of the turbo lag and the wheezy top end, the base Cooper forces you to manage your momentum. In that way, it's not unlike the Mazda MX-5, Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ, and other so-called "momentum cars," that require drivers to maintain speed for a good corner exit. That, friends, is fun. But some of the car's shortcomings are less fun. We praised the triple's "offbeat, enticing growl" in our first drive, but this is still a three-cylinder engine and it vibrates like one. There's a diesel-like clatter from the direct-injection system on cold starts. And when rolling off the line at part throttle, the triple sends a weird vibration right to our hips. It disappears quickly as the speed increases, but the sensation is consistent enough to be annoying. Aside from the interesting powerplant, the best driving goodies aren't reserved only for the Cooper S. Tick the right boxes, and the regular Cooper can fit the adaptive dampers we raved about on the Cooper S first drive – Dynamic Damper Control is a $500 standalone option or included in the $1,750 Sport Package.

2016 April Fools' Day: Morgan digs at Tesla, Mini's scissor doors, more

Every year automakers go out of their way to come up with gags for April Fools' Day. Sometimes the jokes fall flat, but occasionally a company really nails it with an idea that we'd actually love to see. Rather than scouring the Web for all of these stunts, you can find some of our favorites right here. Morgan MOGrod The Morgan Motor Company's MOGrod is one of our favorite April Fools' jokes so far this year because it's a car we wish could be real. The company says on Twitter that the retro hot rod uses a 3.7-liter Ford V6, and there are already 250,000 preorders, which is a play on the huge number of reservations for the Tesla Model 3. Morgan took the joke even further by sketching a landspeed record version for the Bonneville Salt Flats. Mini Scissor Doors The people at Mini apparently have a lot of free time because the company has two gags this year. The first is the scissor door option. The idea cleverly plays on the myriad ways customers can customize their Mini, but this solution doesn't look like anyone could easily enter the car due to the way these doors open. Mini Hipster Hatch There's also the Hipster Mini, which is a much funnier idea. This fictional hatchback would be perfect for fashionable Millennials thanks to features like Instagram-filter windows and a fixed-gear drivetrain, which limits the top speed to 25 miles per hour. The interior uses stonewash denim upholstery and packs a twin-deck cassette player. Skoda Dog Umbrella People love dogs, and owners know that a wet canine can be a mess. Skoda is ready to tackle this problem with an umbrella for your mutt. Made from unobtainium, the gadget hides in the door when not in use, but when raindrops start falling, people can keep their pup dry. Skoda Snowman Skoda's Facebook page also teases us with a very cool vehicle. The Snowman is a 396-horsepower plug-in hybrid snow machine. With its tracks, the company's newest model would never have to worry about getting stuck in the winter. Opel Adam C Sure, electricity and hydrogen are cleaner forms of fuel than gasoline or diesel, but Opel has a way to make your car even more environmentally friendly – muscle power. Wind up the crank at the rear for 15 minutes, and the Opel Adam C is good for 125 miles. GM's European division also claims that owners get a great workout because a full winding session burns 400 calories. You wouldn't feel guilty about picking up that pizza after cranking up this hatchback.