2012 Used Turbo 1.6l I4 16v Automatic Fwd Hatchback Premium Moonroof on 2040-cars

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BMW, Sixt carsharing making money most places

The DriveNow carsharing service, which is a partnership between BMW and Sixt, is growing quite rapidly. "We've been surprised about the explosion of new subscriptions, which has helped boost revenue," says Sixt CEO Erich Sixt. The number of DriveNow users has increased from 215,000 at the end of last year to 300,000 today. Sixt says that DriveNow has been profitable in cities in which it has been established for over a year. Perhaps encouraged by its unexpected success, DriveNow is set to expand even further. The service is currently available in five German cities, as well as in San Francisco, California, and the involved parties are considering a five-year plan to expand to 25 more cities in Europe and the US. Still, Sixt expects DriveNow to report a "small-to-medium, single-digit" loss for this year, according to Sixt CFO Julian zu Putlitz. It's no big deal, just the result of startup costs in new areas. Sixt, which is Germany's largest car rental company, also reported that its own second-quarter income rose 12 percent to $37.7 million, while sales rose 7.6 percent to $585.78 million. DriveNow uses a membership and pay-per-minute model that allows customers to rent BMW and Mini vehicles as they need them. The service also acts as a way to let potential customers try out the vehicles and familiarize themselves with the brands before they buy cars of their own at some point. Depending on the location, DriveNow's fleet includes the BMW 1 Series, ActiveE and X1, as well as several Mini vehicles like the Cooper, Clubman and Countryman. Featured Gallery 2012 BMW ActiveE: First Drive View 31 Photos News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Green BMW MINI car sharing profit revenue drivenow sixt

2020 Mini John Cooper Works GP is priced from $45,750

Mini hasn’t even given us all the details for the upcoming John Cooper Works GP, but it already has a price. Set to debut at this month's L.A. Auto Show, the GP will start at $45,750. The last GP-badged Mini sold for $39,950, so this mid-$40,000 price point isnÂ’t out of the ordinary or unexpected. However, itÂ’s still pretty nuts considering the competition. Mini previously told us the GP will have “over 300 horsepower” and go around the Nurburgring in less than 8 minutes. Global production is also limited to 3,000 total cars, but itÂ’s not clear how many of those will be coming stateside.  Mini John Cooper Works GP View 30 Photos A regular 2020 John Cooper Works Hardtop starts at $34,250, but itÂ’s making do with considerably less horsepower at 231 ponies. A Civic Type R retails for $37,230. A Golf R is $41,290 and the WRX STI costs $37,895. WeÂ’ll note that Mini hasnÂ’t said how much standard equipment is included with the $45,750 asking price, so it could get much more expensive from there — Mini will surely let you go nuts with the configurator. That said, we can hope the high asking price does include an array of niceties you'd have to pay for on higher trims of the JCW Hardtop. When it launches later this November, Mini has already promised it will be the fastest car itÂ’s ever produced. WeÂ’re excited to see the extreme Mini take to the streets in mid-2020, as the GP models in the past have always provided us with a gloriously fun driving experience.

Mini ditches four-seat Countryman

Mini is walking away from the rear bucket seats in its Countryman crossover. MotoringFile.com reports that starting in 2013, the CUV will no longer offer just two seats in the second row. Originally, Mini was forced to offer the buckets due to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules governing the the minimum vehicle width for the allowance of three-wide seating. That rule was recently changed, which allowed Mini to offer the bench seat. Not surprisingly, few buyers have opted for the awkward bucket-and-rail configuration since. Moving forward, all Countryman models will also come with the vehicle's flat-load rear floor as well.
During our time with our long-term Countryman, we found the middle rail between the two buckets to be a bit gimmicky, especially given the fact that the cup holders were only large enough to accommodate a 12-ounce can.